Without meeting a neighbor, without stepping on the sidewalk: how celebs buy privacy in New York today

A black SUV with tinted windows turns off a cobblestone street in Tribeca and disappears behind an iron gate. Seconds later, the gate closes, the passenger gets out in an underground parking lot and takes an elevator that brings them right to the apartment door. They did not step on the sidewalk, did not pass a doorman in the lobby, and did not meet a curious neighbor. In New York, a city whose mythology was built on chance encounters on the street, this is a sought-after luxury product: the possibility of living in the heart of the city without the city seeing you.

For decades, celebrities accepted New York as a single package. The apartment or brownstone was large and the doorman knew how to keep a secret, but even movie stars stood in line at the pharmacy and walked the dog. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick were part of the Greenwich Village landscape, Yoko Ono was seen near the 'Dakota' on Central Park West. The city gave them culture, entertainment, and a desirable address, and in return, it charged privacy. Now, the deal is changing. A new generation of celebs wants the restaurants and clubs of New York with the access conditions of a Beverly Hills estate. In the industry, they call it 'LA life in New York'.

To understand the turnaround, one must return to an almost unique New York institution: the cooperative. The buyer does not receive direct ownership of the apartment, but purchases shares in a corporation that owns the building and a lease for the unit. A bit like a kibbutz. Therefore, the neighbors, through the committee, check who is asking to join. In the luxury buildings of Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, and Central Park West, the process may include tax reports, bank and investment statements, debt details, recommendations, and sometimes proof that the buyer will have millions left after closing. At the end comes the interview, a polite meeting where even a 'too correct' answer might sound wrong. In fact, the committee is allowed to reject a candidate without explanation, as long as it does not violate anti-discrimination laws. A city law that went into effect last July limited most committees to making a decision within 45 days of the application being completed, but did not take away their power to refuse and did not require them to provide explanations.

Private investigation

This process, intended to maintain the building's stability, is now perceived as a private investigation conducted by people the buyer will meet in the elevator. For an actor, musician, or influencer whose income consists of contracts, royalties, and production companies, the check also does not always know how to read celebrity money correctly. Barbra Streisand learned this the hard way. In the 60s, she was rejected, according to reports, by two prestigious co-op buildings on the Upper East Side, and finally purchased a triplex penthouse at the 'Ardsley' on Central Park West. But even after being accepted into the building, she was not free to sell the apartment to whomever she wanted. In 1999, when Mariah Carey offered to purchase the penthouse from her for $8 million in cash, the building committee rejected Carey after the interview. The official reason was not published, but according to reports from that time, Carey's appearance in a short skirt and the entourage she brought with her did not please the committee members. Streisand remained with the apartment for about three more years, and finally sold it in 2002 for only $4.25 million — a little more than half the amount Carey offered.

Even after purchasing the apartment, the co-op committee continues to dictate to its owners how they are allowed to use it. The committee of 'Harperley Hall', where Madonna purchased an apartment for $7.3 million, determined that her children or employees were not allowed to reside in it when she was away. For a singer who spends months on concert tours, this was a significant limitation. She waged a legal battle against the committee that lasted almost three years and lost. With Jerry Seinfeld, the committee determined how long it was allowed to renovate it. After his apartment renovation in the Beresford building lasted more than two years, the building and other co-ops in Manhattan adopted rules imposing daily fines on renovations that exceed the schedule. In the industry, they were dubbed 'Seinfeld laws'.

Creative solution

Co-op buildings and the difficulties they present have caused celebrities to look for another solution — the condo, which offers a different type of contract. The buyer owns the property itself, and the committee has only a right of first refusal, meaning to match the offer and purchase at the price the buyer offers. When it comes to luxury properties and deals of $10 or $20 million — this is a particularly rare step. The committee may request documents and supervise renovations, but its power is smaller. Usually, it is simpler to purchase the apartment through an LLC or trust, and rent it out when necessary. Thus, according to the New York City Comptroller, 21% of condo apartments in Manhattan are registered under company names. This structure does not hide owners from the authorities, and sometimes not even from the building management, but makes it difficult for the public to immediately link a known name to an address.

But true privacy is not measured only by the name in the registry. It is planned in concrete and the travel route. A covered courtyard for cars, an internal parking lot, a coded elevator, and a service entrance allow the tenant to move from the back seat to the kitchen without being exposed to paparazzi cameras on the street. A pool and spa sound great in the sales brochure, even though many stars almost never use them. From their perspective, the most important facility is the gate. A townhouse offers independence, but turning it into a fortress costs a fortune and requires staff. In a condo, security is shared among dozens of apartment owners.

