UPPER WEST SIDE

Even if you live in a five- or six-story building rather than in a super-tall luxury high-rise, there are perks you get on the top floor that you don't on the lower floors. For starters, even if your neighbors frequent the roof lots, you don't have to deal with stomping at all hours of the day and night — which is nice. You tend to get better views and lighting, too. This is why maintenance fees and common charges are typically higher for people who live on higher floors. One co-op shareholder in the Upper West Side asks Ronda Kaysen why in this week's Ask Real Estate column in The New York Times: "Does an apartment owner on the 10th floor use more services than someone living directly below her?" When a building is set up as a co-op or a condominium, Kaysen explains, "the developer has to allocate the shares or common interests in a way that is marketable and makes sense, varying the maintenance or common charges throughout the building." She adds that while residents living in units on higher floors might use more services than those on lower floors, it isn't the reason they pay more. Living higher up, says Kaysen, is considered an amenity. Nice views and sunny rooms do come at a premium in the big city. 

Another day, another luxury development in the works causing locals a lot of grief: that's the world of New York City real estate. Late last week, opponents of a controversial Upper West Side project cried foul after the Department of Buildings (DOB) issued the developer last-minute permits to carry on construction, according to DNAinfo. The project in question is a 10-story addition on top of a six-story apartment building located at 711 West End Avenue. Tenants are concerned about dust, noise, and construction traffic, as are parents of children attending the nearby elementary school. They want "more transparency and better safety measures," to be put in place. They are also upset because the DOB granted the permits "just a day before a sweeping landmarking of the avenue that would have derailed the project. Additions to landmarked buildings have to get approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) and are not permitted 'as of right.'" One parent added: "The developers knew the [LPC] vote was coming so they slammed through a bunch of permits to avoid being accountable." In response, a DOB spokesperson said that "the department does not determine when a permit review happens, and that reviews are scheduled by the applicant during times when a DOB examiner is available," adding that "according to the New York City Construction Code, a project's future landmark status cannot be factored in." It looks like the project's opponents aren't giving up. They are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to intervene. DNAinfo reported that the mayor's office didn't immediately return a request for comment. Tenants officially submitted a challenge to the developer's plan citing safety concerns, but a DOB examiner had already approved the safety plan. Opponents still have until August 2 to submit other challenges to the project, but that may prove impossible since some of the developer's plans are not available to the public. The group reportedly intends to keep the pressure on the mayor to do something.

Photo by Christopher Bride for Property Shark

Despite all the news about luxury condos rising all over the city, there hasn't been much activity on the Upper West Side's park boulevard… until now. Starting next week, reports the New York Daily News, "13 renovated units will go on sale at the landmark building at 360 Central Park West — some of only a few new condo units to hit the market [in that vicinity] in decades. The pre-war, park-facing building designed by 20th-century architect Rosario Candela, overlooks the reservoir. Built in 1928, the 17-story Neo-Renaissance-style property "remained a rental building until the owner convinced the landowner to sell the underlying property to him in 2011." The developer then brought "architecture giant CetraRuddy [on board] to reimagine the apartments for a modern homebuyer, with coffered ceilings, herringbone floors, premium-grade appliances and custom-built white oak fixtures." Some of the units in the landmarked building were combined to make it worthwhile for wealthy Upper West Side families. Indeed, all of the luxury — and the ticket price to match — with none of the impossibly tall glass and steel that seems to be robbing New York of its charm. So how much does a luxury pad in an old New York building set you back? How's about $1.5 million for a one-bedroom pad to more than $6 million for a four-bedroom home? Sure, it's hardly chump change, but "still significantly less than the jaw-dropping asking prices at famed Central Park West buildings such as the Dakota and the Beresford, which typically trade for about 50 percent more on a price-per-square-foot basis."

Photo credit: StreetEasy

Chuck Wall, the board president, and the other four board members of the Alexandria House have had a busy three years. And although they have faced a set of daunting challenges, they have moved methodically and tirelessly forward, not focusing on the problems but rather the solutions.

The story of the 74-unit cooperative, at 250 West 103rd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue and managed by Orsid Realty, starts with a fairly routine event in the life of most co-ops: the board's previous mortgage came due. With an eye to future capital projects, the board refinanced its mortgage for $2.5 million (of which $1.75 million went to pay down the first mortgage and the balance went into the reserves). The building also took out a half-a-million-dollar line of credit. Not too long after that, the co-op got hit with a one-two punch that could easily have sent them reeling. 

