MANHATTAN

Meticulous facade work restores century-old building’s luster.

Co-op boards have presidents. Usually. But sometimes they have a queen, who takes property by royal fiat and ensconces her heir, the prince.

Such was the case at 4 W. 105th Street, just off Central Park West in Manhattan Valley — a neighborhood that changed dramatically from gang-ridden to high-biddin' in the timeframe involved. Not that this six-story, 35-unit building, completed around 1900, has itself changed that much. Then and now, it's a co-op in the nonprofit Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) program, created to provide affordable housing for low- and middle-income individuals. Yet until this past December, apartment 4A has stood outside the program — populated by missing individuals, people with aliases and even the queen herself when she illegally sublet her own apartment down the hall.

Master Apartments on Riverside Drive remains true to its past.

Fatal facade failure highlights risk of inadequate protection for pedestrians.

Sales are not final until a deposit is paid and a contract is signed.

Did pedestrian die because landlord denied access to repair crews?

An appraiser says “the market doesn’t care” about boards’ hoped-for prices.

Building owner, cited for unsafe terra cotta, paid fine but made no repairs.

All-cash buyers are dwindling amid a supply glut, low interest rates.

Bad timing: 421-a abatements are being phased out in a soft market.