Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photos: Douglas Elliman
Listen, it’s not as though getting an apartment in New York has ever been easy. But one could probably argue it has never been harder than it is right now. The most god-awful studios are regularly renting for thousands and thousands of dollars with lines of interested tenants out the door. Here, we’ll find the actually worth-looking-ats, the actually worth-the-costs, and the surprisingly affordable-for-those-parquet-floors from around the internet.
While prices remain high in the New York City real-estate market, at least the AQI is down and the Legionnaires’ situation on the Upper East Side appears to be improving. I took both as a sign to avoid the neighborhood entirely, instead making stops in Washington Heights, the Lower East Side, Crown Heights, Carroll Gardens, and Boerum Hill. Keep reading for a price comparison at the bottom, and a friendly reminder to wash your raspberries like your life depends on it.
$2,895, 1-bedroom: Strong hardwoods, clean, and under $3,000 — a trifecta I can get behind.
$3,800, 2-bedroom: Floor-through brownstone apartment with a railroad feel. Tile with dark-looking grout in the kitchen is unfortunate but at least they went with bright white and not beige or, worse, imitation terra-cotta.
582 St. Marks Avenue.
Photo: Douglas Elliman
$2,800, 1-bedroom: Oh dear, it seems I summoned the imitation terra-cotta into being. But this is an otherwise solid prewar with strong parquet that’s just a smidge rough around the edges.
$3,800, 2-bedroom: Classic brownstone that’s heavy on the mahogany — the original details are lovely, but then there’s a lot of imitation marble in the bathroom and kitchen. Because sometimes God doesn’t give with both hands.
$1,850, 1-bedroom: Haven’t seen a price like this for a brownstone apartment since before the pandemic? Kitchen’s a little rough, but still: Something must be wrong. Go scout for me and report back, please.
95 1st Place.
Photo: Real Street Inc
$12,500, 4-bedroom: I have to admit I was fooled by the bookshelves into thinking this was a more refined apartment than the rest of the pictures reveal it to be. But 2,500 square feet is a lot of real estate in this part of town.
$8,500, 1-bedroom: An architectural feat: Look out for the dramatic glass atrium and an angled glass roof that floods the landing with natural light!
$12,500, 3-bedroom: I was getting a witchy feeling that Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig once lived here. And what do you know … they were next door.
413 Sackett Street.
Photo: Brooklyn Real Inc
$10,250, 2-bedroom: When the planks are that wide, you know I can’t not list it. I’m sorry that I’m not sorry.
$3,800, 1-bedroom: We’ve reentered the realm of normal with this aggressively average apartment that’s on the cheaper end for the neighborhood.
$3,650, 1-bedroom: A moment of silence for the size of the window in the kitchen, please. Technically Boreum Hill, by the way.
$2,800, 1-bedroom: Generously proportioned prewar apartment with tasteful updates, no notes.
$2,300, 1-bedroom: Another strong-boned prewar that I’m having difficulty critiquing, especially at that price point.
605 West 180th Street.
Photo: TriBro NYC LLC
$3,650, 2-bedroom: Just a wealth of prewars up here — this one is slightly over-varnished in the parquet department, but that’s not at all a disqualifier.
$3,000, 1-bedroom: When I tell you that every other apartment on the Lower East Side is north of $5,000, all that exposed brick may start to look better and better.
172 Delancey Street.
Photo: Douglas Elliman
I present to you, at $875,000, a duplex one-bedroom on Lincoln Place that feels a little more elevated than your typical garden apartment. I like that the parlor and the bedroom are on separate floors and that there is more than one patio. Private outdoor space in Prospect Heights is not a given, and the original details help offset the sort-of-hefty maintenance. And then there is … this. Let’s be honest: Unless you accidentally bought bitcoin in 2011 and forgot about it, this house is most likely JFF (just for fun/fantasy). A former carriage house turned architect-designed compound with a guesthouse, spa, two-car garage, three wood-burning fireplaces, Venetian plaster, and more bespoke millwork than I’ve ever seen in a single residence. I don’t think I’d have a hard time deciding between the two.
375 Lincoln Place.
Photo: Corcoran
497 St. Johns Place.
Photo: Corcoran
