The Park Laurel

Generous square footage, including 20-foot-wide living rooms and 16-foot-long bedrooms

Even though the building dates back to 1999 (a time when people did more cooking than ordering Uber Eats), it feels starkly contemporary. The floor plans allocate more square footage to the living and bedrooms, opting for smaller kitchens and ample closet space. “This is quintessential New York living,” says Lindenbaum. “People don’t live in formal dining rooms. They don’t cook as much anymore. It’s almost like the floorplans here were made for now.” Conversely, new-build condominiums on the Upper West Side are outfitted with similar skinny, galley-style kitchens, but are accompanied by comparatively much smaller bathrooms. (At The Westly, a typical large primary bedroom is 16 feet. At Park Laurel, a typical primary bedroom is 19 by 20 feet.) “These kinds of living spaces don’t exist in new buildings.”

Park Laurel comprises just 51 units — two-, three- and four-bedrooms — across the top 26 stories of the 40-floor building. With no more than four residences on lower levels and fewer units the higher the floor, the uppermost levels are occupied by pairs of penthouse duplexes. A 1,490-square-foot one-bedroom on the 12th floor with a 12.4’ by 20’ living room sold for $2.3 million in January 2024. Similarly, a 2,075-square-foot three-bedroom on the 17th floor with direct Central Park views sold for $4.2 million in May 2024. Meanwhile, a 2,909-square-foot four-bedroom on the 24th floor with a 29-foot salon-like entry gallery sold for $8.9 million in March 2022. The grandest of listings, a 7,758-square-foot penthouse duplex on the 29th and 30th floors with a 1,244-square-foot terrace and a grand spiral staircase connecting both floors sold for $31 million in February 2008.

A full-service building with modestly elegant amenities, including a full-size gym

“There is a doorman who actually opens the door when you walk in,” says Lindenbaum. (Unlike most new condominium buildings, where the door attendant is placed behind the desk in the lobby with no staff serving the entrance.) Additionally, “there are two concierges behind the desk in the lobby, who assist with things like package delivery, dry cleaning and the occasional dinner reservation.” Just off the lobby, residents have access to the bike room. Plus, there’s a private Pilates studio. According to Lindenbaum, residents can find a “full-sized, state-of-the-art gym” on the same subterranean floor with the latest cardio machines and weight training equipment.

Residential streets with dog walkers, cool dads and uniformed schoolchildren

Central Park West is known for its stately co-ops and condos that line the streets dotted with mature American Elm trees (some over a century old). Unlike most UWS enclaves, this one is quiet because it is almost entirely residential. One can see uniformed schoolchildren, cool dads with Comme Des Garcons Converse and dog walkers strolling down the sidewalk. These folks can be found moving between the numbered legendary neighborhood spots, like Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Zabar’s and The Dakota. Of course, tourists and New Yorkers from other neighborhoods continue to visit the American Museum of Natural History, The Shops at Columbus Circle and John Lennon’s memorial at Strawberry Fields. Meanwhile, there are Upper West Side dining institutions that need no introduction, including the likes of Jean-Georges, Kappo Masa and Tavern On The Green. For groceries, residents can pop by the neighborhood markets, including Whole Foods, Fairway and Target.

Five subway lines at 59th Street-Columbus Circle station

Columbus Circle, the major transportation hub, is just a quarter-mile walk from Park Laurel. 59th Street-Columbus Circle station services the A, B, C, D and 1 trains. Additionally, a Citi Bike docking station is located nearby on 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue.