7 West 96th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 7 West 96th Street by Carter Horsley

This very attractive, Art Deco-style, apartment building was erected in 1930 and converted to a cooperative in 1970.

The 18-story building has 80 apartments.

The building is just to the west of the very impressive First Church of Christ Scientist on Central Park West that was erected in 1903 and designed by Carr?re & Hastings in the style of Nicholas Hawksmoor's churches in London.

This is an attractive block that combines several mid-rise apartment buildings with numerous low-rise structures. The neighborhood is one of the more interesting ones in the city as many of the sidestreets to the south are among the loveliest in the city and several of the city's larger and better housing developments are nearby such as Park West Village to the north and the handsome towers of the West Side Urban Renewal Area along Columbus Avenue.

There is excellent cross-town bus service on this street and the Eighth Avenue subway station is at the Central Park West corner. This location is convenient to Central Park, several subway and bus lines, and excellent neighborhood amenities including Whole Foods and Trader Joe's outposts nearby.

This beige-brick building has a half-story granite base with a canopied entrance flanked by lanterns and sidewalk landscaping. Its masonry is excellent with banding at the sides and the top several floors have projecting piers and there are two slightly projecting bays that add a subtle texture to the façade.

The building has a full time doorman, though no garage, no health club and no balconies and permits protruding air-conditioners.