NYC Apartments Under a Million: Gramercy Park, Boerum Hill

For under a million dollars, one can find all sorts of housing configurations: park- and subway-adjacent studios, one-bedrooms hidden in carriage houses or former shoe factories, and even the occasional true two-bedroom. We’re combing the market for particularly spacious, nicely renovated, or otherwise worth-a-look apartments at various six-digit price points. 

This week, we’ve got range (a studio and a four-bedroom)

81 Irving Pl., Apt. 11A

An elegant little studio in Gramercy. The bones here are lovely — exposed beams, casement windows — but the design-y touches — statement lighting, linen wallpaper — caught our eye, too. It’s very much a Murphy bed situation, but the built-in really seems to work well in the room. The kitchen is sleek, with limestone countertops and backsplash, but couldn’t be teensier. The bathroom has been updated and is otherwise classic prewar. The maintenance fees are $1,735 — high, sure — and you get a 24-hour doorman, a live-in super, and a laundry room and storage along with walking distance to the neighborhood’s namesake park. Also, this place has been through a few price cuts over the past year, so maybe you can shave a little more of the top.

45 W. 10th St., Apt. 1F

A spacious second-floor apartment in Peter Warren co-op (don’t let the “1” on the door fool you). The details are simple and classic: hardwoods and nice moldings. The kitchen is open concept with an island and plenty of cabinetry, all of which flows nicely into the well-proportioned living area and its wall of west-facing oversize windows. The bedroom can fit a king and has double closets. If you buy this place, we beg you not to touch the mosaics in the bathroom. It’s $2,323 for maintenance, which gets you a 24-hour doorman, a live-in super, shared laundry, and a newly renovated roof deck. (Also, there’s parking in the building, apparently.) A great location with lots of shops and restaurants nearby. You’re just a four-minute walk from the West 4th Street station and its various transit lines, a seven-minute walk from Washington Square Park.

518 W. 134th St., Apt. 21

Yes, a four-bedroom in Manhattan for less than $500,000, which, as you might have already guessed, means this one’s an HDFC. But we know some of you are looking. The layout puts the bedrooms side by side in pairs, which we don’t love, but since the largest bedroom shares a door with the one next to it, you can turn one of them into an oversize walk-in closet (the floor plan shows just two relatively petite closets otherwise) or an office. The kitchen’s heavy on shelving and comes with stainless-steel appliances, although it’s a bring-your-own dishwasher situation. Between the hardwood floors and a heavy amount of raw wood throughout — french doors, window shutters, built-in shelving — the space can feel a little treehouse-y, which is maybe your thing. (We’re divided here.) Income cap is $174,960 for a family of three and monthlies are a lovely $875. Unclear what if any amenities are being offered here, but you’re a five-minute walk from the 1 train at West 137th Street, right down the road from City College, and a seven-minute walk to St. Nicholas Park.

256 Bergen St., Apt. 2F

Another second-floor one-bedroom co-op, this one a renovated corner unit in a Boerum Hill townhouse. Charm abounds: The living room has a black-and-navy wood-burning fireplace and leaded double exposures overlooking leafy streets. But hardwood floors throughout are new, as are the renovated kitchen’s countertops and cabinets. The bedroom houses the in-unit washer-dryer, and the all-white bathroom is quite elegant. The monthlies are pretty low — just $610 — and get you basement storage. It’s an 11-minute hike to Atlantic-Barclays and a nine-minute walk to Smith Street’s restaurant row.

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