New Yorkers love their views. They also don't shy away from expressing their displeasure when it comes to having those views obstructed — even if it's a lost cause. You might say that a New Yorker who doesn't complain isn't really a New Yorker. When the 14-tower got the green light in 2013 to rise on the north side of St. John the Divine on the Upper West Side, people were ticked off. They tried to stop it, but, reports DNAinfo, "the cathedral said it needed the millions of dollars generated by the [Brodsky Organization's 428-unit residential condo] each year in order to fund deferred repairs and maintenance on the aging structure." That doesn't mean Upper West Siders are going to quit kvetching about it, especially now that the tower is taking shape and blocking views of the historic cathedral. 

It's easy to forget that one of the byproducts of all this new condo construction is disruption of life as usual — unless you live across the street from it, that is. Take the rental building across the street from a luxury condo that is under construction. One of its tenants wrote to Ronda Kaysen's latest "Ask Real Estate" column in The New York Times explaining that a structure has been erected in front of the rental building to accommodate fire trucks from the station, likewise across the street from the construction site. According to the tenant, "taxis, cars and moving trucks can no longer pull up to the front of the building…. [and] traffic [has been] diverted to a small lane next to this structure, creating unsafe conditions for drivers and pedestrians." It's a political question, explains Kaysen, adding that the tenant could contact the Department of Transportation (DOT), or better yet the local community board or elected officials. But the bottom line is that, very likely, "the condo is an as-of-right development, which means that it was not subject to a public review process where the community would have had the opportunity to weigh in on practical matters like where to house fire trucks. This might explain why the structure seemingly rose out of thin air." It's something for existing co-ops and condos to keep in mind, especially since next time, one of those new condos — and any accompanying ugly structures — might be right outside their doors rather than outside a rental building.

Remember the iPad on steroids? It's just one of the new tools in a technological arsenal that real estate developers are using to sell, sell, sell in the city. The beautiful thing about technology is that it's forever evolving. Just check out what Extell Development Company is using to sell condos in the 219-unit One Riverside Park. Holograms. They call it innovative. We call it pretty darn cool. According to The New York Times article, "the hologram presentation includes an overview of the waterfront neighborhood, a trip inside the new complex, now 85 percent sold with remaining units ranging from $3.6 to $25 million, and a dazzling display of its amenities." You can tell someone how amazing a unit is, not to mention all the awesome amenities, but it's always better to show them. In a city where it's always best to walk your talk, that just makes good sense.

The estate of Florence Weinbaum had to sell Weinbaum's co-op apartment at 260 West End Avenue. It contracted with a third party and, as is typical in co-ops, the sale was conditioned on the board's approval. The board waited until after the estate and the unit's purchaser had signed the contract to promulgate house rules directly addressed to this unit and the buyer refused to close. 

In 1947, the unit — which was located on the "mezzanine" level and accessibly via the lobby — was leased to Weinbaum's father, a doctor, as a professional office. When the building converted to cooperative ownership in 1980, Dr. and Mrs. Weinbaum purchased the shares and he continued to use the unit as his medical office until his retirement in 1981.

Community Board 7 last week approved a proposal to convert a historic church at 361 Central Park West into condos after architects agreed to revise their original design. According to DNAinfo, Li Saltzman Architects and GKV Architects have removed dozens of the 70 windows they planned to add after board members argued it made the 100-year-old landmarked Crenshaw Christian Center East look like it had been "shot out [with] a machine gun." Whoa. Replacing the small windows will be "three long windows spanning nearly the entire height of the building that they described as 'ribbons' of glass," reported DNAinfo. Despite getting the board's blessing, however, it seems the old adage that you can't please all the people all of the time rings true here. Not surprisingly, neighboring residents who largely oppose the project still hate it. You can't really blame them, either. The architects plan on getting rid of the church's stained-glass windows. Sadly, however, it comes down to an ultimatum: Lose the windows, or risk losing the whole building. The condo conversion project goes before the Landmarks Preservation Commission today for review.

Not long ago, the rat situation at an Upper West Side condominium got so bad residents who would return home late at night would walk in the middle of the street. According to one of the condo's board members, rats would be scurrying back and forth from the tree wells and running around people's ankles.

The board member, who asked to remain anonymous because of the stigma associated with rats, was involved in several local community groups. Therefore, she knew about the city's Rodent Academy program — or Rat Academy, as it is often called. Started in 2009, the program offers a half-day course on how to identify rat infestations and what to do about them.