The Dakota

The Dakota

1 West 72nd Street, New York, NY, 10023

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The iconic Dakota Building, located at 1 W 72nd Street just across from Central Park West, was built in 1884 and designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, who also designed the Plaza Hotel.

This 93-unit building ranged in size from 3-10 room homes.

Today, many apartments have been re-configured to accommodate larger and more expansive residences.

Clearly, the Dakota is one of the most outstanding architectural icons on the Upper West Side.

It showcases amazing ornate finials and Gothic details on its façade, oil-burning lamps and a manned sentry at the front entrance.

It also includes a lovely landscaped exterior and interior courtyard.

Tourists can be seen gazing upon this majestic structure at any time of the day.

This prestigious co-op offers its residents the ultimate in privacy, service and luxury.

Considered one of Manhattan’s most distinguished landmarked buildings, it offers its celebrity residents white-gloved doorman service.

DESCRIPTION

Dakota 10 Room Corner Home

The legendary Dakota. Grand home. Great space. Amazing detail. 10 rooms. 4 bedrooms. 3.5 baths. Shaving closet. Chef's kitchen. Pantry. 6 fireplaces. Soaring ceilings throughout. Original footprint. One of a kind. Function and glamour.............As fabulous as your fantasy.

BUILDING AMENITIES

Doorman
Elevator
Laundry in Building
Pets Allowed
LISTING AMENITIES
Dishwasher
Fireplace
OUTDOOR SPACE
Balcony

BUILDING

The Dakota 1 West 72nd Street New York, NY 10023

Co-op in Upper West Side

94 units

9 stories

Built in 1900

DESCRIPTION

THE DAKOTA - Apartment 78

Legendary, Iconic, words used to describe the most famous, most exclusive building in New York, THE DAKOTA. Those same words can be used to describe its most famous Lady of Song, Roberta Flack, multi Grammy winner, whose music has been the accompaniment to the times of our lives. This living Legend has resided at this historic landmark The Dakota for almsot 40 years. Here is an exceptional opportunity for those who want to own at The Dakota. A rare chance to acquire a historic residence, in a legendary building, from an Iconic Star. Apartment 78 - granduer with 40 years of musical genius having filled these rooms. It consists of two bedrooms, two baths, with large flowing floorplan. Four fireplaces, 12 ft. ceilings, A 36 x 24 ft living room for memorable entertaining, entrance foyer, corridor, ample closet storage, exquisite arched windows with historic moldings.

THE DAKOTA, a Victorian Era German Renaissance Co-op apartment building located on the northwest corner of 72nd and Central Park West. Gabled and turreted, The Dakota is a square structure with an arched Porte Cochere leading to a central courtyard that served as a turnaround for horse-drawn carriages that once entered and allowed passengers to disembark sheltered from the weather.

Constructed between Oct 25, 1880 and Oct 27, 1884 The Dakota is considered to be one of, if not the most prestigious and exclusive building in New York.

The architectural firm of Henry Janeway Hardenbergh was comissioned to create the design for Edward Clark, Head of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The firm also designed The Plaza Hotel.

The buildings high Gables and deep roofs with a profusion of dormers, terracotta spanderels and panels, niches, balconies, and balustrades give it a North German Renaissance character. According to legend The Dakota was so named because at the time it was built (1880), the Upper West Side of Manhattan was sparsely inhabited and considered as remote as the Dakota territory.

High above the 72nd st entrance, a figure of a Dakota Indian keeps watch.

THE DAKOTA was designated a New York City Landmark in 1969. In 1976 the building was added to the national register of historic places and recognized as a historic landmark.
The general layout of the apartments is in the french style of the period, with all major rooms not only connected to each other in enfilade, in the traditional way,but also accessible from a hall or corridor, an arrangement that allows a natural migration for guests from one room to another, especially on festive occasions, yet gives service staff discreet seperate circulation patterns that offer service access to the main rooms. The principal rooms, such as parlors or master bedrooms face the street while the Dining room, Kitchen, and other auxiliary rooms are oriented toward the courtyard. Apartments thus are aired from two sides. For the high society of Manhattan it has always been the most fashionable, the most desired, most exclusive, most sought after residence, THE DAKOTA.

To live at THE DAKOTA, is to be in rare company.

DESCRIPTION

Retained by the original owner since the 1960's, this rare and iconic treasure represents a true once in a life-time opportunity. Uncommonly grand in scale, one cannot help but feel awestruck by the vast size and volume of the rooms.

Nine lavish rooms in total, five rooms sit directly on Central Park and span approximately 100 feet of prized frontage. Breathtaking views of the park look on to the tree top canopy, with city architecture beyond, and open sky. Even exceptional for the Dakota, the ceilings soar 13 feet, and the majestic residence retains much of its exquisite 19th original detail.

