151 East 78th Street initial offerings 03/2014

the people buying these apt's are not taking the 6 line or Lex Line buses

Is the LR window a lot-line window (east-facing?)? May be a while before a 14-story something is built next door, but still... I also don't get the combo LR/DR. I'd rather forego the 3rd BR, put the kitchen there, and put the the DR where the kitchen is, and get a much larger LR. Agree that the "gallery" entry doesn't have much wall space for hanging pictures. Like the window in the powder room and the closets though.

Like the lower floor layouts much better.

151 bought 157's air rights for about $700,000. 157 is only 18' wide, but is landmarked, and the houses to its east probably are too, so no danger of anything going up very close to those east-facing windows.

Streetview: Few people would pay $10mm+ to live in a building with a public restaurant. Why would you want all those people using your elevator?

PHB's layout may not be ideal, but it would be difficult to come up with something better if you need that step-back in the building.

Aaron2: I agree with NWT. The townhouses to the east are landmarked, so there won't be any buildings going up there ever. No need to worry about the LR windows in PHB. I agree that the LR is small for the price, but perhaps the buyer will be able to customize and tweak the layout before it's finished.

NWT: Thanks for the landmark info, though I can't find which district it's in: the 'old' UES district only goes over to #127/134 E 78th, and "Upper East Side Extension" doesn't go above 76th St.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/manuals/maps_manh.shtml

Is there a new district?

157 and the four houses to its east are individual landmarks, not in any district. The Department of Buildings has 157 flagged as landmarked, and the row's wiki page says they were designated in 1968: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_78th_Street_Houses

The lady who owned 163-165 until her death in 1987 was the mother of the guy who's owned 157 since 1966.

Oops, she died in 1983. Her estate didn't sell the house until 12/31/1987. She'd bought 163 and maybe 165 by 1939, and combined the two sometime before the 1968 landmarking.

151 also bought air rights from the grandson of a fishmonger. Hale and Hearty was the Rosedale Fish Market. I still can see the saw dust on the floor.

Window unit air conditioners for $10,000,000+? They have to be temporary.....