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Price Chops on the Upper East Side: Two of Manhattan’s Most Expensive Homes See Major Discounts

Penthouse on Fifth Avenue has $8 million price cut; nearby townhouse drops $10 million off asking price

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The Sherry-Netherland, built in 1927, is a full-service building.

Brown Harris Stevens
The Sherry-Netherland, built in 1927, is a full-service building.
Brown Harris Stevens

Two of Manhattan's priciest pads have lowered their asking prices recently.

On Friday, the Vanderbilt Mansion on East 69th Streetdropped its price by $10 million to $45 million. It was listed in April 2016 for $55 million, according to records. Owner Libet Johnson, of the Johnson & Johnson family, bought the mansion in 2011 for $48 million.

The five-story home is more than 12,000 square feet, with seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. Located between Fifth and Madison avenues, the mansion was built in 1881 and purchased in 1900 by Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt, the wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, according to the listing. The home boast a black-and-white marble entry, a wine cellar, a gym and five wood-burning fireplaces, plus two terraces and a landscaped garden.

Calls to the listing agent and representative for Ms. Johnson weren’t immediately returned.

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Earlier this week, a prime penthouse on the 18th floor of New York City’s Sherry-Netherland hotel building lopped $8 million from the asking price. The seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom co-op was returned to the market Wednesday at $78 million. It’s down from a 2015 asking price of $86 million, public records indicate. The current owner bought the penthouse in 2015 for $70 million, according to the records.

An interior view of the penthouse on the 18th floor of New York City’s Sherry-Netherland hotel building

Brown Harris Stevens

The posh pad, on Fifth Avenue at East 59th Street, offers more than 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor living space overlooking Central Park. The pre-war space has a private landing, which is accessible by all three of the building’s elevators, according to the listing. Beyond the entrance galley is a library with a wet bar and custom paneling, as well as a media room and guest bedroom, both with its own bathroom.

The living room offers views to the north, south and west, and access the almost 60-foot terrace.

"The views are breathtaking," said listing agent Kathy Sloane of Brown Harris Stevens. The penthouse has a solarium on its south corner, and "everyone wants to be in that room at night" to watch the lights of Fifth Avenue.

The solarium connects the penthouse’s south- and west-facing wings, the listing said. There’s also a nearly 85-foot south-facing terrace. The outdoor spaces are fully landscaped and have irrigation systems installed.

The eat-in kitchen is "enormous," Ms. Sloane said. "You’d have to go to Greenwich, Connecticut, to get a kitchen as big as this." It also has an adjacent study.

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Bedrooms are located in a separate wing. The master bedroom has combined four bedrooms into one, the listing said, and has his-and-hers marble bathrooms and a dressing room. The master suite also has a large private terrace with park views. There are three additional bedrooms, each with its own terrace.

The Sherry-Netherland, built in 1927, is a full-service building, complete with twice-a-day cleaning, 24-hour room service from Cipriani (owners get a 20% discount at the restaurant, Ms. Sloane noted) and a doorman and concierge. The building also has a fitness center, salon, valet parking and other amenities.

The building is a co-op, and financing is not available. However, Ms. Sloane said, the building does allow for closings in a corporate name, LLC or trust, and also welcomes foreign buyers.