Can you really have it all? What does amenity rich living mean to you, and how important is it in your decision-making process?
These questions came to mind as I recently began working with a remarkable client. After 45 years with the airlines, having traveled extensively, speaking several languages and having lived abroad in Italy, he is embarking on an exciting new chapter. I am selling his townhouse and he is downsizing, not out of necessity, but out of intention. He is looking for a co-op or condo that offers Hudson River views, a balcony, a pool, a gym, a dog park to spend more time with his beloved Golden Doodle, Beau; and tennis and pickleball courts. But what struck me more than his amenities list was something he said that stopped me in my tracks:
“I am looking for all those things but more importantly, I’m looking for a sense of community.”
That sentiment really struck me, as I never really had it expressed like that before in my entire career. Yes, building amenities offer an extraordinary opportunity to improve your physical health. However, by gaining community, you also improve your emotional and human health. As we began touring buildings together in search of his requirements, the criteria naturally expanded. What would truly make someone happy in this next chapter? A view? A balcony? A neighborhood that feels like a village within the city?
It turns out, its all of those things and so much more, and he is not alone in this thinking.
The New Definition of Luxury
The luxury real estate market is shifting. While world class architecture, panoramic views, and high touch service remain essential, the newest marker of true desirability is something far more human: genuine community and a true sense of human connection. Developers across New York are now recognizing that residents value spaces that foster connection just as much as they value sleek finishes and exclusive amenities.
Buildings are increasingly programming their amenity spaces, not just furnishing them. What used to be a gym and a rooftop is now wine tastings, group cooking classes, puppy parades, holiday dress up, resident happy hours, trivia nights, pool parties and pop-up dinners from local restaurants. The shared lounge, the co-working space, the communal kitchen, these are the places where neighbors actually become neighbors and friends. And exactly what my client is looking for. The traditional doorman, balcony & views, are no longer enough and no longer hold the same value. When people are starting that new chapter in their lives, they long to belong.
In other words, amenities open the door and draw you in. But it’s the shared rituals; the rooftop BBQ, the morning swim, the familiar face at the gym, the shared love of our dogs in the dog park where you can learn your neighbors name and not just the dog’s name, LOL, that turn a building into a community.
A Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Look
I have written before about how NYC neighborhoods have their own distinct flavor, pace and vibe. New York City is a collection of villages, and each neighborhood offers its own distinct take on what amenity-rich living looks like. Here is what I found as we toured of some of the most compelling buildings in and around the city:
Tribeca
Tribeca Tower 105 Duane St
One of Tribeca’s original luxury residences, managed by Related Rentals, Tribeca Tower has stood the test of time. Residents enjoy a pool, a well-equipped gym, full doorman service, and a famously warm, dog-friendly lobby (a first for me, some buildings do not allow the dogs to walk through the main lobby). Long-term residents describe it as an “Aladdin’s cave of amenities” a place where the hospitality team transcends expectations, and neighbors are genuinely amiable.
Tribeca Park 400 Chambers St
Situated along the edge of Battery Park City with stunning Hudson River views, Tribeca Park is a building where people stay for years sometimes a decade or more. Residents consistently cite the exceptional door staff and the seamless proximity to Whole Foods, the World Trade Center, and some of lower Manhattan’s finest restaurants. The view of the Hudson from the apartments, as one long-tenured resident put it, “takes my breath away every day.”
Upper West Side
Waterline Square 400 W 61st St
Waterline Square was one of my favorites, with sprawling landscaped gardens and easy access to the promenade on the Hudson River. If one building on this list embodies the idea that amenities and community can coexist at the highest level, it’s Waterline Square. Residents describe the amenity club as “massive” and seemingly endless; a pool, a playroom, lounges, co-working spaces, and even an indoor gardening studio where residents can harvest fresh vegetables for dinner. One family visiting for a tour noted that the playroom alone was the size of a full daycare facility. This is not a building with amenities. This is a building that is an amenity.
