More woe for cursed 102-floor Manhattan luxury tower
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Manhattan’s once-celebrated luxury skyscraper has hit another bump in its turbulent journey.

The 102-story tower at 432 Park Avenue, which houses 125 upscale apartments, recently garnered attention due to visible cracks and gaps in its pristine white concrete exterior.

Adding to its woes, the building—known for being the former residence of Jennifer Lopez and her ex-boyfriend Alex Rodriguez—finds itself back in the spotlight for a different troubling issue.

A significant number of units currently listed for sale in this high-end residence have experienced repeated removals from the market and significant price cuts over the years.

While fluctuating prices and extended listing periods are not uncommon in the luxury real estate market, the neglected units at 432 Park underscore the dramatic decline in its allure in recent times.

The latest unit to hit the market is the 81st-floor condo owned by Turkish dress designer Naciye Kocak, listed for $17.25 million, according to Crain’s. 

StreetEasy records show that Kocak has been attempting to sell the high-end residence since 2017.

The property’s current price is a stark discount of 18 percent from the $21.15 million Kocak dropped on the home in 2016. 

Pictured: the 102-floor building at 432 Park Avenue, which is filled with 125 apartments

Pictured: the 102-floor building at 432 Park Avenue, which is filled with 125 apartments

Building safety experts say there is good reason to be unsettled by 432 Park Avenue, a super-tall but ultra-skinny condo constructed for the one percent

Building safety experts say there is good reason to be unsettled by 432 Park Avenue, a super-tall but ultra-skinny condo constructed for the one percent

Jennifer Lopez and ex-boyfriend Alex Rodriguez (pictured together) paid $15.3 million for their apartment in 432 Park in 2018, giving the skyscraper instant Hollywood cachet

Jennifer Lopez and ex-boyfriend Alex Rodriguez (pictured together) paid $15.3 million for their apartment in 432 Park in 2018, giving the skyscraper instant Hollywood cachet

Kocak was sued in 2022 in Manhattan Supreme Court by JPMorgan Chase, which claimed she defaulted on her $11.4 million mortgage, The New York Post reported.

Her lawyer, Steven Biolsi, argued the bank’s case had many issues, but the court still issued a $12.2 million judgment against her, and her home is scheduled for a foreclosure auction in December — likely prompting the latest price cut on the property.

Kocak is appealing the ruling, and Biolsi said they hope to reach a settlement.

Most of the 10 units currently for sale at 432 Park are listed at or below their original purchase prices, according to StreetEasy and city property records. 

A unit on the 94th floor that sold for $31.5 million in 2019 is now listed for $29.75 million. 

The first-ever sold unit at 432 Park — a 35th-floor condo — got a 19 percent price cut this month after being on the market since 2022, dropping from $18.11 million to $15 million.

Another recent reduction involves a 52nd-floor unit bought for $9.84 million in 2016. After multiple cuts and de-listings since 2020, it was relisted in early November for $9.99 million. 

On the 86th floor, a unit purchased for $32.71 million in 2017 is now asking $32 million.

A 'catastrophic flood' allegedly caused major damage to units on the 83rd, 84th, 85th, and 86th floors in 2016

A ‘catastrophic flood’ allegedly caused major damage to units on the 83rd, 84th, 85th, and 86th floors in 2016

Residents reportedly complained of a number of issues after moving in, including rumors that high-altitude apartments would sway and creak over the city below

Residents reportedly complained of a number of issues after moving in, including rumors that high-altitude apartments would sway and creak over the city below

The suit says the developers ignored repair ideas 'due to potential schedule, cost and aesthetic impacts' they feared would discourage wealthy buyers

The suit says the developers ignored repair ideas ‘due to potential schedule, cost and aesthetic impacts’ they feared would discourage wealthy buyers

Two combined units, 71A and 71B, bought together in 2018 for $60 million, have been listed since 2022 and both saw November cuts to $32 million each.

The building’s developers, including Macklowe Properties, WSP, and CIM Group, have been slammed with criticism since the tower’s debut in 2015.

