building at 205 West End Avenue

I looked at a bunch of apartments in Lincoln Towers. The building is nice, mostly older people and young families/couples.

I had looked at some of the bigger alcove studios and became wary because of the 10+ I saw over a few months, none of them were actually converted to one bedrooms. I found this kind of weird because I thought if I had bought one of the larger alcoves I would want to put up a wall. All of the listing brokers I met with said there was no restriction that they knew of for putting up the wall but I think there must be, otherwise some of these apartments would have walls up.

There are a number of bldgs comprising Lincoln Towers - do you have a comprehensive list of all availabilities? (I don't.) Just wondering why one would want the most expensive unit if there are similar units that share the same amenities. It is a desirable complex; I would say typical postwar floorplans. I know a number of happy families in various blgs there, one also has a profl office.

I have a friend who lives there with his young family. The apartment is beautiful, great light, good size, good layout. If you can get over the external crappiness and the outdated hallways & lobby, you can get much more for your money here.

You can put up walls in the jumbo studios. I've seen many with the walls, but I've also been curious about the ones that don't. Especially since most of them don't. All the buildings in Lincoln Towers are run by different coop boards or I should say, each building has it's own coop board and not all the rules are the same. For example 165 West End Avenue doesn't allow dogs and all the rest of the buildings do. Brokers with less experience in LT will make assumptions based on what they know about one building. So if you're serious about buying, just make sure to get what they tell you in writing. Good Luck!

how does this building compare with the other lincoln towers?

They are all very nice and well maintained buildings. If I were you I would keep an eye on prices because they've been dropping substantially since the beginning of the year.

To answer your question, I think 205 is nice but I don't know exactly how it measures up to the others? In what context?

The views from similar apartments in the different buildings can vary drastically.

some of the large studio's have grandfathered-in agreements for a wall. It has to be in the contract, which was the case with our unit. It is close to the water and quiet . close to 72nd street subway too. our place has a great view north, can see the GWB. The lobby is being renovated now and will be done by Sept 1. The services are wonderfull. Doormen knew our names after a few weeks there. They regularly pick up from our floor. Clean huge laundry, private park, community room. I'm in heaven!

FWIW, 205 does a great job maintaining its lawn, plants, and flowers. Looks grotty up above, like most buildings, but pretty at street level.

The other advantage of 205 is that it is the northernmost building of the LT complex, so you might get views of the Santa Monica. Views of Presidential Tower not great, though better now that the windows & balconies have been replaced.

How is the sound insulation in this building? I've been looking at pre-wars only so far because they have thicker walls, but the units here do look nice... Can anyone living here help with this question? I know there is a carpeting rule, but can you here the upstairs neighbors walking despite that? What about talking/TV/music through of the neighbors to the sides? Thanks.

Just discovered this discussion thread. I live in 205 so let me try to answer some of the questions.

Putting up a wall in a large studio is reasonably common. You don't see them because brokers list such apartments as one bedrooms, not as studios. There are no rules against it, though you do have to submit your plans to review by the building architect.

This building was built in 1960. While it is formally postwar, the building codes did not change overnight. As a result this building has a 'best of both worlds' aspect. The plumbing and electrical systems are pretty modern. The walls are thick block construction with heavy plaster on them, so the apartments are pretty quiet. I do hear when my upstairs neighbor drops something heavy on the floor, but I don't hear them walking around.

By the way, the building has a website: http://www.205westend.com/