13 Gay Street #NA

A step back in time and a rare opportunity, 13 Gay Street is an 1844 Greek Revival townhouse in a class of homes representing less than 2% of all housing stock in Manhattan. Townhouses offer a degree of privacy and control not available in a co-op or condo and while most buyers of historic residences opt for a total renovation, those who enjoy a well-worn interior might be happy with a more modest scope of work. East west exposures fill the house with light all day and original details include a brick and brownstone facade, entry door and surround, ironwork, staircase, wide board floors on 3 levels and 6 original fireplaces. 13 Gay is 19 x 35 and sits on a quiet 19th Century lane with no parking between Waverly Place and Christopher. A landmark in more than one sense, this was home to attorneys William Kunstler and Margaret Ratner Kunstler, champions of every major civil rights and radical activist cause from the 60's onward. The under stoop entrance led to their law office. Current use has been as a single family home, with 8 rooms on 4 floors, 3 full baths and one half bath, an open parlor and kitchen, 4 bedrooms on the upper floors and a garden level floor with 2 live/workspaces with commercial zoning, or possible use as additional bedroom space. Floor to ceiling glass doors in the kitchen open to a patio with stairs to a delightful bluestone-paved garden. A Viking range is tucked into the original hearth. There is a little sitting porch that opens from the second level staircase landing that overlooks the garden.