One enters the residence through a private mahogany vestibule with towering doors into an elegant and exceptionally large 18 foot entry Foyer, with its own highly coveted original fireplace, unique to the Dakota only. To the right is a seemingly endless 70 foot gallery connecting the major public rooms including the Library, Great Room, and Formal Dining Room. The warm, inviting Library includes original pocket doors, fireplace, and overlooks Central Park from a floor to ceiling window with a Juliet balcony, offering a small treasure from which to enjoy the exceptional park views. The 29 foot wide Great Room offers a sprawling entertaining space with two enormous park facing windows, mantled fireplace, mahogany doors connecting the Library, and another set of mahogany double doors leading to the Gallery.

The stately Formal Dining Room boasts 11' pocket doors, wainscoting, fireplace, corner china closet, and elegant swing door leading to the original butler's pantry. The grand 22' park facing Master Suite features its own set-back bay window looking onto the park, and large walk-in closets. Two additional bedrooms face the park, one of which has the scale and caliber of a master bedroom, with fireplace, and en-suite bath.

The west wing of this residence includes a third full bathroom, an additional water-closet, over-sized walk-in closets and pantry, a windowed home office, and laundry room. The windowed eat-in kitchen overlooks the elegant Dakota court-yard and architecture. Additional original detail includes plaster moldings, shutter-framed windows throughout, hardware, lustrous hard wood flooring, and much more.

Built in 1884 by Henry J. Hardenbergh, The Dakota represents an iconic architectural accomplishment, with unparalleled services and privacy.

DESCRIPTION

Rarely available three bedroom home at the legendary Dakota.

Entering from a semi private vestibule and through original 12 foot mahogany French doors the elegant gallery retains the pristine original stone floor.

With soaring ceilings this home offers a double living room/dining room with wood burning fireplace and North and side Park views from oversized windows.

The grandly proportioned master bedroom has a wood burning fireplace and iconic Dakota courtyard views. There are two additional bedrooms and two spacious newly renovated bathrooms.

The apartments original 1890s architectural details have been preserved throughout including gorgeous hardwood floors soaring ceilings mahogany framed oversized windows and doors 2 wood burning fireplaces and original plaster moldings.

Designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh and completed in 1884 the Dakota is one of the worlds most beautiful and well known residential buildings. From the ornate finials and gothic gables to the unique gated entry and unusual center courtyard no other building in Manhattan can compare.

The Dakota also offers residents the highest level of privacy service and luxury. Perfectly located on 72nd Street and Central Park it is convenient to every wonderful attraction New York has to offer.

DESCRIPTION

Extraordinary opportunity to own a south-facing two bedroom, two bath home on the second floor overlooking 72nd Street at the historic Dakota on Central Park West; one of New York City's finest residential addresses.
In addition, this offering presents a very large basement studio with high ceilings and full marble bathroom that could be used as an art or work studio, home office, storage or more.
This splendid home is ideally positioned in one of the Avenues premier white glove buildings across the street from Central Park and all the best the area has to offer.
Every residence in this historic building is special and unlike anything else in the city.
Apartment 28AB boasts remarkable scale and detail that is truly unique to the Dakota.
Grand proportions are showcased by over 14-foot ceilings and huge arched windows in every room while keeping the home bright and airy throughout.
An expansive formal room creates enough room for both living and entertaining.
Elaborate details include blended patterned hardwood floors, two hand-carved wood-burning fireplace mantels with marble hearths, extra tall solid wood doors with original fixtures and etched glass, stunning moldings, original sunburst copper grills, marble window sills, built-in window shutters and contoured window frames.
Abundant storage has been created by the combination and each bedroom features a full en-suite bathroom; both bathrooms in excellent condition.
This remarkable apartment offers an extraordinary opportunity to create a home of your dreams in a superb Upper West Side location in a landmark building.
The Dakota, is a premier prewar cooperative building located within the Central Park West Historic Area.
Truly a unique New York architectural gem and perhaps the most well-known apartment building in Manhattan, its air of elegance and luxury has not changed since its opening in 1884.

DESCRIPTION

DAKOTA PARKFRONT MASTERPIECE

Located on a high floor of the legendary Dakota on Central Park West at 72nd Street, this magnificent apartment is one of the largest in the building, with over 100 feet--more than half a block--fronting Central Park and eight windows directly overlooking the park. Rich in history and architectural grandeur, the residence has been meticulously renovated and carefully restored, preserving the original 19th-century details, including 12-foot ceilings, soaring doorways, plaster moldings, exquisite hand-carved woodwork, pocket doors, shutters framing all twelve windows, and seven wood-burning fireplaces. Pristine hardwood floors painstakingly replicate the original designs throughout the home. A central air conditioning system serves the entire apartment with minimal disruption of the original architecture. The graceful layout incorporates impressive grand-scale public rooms and elegant private spaces emanating from a 70-foot gallery.

