Make us all feel horrible and tell us what the Streisand-Goulds paid for it in 1963.
2
@ileen
Barbara and Elliot would have bought as insiders in 1970, when the Ardsley went co-op. Prior to that they were renters. Based on the price per share to insiders ($45.) , the current apartment would have cost them about $62,000.
5
As the former president of a co-op board, I could share some interesting stories about purchase applications and some wrongfully-motivated board members. Co-ops in New York can deny a purchase as long as doing so would not be a violation of fair housing laws. It is also important for the board to use / apply the same criteria in screening all applicants. There are some buildings in NY that famously reject celebrity buyers, but again, the same qualifying criteria must be used in each case. The argument for turning down celebs is often based on the board’s belief that additional security costs would be an unfair burden to other shareholders. Also, perceived throngs of fans hanging about doesn’t appeal to everyone. Some municipalities have enacted laws that prevent a co-op from denying a purchase based on the buyer’s source of income. There are those who believe that would change the dynamics.
2
The New York Times attracts a savvy enough readership that it should be readily clear that:
1.) our beloved Barbra asked $10M and got $4.25M from the current owners;
2.) the current owners are asking $11.25M for these digs, which proportionally would mean that they are worth $4.78M.
OMG, it's still Barbra's ORIGINAL kitchen from the 20th century!!! Grow up people, 'cause if you're not "Linda Richman" (made famous by Mike Myers on SNL) the fact that Barbra made toast there adds ZERO value to such a real estate transaction.
2
"after the co-op board repeatedly rejected potential buyers" When will the NYC Council address this kind of corruption and discrimination? How did the board decide to reject Mariah Carey as a resident? Isn't that a bigger story here?
1
Price justification? Let’s see: views, 2500 sf terrace, private elevator, Hart, Streisand. As for the staging, a discerning buyer is looking at the architecture and layout not the decor. It looks lived in and welcoming for its new owner.
4
So what that it is not professionally staged? It is a unique apartment that anyone with just a little imagination can understand the possibilities.
8
Barbara’s apartment was a triplex - not sure what happened to the 3rd floor. She also once had a lovely 3.5 room apartment for her mother at the Ardsley.
3
Unlike most of these ritzy joints that none of us can afford, this actually looks like a really nice place to live. And with the exception of the hall chandelier and the carpeting on the stairs it's set up quite nicely, I think.
Main deal-breaker other than the price is the co-op board. Imagine how dead they must be to turn Mariah Carey away. They probably wouldn't let Barbara move back in, either. Got your plots picked out, folks?
13
The price is way too high....
it's probably worth 1/2 the asking price.....
.....Particularly when you consider the date and price of the last sale.
1
I'm laughing at all the remarks suggesting the house needs a professional home 'stager.' Listed at $11.25M - any potential buyer will bring their contractor and designers along, that is, if it's not bought sight unseen first by an LLC. No staging required!
13
If I bought that place I would throw a huge party in honor of Barbra and invite her. I was just a kid and she was absolutely, totally my first love when I saw her in What's Up Doc. I also fell in love with Judy Garland when I first saw the Wizard of Oz but she had been long dead at that point. I doubt she would ever come to such a party but it's fun to think about.
10
Good God, Judy Garland "long dead." How young you are! I remember as if it were yesterday listening to the car radio and hearing that Judy Garland had died. My parents and I were on our way to my aunt's house; the ride there was, for me, a sad one. How could Dorothy die?
2
@B.My mother had a two-week teaching appointment at small college in Seattle. We made a west coast trip of it. We were staying in a dorm apartment and I can still remember hearing the news on the radio that Judy had died. I was 13. Somehow I knew it was a much more historic passing than that of any other middle-aged celebrity.
Staging a home can often turn a negative into a positive and get a faster better price. Alas when it is your home, you lose sight of what other's may view as clutter or perhaps Grandma's house. There are more pictures on the realtor website....with the same problem. It is hard to see the possibilities with the current pictures. It seems cramped and disjointed.
5
I agree that the mismatched furnishings and slightly “off” wall colors do nothing to help sell this place. The dining area table looks like a law office’s conference room table.
None of the bathrooms have been upgraded apparently. There’s no separate formal dining room. The kitchen is the size of a postage stamp. The existing refrigerator looks like it was bought at Costco.
You’re buying the views and a lot of work, but in the end it could be lovely.
6
First, how lovely that the original kitchen cabinets are in situ. Beautiful! I hope they stay.
And second, the place looks lived in, with books, plants, and mostly plain furniture. No glitz, no staging.
But why sell? At 3200 square feet, it's a medium-size house -- given that people routinely build 5000-10,000 sf places nowadays. And none as elegant as this duplex.
To each his own.
14
I should add that marveling that there is room for a baby grand is silly. Of course there is. The apartment is over 3200 square feet.
I also have had room for my old one in every apartment I've lived in. You just make a space for it.
4
A rather urgent suggestion: PLEASE hire professional stagers! The current furnishings are terrifyingly hodgepodge, dated, and quite frankly, glaringly ugly.
10
@Robert J. Wlkinson A rather urgent response, look at the bones of the home.
11
@Robert J. Wlkinson I thought staging, too, would benefit here, Mr. Wilkinson, before even finishing the article, precisely to show the bones of the place. The abundant greenery was refreshing.