Why are the apartments so cheap in this building? Is it a land lease?

Since when is $1,000 per square foot "cheap" in this market?

I can't speak for the land lease but I can say that 57th and 3rd is a very, very busy intersection. The cheaper psf apartments seem to be in original condition. The maintenance seems high but it does include utilitites and basic cable. I haven't seen inside the building but have passed by it many times.

Are the students loitering in front of the high school on 57th and 2nd an issue?

The co-op owns the land. The underlying mortgage might be considered high.

I agree with you apt23 on 12F but there are other 2 bedrooms that are approaching your 2004 benchmark although, not quite there yet (12C,perhaps 16N). Check out 3M to brighten up your day.

Nice apts in terms of layouts, etc but as already noted steep price increase in the last 5 years or so...plus new building constructed next to it along 57th took away much light and views from interior facing apartments. And very very busy corner including bus stop right in front of the building (think squeaky brakes 24 hours a day).

I saw 3M, so not sure why it should brighten someone's day (unless you enjoy looking at bright c.1970-vintage paint jobs).

It was a major fixer-upper. Not a great deal at its closing price of $860,000. Maybe just about market or a little high, if you discount for the renovation costs. And if you expect (as I do) that the market is likely to go down further or at best keep track with general inflation over the next several years, then it was actually a pretty bad deal.