Sale at 5 Riverside Drive #3C

As far as I know the financials are pretty solid; But this knowledge is from a few years ago.

The co-op is in court with a tenant (Oscar Hijuelos, who owns two or three apartments there) over water damage from a leak several years ago. The suit is supposedly going to be mediated/settled soon. Shareholders have already been assessed for legal fees, which may or may not be recovered. Otherwise the financials, etc., are fine.

Could someone shed light on how the decision is made on whether or not to assess shareholders in cases like this. I'm guessing there are wild variables; but I would think that a co-op has insurance to cover such damages. No?

answer is: like shareholders in any other company...if there's insurance, it covers less deductible if applicable. any expense the corp incurs is either paid out of general funds or by assessment.

The suit isn't about physical damage. That would've been covered by the various parties' insurance. It's apparently about punitive damages, loss of income, etc. The parties to the suit chose not to use eFile, so the docs aren't easily available, but that's the story in the building.

My husband and I walked through this apt. with the listing agent in January. Pros: the space is expansive, there is significant natural
light and impressive views because of the many windows over Riverside Dr. from the living room and 2nd bedroom. Cons: needs significant renovation with regards to kitchen and bathrooms, and some superficial upgrades like removing the distasteful (at least to us!) wall of mirrors between the living room and kitchen. There was an "off" aroma in the apartment which bothered me, smelled old and musty although the broker couldn't detect a thing (no surprise). And one final detail which, ironically, the broker lauded and we disliked, is the fact that there are two separate entrances to the building itself which appeared to require two separate doormen! Didn't sit well with us that we'd be helping to pay the salary for not one but two doormen standing only 15 meters from each other...
This apartment is an estate sale...the former owner died late last year and the family appears to be eager to sell. If one is interested in an elegant coop on Riverside Dr. and not shy of the effort and dollars that would go into a renovation this could be a great opportunity.

Sorry to hijack, but if we sell our place, one thing I'm interested in is the A&B combination in this building. 2 years+ ago, 1 sold at over 5m. There always seems to be an A or B apt on the market here, I would definitely bid on one and put an unsolicited offer for its neighbor. A good strategy? Say you get A (5-room) for 1.5 (7A went into contract at ask of 1.595m) and B for 900k (14B on the market at 955 now), where else would you get a riverview dman 4-5 bedroom in low 70s (PS87 + 5 rooms on the water) for 2.4m + reno costs?

nyc10023, the AB does make a great combo. Thing is, the A and B owners always have an eye out for the neighbor selling, so tough to get. 7B would've grabbed 7A had it gone a bit lower.

UWSbuyer, the deal with the two doormen is that the building converted from manual elevators recently enough that union rules require the same number of staff be maintained. Not a choice the co-op's making. The RSD entrance isn't always open; I think it's closed during the hours when the building would've have had one guy for both elevator and door.

NWT: hopefully not everyone has the need for a large apt. This is all theoretical since we haven't sold, but will definitely feel empowered to make an offer to 14A if 14B is still on the market. 7A could still fall out of contract.

I would make a 5 bedroom out of A&B, expand the B kitchen into the stepup B dining foyer. Only negative is that kitchen is next to master broom.

nyc10023, right, now that there's much less of a size premium, less likely that one's going to buy the other just to flip.

Lots of possibilities with AB. Some expand B bath into kitchen. Most have combined the living rooms, for a three- or four-bedroom. Either way, the B bath is great with its big window. Sit there and look at the river.

UWSbuyer, gossip says the board has canned one of the doormen and closed the RSD entrance.

nyc10023... beware the false God of combinations.... only works on the way up... on the way down... smaller increases in value.... plenty of chopped up classic 7 on UES in the late 70's... the CC vs. rent works against you in this mkt... IMHO.

OBTW, nyc10023.. .r u mormon... how many children do you plan to have? If it's to keep all your eastern european "brides" more power to you :)

Main Entry:
stream of consciousness
Date:
1855

1 : the continuous unedited chronological flow of conscious experience through the mind
2 : interior monologue

Does anyone know if maintenance charges recently went up in this building? I seem to recall seeing this listing some time ago, but don't think the monthly was nearing $1800.

It did go up, but don't know by how much. Still less than $500 per room, so not bad.

3C finally in contract. 7A is shown as "no longer available" after having been in contract, but the story in the building is that it's closed.

Proud, card-carrying atheist here. However, I've imbibed a lot of Richard Dawkins over the years ... 5 bedrooms + 1 playroom + 1 library/office + LR, DR, EIK would be my ideal. Oh, and throw in outdoor space.

Why would a closing take so long?

This building has the worst coop board in all of manhattan is what I have been told. I have noticed empty planters with no plants, they are always the last people to plant anything in the spring. If you search google earth for 5 riverside drive heeThey remodeled the lobby two years ago and it is pretty bad. The management company "Franklin Speiser ". Is also the worst management company. I hear in the laundry room they have had a dryer out of service for over ten years. The building is a landmark building one of the first high-rises along riverside drive but the board is too cheap to do things like polish the beautiful marble floors. They installed a security system that only covers the interior of the building a friend told. My reaction would e to slook