Pre-war and mostly apartments
Washington Heights is two areas in city data, MN1201 and MN1202. Read PLUTO, the tax-lot file the city publishes, and three figures stand out: co-ops are 19.3% of MN1202 units, and pre-1940 buildings hold 86.6% (MN1201) and 78.7% (MN1202) of units, each NTA's figure. The rest of the breakdown:
- Washington Heights (South), MN1201: 28,437 homes across 996 residential lots. Elevator rentals 44.9%, walk-ups 38.7%, co-ops 10.7%, condos 2.4%.
- Washington Heights (North), MN1202: 30,059 homes across 713 lots. Elevator rentals 40.8%, walk-ups 36.2%, condos 3.1%, besides the co-op share above.
Buildings with one, two or three families come to about 1.1% of units in Washington Heights (South) and 0.3% in Washington Heights (North), so the house side of the market is thin here.
Federal survey data tell a similar story at ZCTA scale. Owner-occupancy, which counts co-op shareholders living in their apartments, sits near 16% in 10033 and 10040 and near 9% in 10032, per the Census Bureau's five-year estimates for 2020–2024 (see also 10040 and 10032). About 72% of housing units in 10033 date from 1939 or before, per the companion age-of-structure table.
Buying co-op shares: the records behind the board package
A co-op purchase is a purchase of shares in a corporation, so the building's paperwork does much of the talking. Start with the state: the Attorney General maintains a database of offering plans and amendments that names each sponsor and gives filing dates and file numbers. Documents can be downloaded only where a "documents" tab shows, so older conversion plans may have to come from the managing agent. Then the city: the Department of Buildings' property profile search lists open violations, complaints and permits by address, and ACRIS shows recorded documents for Manhattan from 1966 on. None of it is something an inspector signs off on; it is reading for you and your attorney.
A few habits help with the city's violation lists. Separate open items from dismissed or resolved ones, look at the dates, and notice which relate to the whole building, such as the boiler, the facade or the gas, rather than a single apartment. A cluster of open building-wide items is a question for the board before contract, not after closing.
Boilers and gas in a pre-war building
Buildings of this age typically draw heat from a single central boiler. The Department's boiler compliance page draws its line at six families, exempting low-pressure boilers in residential buildings of five families or fewer. With walk-ups at 38.7 percent of units in Washington Heights (South) and 36.2 percent in Washington Heights (North), the family count of the specific building decides which side it falls on. Ask to see the recent inspection filings and any defects noted.
Gas piping has a separate schedule. Local Law 152 requires a Licensed Master Plumber to inspect gas piping in all buildings other than one- and two-family homes and R-3 buildings at least every four years. For Manhattan Community District 12, which the city's tables pair with both areas, the round after 2023 opens January 1, 2027 and closes December 31, 2027; a buyer closing that year should ask whether the plumber has been booked.
Three historic districts in the southern area
Three historic districts lie in Washington Heights (South): the Jumel Terrace Historic District (August 18, 1970), bounded along West 160th Street, Jumel Terrace and Sylvan Terrace; the Audubon Terrace Historic District (January 9, 1979), whose report references West 155th Street; and the Audubon Park Historic District (May 12, 2009), whose boundary begins at West 156th Street and Broadway. There, most exterior alterations need a Landmarks permit; routine repairs do not.
The walkthrough: unit in, building out
- Electrical: the panel or fuse box, circuits, outlets and grounding.
- Plumbing: supply and drain at every sink, tub, shower and toilet, and the shut-off valves.
- Windows: operation, glazing and the condition of sills.
- Heating and cooling: radiators and valves, and any wall or window units serving the apartment.
- Ventilation: bathroom and kitchen exhaust.
- Water: stains or damaged plaster that point to leaks from above or through exterior walls.
Not on the list: the roof, facade, boiler room, shared risers, the board and the corporation's finances. Pre-war buildings typically carry original plaster, cast-iron drain lines and steam radiators, which are features of the era worth knowing about rather than local findings.
Stations and flood labels
Eleven subway stations fall inside the two areas, per the state's open-data copy of MTA stations. In the southern area: 157 St and 168 St-Washington Hts on the 1, 163 St-Amsterdam Av on the C, 168 St on the A and C, and 175 St on the A. In the northern area: 181 St, 191 St and the elevated Dyckman St on the 1, and 181 St, 190 St and Dyckman St on the A. Accessibility flags go to 168 St (A, C), 175 St, 181 St on the A and Dyckman St on the 1; the others carry none, and the MTA revises these flags over time. FEMA's effective flood data show Zone AE and Zone X touching both areas. The preliminary data add Zone VE for both, and FEMA's preliminary map includes a Zone AO label touching the Washington Heights (North) area. None of those labels is a verdict on a building along Fort Washington Avenue or Broadway; an address search on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center is.
Masum Rumi runs Rumi Home Inspections from East New York, Brooklyn. He can walk a Washington Heights apartment with you in English or Bangla and send the report the day of the visit. Send the address, and see the general inspection page for what the report contains.