At the time, the 1,400-feet-tall tower was the tallest residential skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. 

Building safety experts say there is good reason to be unsettled by 432 Park Avenue, which is super-tall but ultra-skinny on Manhattan’s ‘Billionaires’ Row.’ 

The skyscraper — which only opened in 2015 — is plagued by dangerous imperfections, after developers insisted on an aesthetically pleasing white concrete facade which experts claim has serious flaws.  

Engineering experts said the cracks and gouges on the facade of 432 Park suggest it is being ‘overtaxed by wind and rain.’  

Those same engineers said that unless developers spend a nine-figure sum to fix the tower then residents may need to evacuate — and the towering structure could even pose a danger to pedestrians on the street below. 

Anthony Ingraffea, a concrete fractures expert who is also an engineering professor emeritus at Cornell University, said that left as is, 432 Park Avenue could eventually rain ‘concrete hand grenades’ onto the sidewalks. 

An ugly-looking repair marks the pristine concrete exterior of 432 Park Avenue in a photograph shot by New York City's Department of Buildings in early 2023

An ugly-looking repair marks the pristine concrete exterior of 432 Park Avenue in a photograph shot by New York City’s Department of Buildings in early 2023  

The grubby, cracked exterior of 432 Park Avenue is seen in a Daily Mail photograph

The grubby, cracked exterior of 432 Park Avenue is seen in a Daily Mail photograph 

Cracks are seen on the concrete facade of the 40th floor of 432 Park Avenue in January 2023

Cracks are seen on the concrete facade of the 40th floor of 432 Park Avenue in January 2023

‘I would not sign off as a licensed engineer in the State of New York that this building will last forever,’ Ingraffea told The Times. 

‘I would sign a document that says the Empire State Building will last. This building, I doubt it.’

Jennifer Lopez and ex-boyfriend Alex Rodriguez paid $15.3 million for their apartment in 2018, giving the high-rise instant Hollywood cachet. 

They sold it a year later for $17.5 million after deeming it too small to raise their blended family, although a photo of A-Rod using the toilet snapped from a neighboring building also sparked privacy concerns. 

The A-list stars will now likely be counting their blessings, after a New York Times report said the building faces a $160 million repair bill just to fix its facade, with one expert even predicting that the skyscraper could be abandoned.  

Meanwhile, for those living inside the behemoth, there are already issues aplenty.  

Residents have found themselves plagued by faulty elevators, poor plumbing and shaky floors. 

Ching Wong, a Hong Kong real estate investor spent $15 million on a three-bed condo in the tower in 2019 — but now finds himself faced with a horrific slew of snags.

Resident Jacqueline Finkelstein-LeBow was left distraught after a $135,000 rug inside her condo suffered water damage. It is still unclear whether a building defect or faulty underfloor heating installed by Finkelstein-LeBow caused the damage, according to the Times

Resident Jacqueline Finkelstein-LeBow was left distraught after a $135,000 rug inside her condo suffered water damage. It is still unclear whether a building defect or faulty underfloor heating installed by Finkelstein-LeBow caused the damage, according to the Times

Wong says his bathroom door will not close properly, the air conditioning is broken in one of the apartment’s bedrooms, and the building’s 75-foot-long pool for residents is often closed.  

He is even more upset by the tripling of the building’s monthly fees in the six years since he has moved in than structural issues. 

Meanwhile, Wong’s neighbor, Jacqueline Finkelstein-LeBow, was left distraught after a $135,000 rug inside her condo suffered water damage.

Finkelstein-LeBow, who is also on the developer board, told the Daily Mail, however, that The Times article was ‘crazy’ and had blown the building’s defects out of proportion. 

‘Fixes need to be made for sure, but the building is safe,’ she said, adding that she could not elaborate while litigation was ongoing. ‘I live on the 64th floor. If it wasn’t safe, I wouldn’t be living here.’ 

Building residents are also said to be annoyed by a demand for them to stump up the $5.3 million cost of renovating the tower’s private restaurants. 

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