In Brooklyn, the 12-story The Standish building was built in 1903 as a hotel in a classic Parisian Beaux-Arts style, and was converted in 2016 into only 32 condo apartments. The building, located on Columbia Heights, offers a 24/7 doorman, a gym, and a roof with a view of the harbor and Manhattan, but maintains the character of old New York from the outside. Matt Damon paid $16.7 million in 2018 for the penthouse, a sum that was then a Brooklyn record. The couple Emily Blunt and John Krasinski purchased two adjacent apartments for about $11 million, and last summer Adam Driver joined: $11.5 million for three units on the sixth floor, which together span about 325 sq. m. 'The Standish' does not have an underground parking lot that allows tenants to enter and exit without being seen. It offers privacy, but not complete disconnection from the neighborhood: the building stands on a quiet street facing the promenade, among the historic brownstones of Brooklyn Heights.

Exposure still exists

When Matt Damon moved into the penthouse, part of the street was closed so that a crane could lift furniture and trees to it, and the event was immediately documented in local blogs. Despite this, the fact that several Hollywood families already live in the building attracts other celebrities to it. From their perspective, the success of other stars in maintaining a private daily life there indicates that the building suits their needs, even without a gate and parking lot that separate them completely from the street.

In the 'celeb dorms' at 443 Greenwich in Tribeca, on the other hand, the compromise almost disappears. The bookbinding factory from the end of the 19th century occupies an entire city block, with stone arches, wooden beams, and high ceilings, which give the apartments the look of a classic New York loft. Behind the preserved facade hides an underground parking lot that is entered through iron gates, four groups of elevators with coded access, a pool about 22 meters long, a Turkish hammam, a sauna, a wine cellar, and a green internal courtyard. Jennifer Lawrence, Harry Styles, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meg Ryan, Mike Myers, and Lewis Hamilton held apartments in it or lived in it, which earned it the nickname 'celeb dorms'. The building reminds us that an impressive gate does not eliminate real estate risk. The condo committee is currently managing a $376 million lawsuit against the developer and architects, claiming construction defects, water penetration, and facade problems. But the famous buyers keep coming, perhaps because for someone hunted by photographers, the location of the parking lot may weigh more than a crack discussed in court. At a price of about $10 to $25 million, one gets an experience here that only a much more expensive townhouse would provide.

Around 443 Greenwich, a corridor of fortified condos has been created, including 70 Vestry and 150 Charles Street. The proximity to the highway along the Hudson — a significant disadvantage in the eyes of a regular New Yorker — is actually an asset for those who travel by private car to a restaurant, studio, or the Teterboro airport, which is busy with private planes. This way, one can live near the West Village, Tribeca, and private clubs, without turning every exit from the house into a production.

At 160 Leroy, on the edge of the West Village, the car has become part of the entry ritual. The wavy building designed by Herzog & de Meuron for luxury hotelier Ian Schrager includes a covered courtyard and parking, so the gate closes before the car door opens. Hailey and Justin Bieber paid $12 million this summer for a four-bedroom apartment of about 260 sq. m. The building also has a pool about 21 meters long, a sauna, and a children's club. The penthouse was bought for $43.5 million by the founder of the digital sports giant Fanatics, Michael Rubin, and also includes a private pool.

In the 80 Clarkson project, which includes two towers near the Hudson River, about 4,600 sq. m will be allocated for common areas. These will include a 25-meter pool, a sports field, a private restaurant, a music studio, a space for photography and content production, and a three-story indoor garden with palm trees. The vehicle entrance will lead to a secure internal courtyard, where tenants will be able to get out of the car far from the street. A waiting room for private drivers will also be built in the building, so they do not have to wait in the lobby. The additions are sold separately and at extraordinary prices: a parking space for $750,000 and a private wine room for up to $1 million. Although construction is not yet complete and the apartments are not advertised on regular sites like StreetEasy and Zillow, purchase contracts totaling more than $1 billion have already been signed in the project.

But co-ops are not going to disappear. They offer large rooms, thick walls, wood and stone details that cannot be replicated, and a lower price than a comparable condo. In 2025, the share of historic co-ops in transactions over $2 million in Manhattan grew, and in June, a rare week was recorded in which more luxury co-ops were sold than condos. Those looking for a permanent home and stable neighbors may see the strict committee as an advantage.

This is a seemingly small change in the housing habits of a tiny group, but it touches the heart of the New York experience. The city always promised that even a very well-known person would be, at least for a few minutes, just another pedestrian among eight million others. The new condo buildings are turning it into a collection of vertical gated communities, connected by a highway, a private elevator, and an entry code. The stars still want the skyline outside the window. They just prefer to watch it from the safe side of the glass. To enjoy New York without really appearing in it.