Manhattan, We Have an Amenity Problem

When the president of the condo board is also the exclusive broker for the building and the property manager, something weird is bound to happen. And it’s happening at the 46-story luxury condo the Atelier in Manhattan, where Daniel Neiditch wears the trio of board/broker/manager hats and a penthouse apartment is being advertised for $85 million. 

The apartment supposedly comes with a fantastical menu of amenities that includes a house in the Hamptons for one summer; two Rolls-Royces and a Lamborghini; a yacht with docking fees for five years; season tickets to Brooklyn Nets home games; dinner once a week at the two-Michelin-star restaurant Daniel; a private chef for a year; a butler; and a $2 million construction allowance for renovations. If that doesn’t seal the deal, maybe this will: the buyer will also get two seats aboard a future flight to outer space. 

But, according to the New York Post, there’s a small hitch: the penthouse doesn’t actually exist – and most likely never will. As the Post previously reported, the Atelier penthouse – which is made up of the full 45th floor and half of the 44th floor of the 46-story building at 635 42nd Street – actually consists of roughly a dozen individual apartments, some of which are occupied and owned by various entities and persons. 

There are a couple of other hitches. Here’s one: “This penthouse isn’t consistent with how a market behaves,” says real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller. “These perks actually narrow the pool of buyers. Because let’s say you love the apartment, but do you also want to pay for a trip to space? There’s a disconnect.” Here’s another hitch: last year the city issued 27 violations for illegal hotel use at the Atelier. Two members of the condo board were among those cited for making illegal short-term rentals – and putting up illegal partitions in their units to create extra rooms. A group of unit-owners blame the condo board for the problem, and they’re seeking to oust it. Neiditch, the president/broker/manager, says the board has taken action against hosts who rent illegally. 

Blah blah blah. Manhattan, we have a problem. The real-estate market has totally lost its mind.