The Aldyn 60 Riverside Blvd
At the heart of Lincoln Square, The Aldyn is celebrated for one of the finest building gyms on the Upper West Side; a space serious enough that long-term residents say they have no need for an external membership. The Riverside Boulevard location offers easy access to both Riverside Park and Columbus Circle, making it an ideal base for the active, engaged resident.
Upper East Side
The Easton 205 E 92nd St
A full-service luxury building that has earned its sterling reputation through consistency. Residents at The Easton describe impeccable upkeep, a maintenance team that responds promptly at any hour, and a building manager who makes every family feel genuinely welcome. The building hosts community events, including an annual holiday party that brings residents together in a way that feels less like a building and more like a neighborhood. Multiple long term residents say, simply: “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
Midtown / NoMad
One Sixty Madison 160 Madison Ave
Centrally located near Herald Square and Madison Square Park, One Sixty Madison offers floor-to-ceiling windows, upscale finishes, and a calendar of monthly resident events that keep the community engaged and social. For those whose work or lifestyle keeps them in Midtown, it delivers a sense of curated living right at the center of everything.
Morningside Heights 30 Morningside Drive
A hidden gem in one of Manhattan’s most intellectually rich neighborhoods, 30 Morningside Drive offers a rooftop, excellent common areas, and perhaps most tellingly, a building staff so beloved that residents write about them by name, year after year. Regular rooftop BBQ parties and community events give this building a warmth and intimacy that many larger luxury towers strive for and rarely achieve. It is proof that amenity-rich living doesn’t require a 60-story tower. The smaller the better to get to know one another.
Riverdale, The Bronx
Here is where the story takes a truly unexpected turn and where many savvy buyers are looking right now. My client fell in love with Skyview on the Hudson. I was so impressed with this complex, the first thing I said was, “You feel like you are on vacation” Then we entered the café at the pool and displayed in the case was an ad from the NYTimes in 1962. The ad’s title: “ SKYVIEW Makes At- Home Vacationing Part of the Value”. I also mentioned that if he purchased at Skyview there would be a lounge chair by the pool with my name on it!
Riverdale is one of New York City’s best-kept secrets. Perched at one of the highest elevations in the five boroughs, this lush, tree-lined neighborhood along the Hudson River offers something that most Manhattan buildings can only approximate: genuine resort-style living, with sweeping river views and private balconies, at a fraction of the cost and just 20 to 30 minutes from Midtown. My client fell in love with a gorgeous 2 bd with sweeping Hudson River/Palisades views and spacious balcony as well.
Skyview on Hudson 5700–5900 Arlington Ave (co-op)
The crown jewel of Riverdale. Set on a sprawling 23-acre campus, Skyview offers an Olympic-sized pool and kiddie pool, night-lit tennis and pickleball courts, basketball courts, BBQ areas, a children’s playground, and a two-level dog park all included in monthly maintenance. Many units feature stunning Hudson River and Palisades views from private balconies. It is, as one long-term resident put it, “like living in a resort.” The building even has a famous alumnus: astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson grew up here and trained his first telescope on the universe from its rooftop. If the stars feel closer in Riverdale, perhaps that’s why.
So, Can You Really Have It All?
After touring buildings across the city and Riverdale, I believe the answer is yes. But “having it all” means more than luxury amenities as I discovered.
The pool matters. The gym matters. The dog park and the pickleball court matter. But what my client wanted, with the wisdom of someone who has lived fully and traveled the world and what I began to understand is that, the most important amenity in any building is the people, the human connection. It’s the community you find, or more importantly, it’s the community that finds you. Whether through your dog, lounging the pool, pickleball or just walking the well-manicured grounds with a walking buddy.
The buildings that get this right are the ones where residents don’t just live alongside each other, but they actually know each other and achieve a richer life through this community. It’s where the doorman knows your name and your furry best friend’s name. Where a rooftop BBQ turns into a “you bring the blender, I’ll bring the ice and margheritas” and a two-hour conversation with a neighbor you are delighted to get to know.
What I learned is that is what amenity-rich living, at its best, really means. It’s always about community and human connection and of course, a little luxury.
Are you considering a move to an amenity-rich building in New York City? I’d love to help you find not just the right address, but the right community. Contact me to begin the conversation.
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