One enters the home through a private mahogany-paneled vestibule, opening onto a gracious foyer with a welcoming fireplace. A set of original pocket doors leads to a 24-foot park-facing library with an original fireplace. Adjacent is a 29-foot living room with an original fireplace, two vast floor-to-ceiling windows capturing extraordinary park views, and two balconies decorated with exquisite ironwork. Across the gallery, a 24-foot formal dining room, with a fireplace, original pocket doors and corner built-in bar, presents enchanting views of the Dakota's courtyard and exceptional architectural details. An architecturally innovative chef's kitchen is a pleasing convergence of design and function. The bright, 24-foot space incorporates two large islands, two sinks, two Miele dishwashers, ample storage in custom solid-mahogany cabinetry, granite countertops, and top-of-the-line appliances. The kitchen floor is comprised of alternating honed and flamed black granite. Beyond the kitchen is a 20-foot family room with built-in bookcases and a window seat overlooking the courtyard. A separate laundry and storage room is hidden off the kitchen.

In the southern wing of the home, the 21-foot master bedroom enjoys spectacular park views through three floor-to-ceiling windows. A dramatic private terrace, unusual on prewar buildings, offers unparalleled panoramic views of the park and eastside and midtown skylines.

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The Dakota, the legendary New York apartment building, has long been famous for its celebrity residents, including Leonard Bernstein, Lauren Bacall and John Lennon.

A suit by Alphonse Fletcher Jr., a Wall Street investor, accuses the Dakota and several of its board members of racial discrimination and defamation. But it is also well known for having among the most restrictive co-op boards in Manhattan, having turned down would-be buyers including Billy Joel, Cher and the acting couple Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas.

Now a lawsuit by a former board president is offering an inside look at how its enigmatic decisions are made, and to hear him tell it, the process is not at all in keeping with the Dakota’s rarefied reputation.

The former board president, Alphonse Fletcher Jr., a prominent black Wall Street investor, has sued the Dakota, accusing the building and several of its board members of racial discrimination and defamation.

Mr. Fletcher, 45, who has lived in the Dakota since 1992, filed the lawsuit after the board denied his application to buy an adjacent unit to accommodate his family.

The lawsuit’s explosive allegations include claims that board members made ethnic slurs against prospective residents, including describing one couple as part of the “Jewish mafia” and suggesting that a Hispanic applicant was interested in a first-floor apartment so that he could more easily buy drugs on the street. The applicant, who was rejected, was married to a “prominent financially well-qualified white woman,” according to the suit, and though neither is named, the timing and circumstances suggest that it was Mr. Banderas.

Dakota Co-op Board Is Accused of Bias

Keith Bedford for The New York Times

The Dakota apartment building, home to celebrities like Roberta Flack, has turned down the likes of Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas.

By PETER LATTMAN and CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY

Published: February 1, 2011

Read ARTICLE HERE

The Dakota, the legendary New York apartment building, has long been famous for its celebrity residents, including Leonard Bernstein, Lauren Bacall and John Lennon.

But it is also well known for having among the most restrictive co-op boards in Manhattan, having turned down would-be buyers including Billy Joel, Cher and the acting couple Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas.

Now a lawsuit by a former board president is offering an inside look at how its enigmatic decisions are made, and to hear him tell it, the process is not at all in keeping with the Dakota’s rarefied reputation.

The former board president, Alphonse Fletcher Jr., a prominent black Wall Street investor, has sued the Dakota, accusing the building and several of its board members of racial discrimination and defamation.

Mr. Fletcher, 45, who has lived in the Dakota since 1992, filed the lawsuit after the board denied his application to buy an adjacent unit to accommodate his family.

The lawsuit’s explosive allegations include claims that board members made ethnic slurs against prospective residents, including describing one couple as part of the “Jewish mafia” and suggesting that a Hispanic applicant was interested in a first-floor apartment so that he could more easily buy drugs on the street. The applicant, who was rejected, was married to a “prominent financially well-qualified white woman,” according to the suit, and though neither is named, the timing and circumstances suggest that it was Mr. Banderas.

The suit accuses the board of several other instances of treating minorities unfairly, including repeatedly denying another black owner — the singer Roberta Flack — permission to install a new bathtub and then joking about it. Mr. Fletcher also accuses the board of self-dealing: shortly after his request was denied last year, a member of the board who lives on the same floor put her own apartment up for sale, offering it as a package deal with the apartment Mr. Fletcher wanted to buy.

“Although such conduct by a co-op board on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at the beginning of the 21st century may seem surprising, this behavior was consistent with the defendants’ extensive pattern of hostility toward nonwhite residents of the building,” said the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Regardless of whether the accusations are proven in court, they are a potentially embarrassing crack in the facade of one of the world’s most celebrated buildings and fodder for those who feel they have been wronged by that peculiar New York institution, the almighty co-op board.

