City’s estate auction nets $1.355 million

The city’s estate auction of five Manhattan condos and a co-op produced winning bids totaling $1.355 million.

However, three of the units went unsold at the event, which took place in the Surrogate Court’s building (left) starting at 11:30 a.m.

Following are the results, which I obtained (while supposedly on vacation) by telephone from Patricia Brown in the office of Public Administrator Ethel J. Griffin of New York County:

• 570 Grand St., #H1305, co-op, 1,350 square feet, three bedrooms, one and a half baths with monthly maintenance of $1,009. Minimum bid: $540,000, reduced by $40,000. Winning bid: $540,000.
• 116 Pinehurst Ave., #F53, co-op, 1,094 square feet, two bedrooms, maintenance of $1,138.36 and assessment of $142.74 monthly. Minimum bid: $620,000, a $60,000 reduction. Did not sell for second time and will be assigned to a broker.
• 204-206 W. 10th St., Apt. 3, co-op, 345 square feet, one bedroom, $634 maintenance per month. Minimum: $325,000. Did not sell and will go on the block one more time at a date to be set.
• 270 W. 17th St., Apt. 3H, condo, 552 square feet, three rooms, monthly common charges of $550 and annual taxes of $6,300. Minimum: $475,000. Winning bid: $555,000.
  
• 550 Grand St., Apt. G12E, co-op, 780 square feet, three bedrooms, one and a half baths, $719 monthly maintenance. Minimum: $260,000. Winning bid: $260,000.
• 3 Hanover Sq., Apt. 9B, co-op, 562 square feet, $774 maintenance. Minimum: $310,000. Did not sell and will be auctioned again.

The sales of the co-ops are subject to approval by their boards of directors. If they reject the purchaser, deposits are returned and there is no penalty.

As for the turnout, Ms. Brown said there was an “adequate” number of bidders.

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Malcolm Carter
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
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Charles Rutenberg Realty
127 E. 56th Street
New York, NY 10022

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Get those certified checks to bid at city auction

3 Hanover Square

Bidders will have the opportunity on July 29 to win an apartment at the city’s estate auction of five co-ops and a condo ranging from the Financial District all the way up to Washington Heights.

Manhattan Public Administrator Ethel J. Griffin will seek to dispose of the properties, which can be inspected July 13, 15, 19 and 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.

Two of the properties failed to sell at the last auction, and had the amount of their minimum bids cut, so this is your second chance.  (Should they go unsold this time, the apartment will be turned over to a real estate broker to market.)  They are:

Buyers greet balcony safety issue with a big yawn

Nice balconies and views, but the city demands, "Keep off."

A woman I know called me in great distress last week to ask whether there was some way she could back out of her contract to buy a $560,000 one-bedroom co-op in a building that the city has cited for having potentially unsafe balconies.

Of course, I told the woman, who is not my client, to consult her attorney since the contract would provide the last word and it is not my habit to jeopardize my license by practicing law.

At the same time, I expressed doubt that there was any way out.  Because the defect was unknown at the time that she went into contract, it could not, by definition, be considered an undisclosed defect. So, whether the balconies might materially affect the value of any apartments in the building is beside the point.

In the event you missed the New York Times story on March 17, the piece began this way:

Thousands of residents in 16 buildings across New York City have been ordered to stop using balconies that were found to be unsafe by the Department of Buildings.

Referring to (but not specifically identifying) Sherman Square, a 42-story apartment tower at 201 W. 70th St., the article noted that the 1972 building is studded with concrete balconies with metal railings. Such is the case with dozens of buildings in the city constructed in the same decade.  The Times continued: 

Residents of the tower were surprised when they arrived home last week to find notices from the city telling them they were forbidden to use their balconies. They were also warned that if inspectors from the Department of Buildings saw anyone on a balcony, they would seal off the outdoor space, residents said.

The article went on to quote a Department of Buildings officials as saying that inspectors had visited more than 530 buildings across the city, except Brooklyn, since a 24-year-old man fell to his death when a railing of his rental apartment gave way last March at 330 E. 39th St. in Manhattan.  Those in which the city closed down balconies also were rentals–1675 York Ave., 300 E. 75th St. and 1365 York Ave. in addition to 330 E. 39th St.

I got to wondering

City to auction off four co-ops and a condo

392 Central Park West is one of several buildings in Park West Village on the Upper West Side.

On March 11, as mentioned in my previous post immediately below, the Office of the Manhattan Public Administrator will dispose at an auction of co-ops and condos situated between Washington Heights and Chinatown.

The apartments are: