After spending almost four years on the market, a ritzy Upper East Side duplex penthouse once owned by the late composer Irving Berlin has finally exited the market after undergoing a litany of price cuts. Originally listed for $7.9 million in 2017, the ask later dropped to $5 million before dropping again to $3.9 million. The property finally found a taker at the drastically reduced sum of $2.3 million (plus $7,774 in monthly maintenance fees) in early March.
Found within the 16-story Emery Roth-designed 103 East End Avenue coop apartment building built in 1929 — on the corner of East 86th Street in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan, overlooking Charles Schurz Park and the East River — the two-bedroom residence was occupied by Berlin and his wife Ellin from 1931-1944. During that time, the “King of Tin Pan Alley” composed his iconic tune “God Bless America,” as well as other popular ditties like “Say It Isn’t So” and “Cheek to Cheek.” He passed away at the age of 101 in September 1989.
According to property records, Apartment PHA most recently belonged to Hamilton Kean, a former environmental law professor at New York University School of Law who died in 2016, and his wife Edith. It was purchased by Alexios Shaw.
The two-level penthouse, which has undergone a recent modern renovation, is accessed via a black-and-white marble foyer boasting a striking circular staircase. Once inside the light-filled living space, a spacious corner living room adorned with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves is highlighted by a wood-burning fireplace, original herringbone wood flooring and five oversized windows offering up stunning park, river and bridge views.
Also on the first floor: a formal dining room abutting a sunroom that leads to a wraparound brick terrace, along with a a kitchen, bath and maid’s room. And upstairs is a master suite and secondary bedroom, as well as a duo of baths and a study with entry to a private rooftop terrace.
The listing was held by Jane Andrews and Mihal Gartenberg of Warburg Realty, who declined to comment on the article.