In a statement, the Dakota’s board said that it had not yet reviewed the lawsuit, but that “Mr. Fletcher’s application to purchase an additional apartment in the Dakota was rejected based on financial materials he provided.”

“Any accusations of racial discrimination are untrue and outrageous,” the statement continued. “Mr. Fletcher is a longtime resident of the Dakota and served several terms on its board, recently as its president. The Dakota board is confident in the soundness of its decision.”

What makes this lawsuit distinct from other jilted-buyer co-op fights is not only the fame of the building, perhaps best known for the assassination of Mr. Lennon in its entryway, but also the fact that the plaintiff is a former president of the board who served from 2007 to 2009.

Mr. Fletcher, who is known as Buddy, declined to comment beyond the accusations in his suit. He grew up in Waterford, Conn., and he and his two younger brothers all earned their undergraduate degrees from Harvard. Geoffrey Fletcher, the youngest, won an Academy Award last year for his screenplay for the movie “Precious.” Todd Fletcher is an accomplished composer.

In 1991, Alphonse Fletcher, then 25, sued Kidder, Peabody & Company, his employer, accusing the Wall Street bank of paying him only half of the $5 million in annual compensation that he said he was due. He claimed the bank considered the amount “simply too much money to pay a young black man.” An arbitration panel eventually awarded Mr. Fletcher $1.3 million.

Mr. Fletcher founded Fletcher Asset Management in 1991 and set up an office on the 48th floor of the General Motors Building with commanding views of Central Park. As a privately held firm, it is not required to disclose its assets, but according to an investor presentation, its flagship arbitrage fund has claimed an average return of 8 percent a year since 1997.

Mr. Fletcher currently lives in an eight-room, 2,600-square-foot apartment with three bedrooms, three and a half baths, two maids rooms and Central Park views, according to an old sales listing kept by Michele Kleier of the brokerage firm Gumley Haft Kleier.

When Mr. Fletcher tried to buy another apartment for his mother in 2002, the building approved the deal on condition that no one else ever stay in her apartment, even overnight, without board approval, a requirement that the suit said had never been imposed on the unit before.

Mr. Fletcher decided to sue because he said he had been blocked from buying a neighboring two-bedroom apartment he planned to use to accommodate his growing family; he is married and has a 2-year-old daughter. He signed a contract to buy the unit for $5.7 million, without a mortgage, from the estate of its former owner, Ruth Proskauer Smith.

Mr. Fletcher said that the board began questioning his finances, and that it unfairly concluded he was overleveraged with business loans even though he provided documentation that his net worth was $80 million. It also questioned whether he had made good on his philanthropic commitments and, according to the lawsuit, began spreading rumors that his finances were shaky. At the same time, the board approved two other buyers with arguably less desirable financial credentials, the suit claims.

In 2004, to mark the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in schools unconstitutional, Mr. Fletcher pledged $50 million to institutions and individuals working to improve race relations. He has donated $4.5 million to Harvard to endow the Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Professorship, a position held by Henry Louis Gates Jr. Apart from a few hundred thousand dollars a year Mr. Fletcher gives in charitable stipends, it is unknown how much more of the $50 million he has donated.

After Mr. Fletcher’s contract was rejected by the Dakota, Pamela Lovinger, who owns an apartment on the other side of Ms. Smith’s, stepped down from the board. Ms. Lovinger then put her apartment up for sale, offering it as a package deal with Ms. Smith’s former apartment for $19.5 million. A message left at Ms. Lovinger’s home was not returned Tuesday evening.

The suit, which is asking a judge to order the board to approve Mr. Fletcher’s purchase and to provide more than $15 million in damages, offers other examples of insensitive or discriminatory treatment, including the apparent reference to Mr. Banderas, who was rejected in 2005, and the remark, in 2007, about prospective buyers, who were ultimately approved, being part of the “Jewish mafia.” Public records show that the next apartment to close in that building was a $20.5 million home bought by Philip and Cheryl Milstein, of the Milstein real estate family.

The suit also said that the building’s only other black shareholder, “a prominent individual in the arts” — Ms. Flack — “endured the humiliation of applying multiple times for permission to fix or replace her bathtub,” and that Mr. Fletcher overheard two board members snickering about it. The lawsuit also said that while Ms. Flack, when taking her dog out, was forced to obey the rule that dogs had to ride in the service elevator, white residents were permitted to use the main elevator with their dogs.“There are several of us up in arms about how Buddy is being mistreated,” Ms. Flack said Tuesday. “I don’t know if there’s just discrimination, but inadequacy, on the part of the people who make the decisions.”