Real Estate porn! What is your present fave house/apartment/residence?

The nearly 1,400-foot tower at 432 Park Avenue, briefly the tallest residential building in the world, was the pinnacle of New York’s luxury condo boom half a decade ago, fueled largely by foreign buyers seeking discretion and big returns.

Six years later, residents of the exclusive tower are now at odds with the developers, and each other, making clear that even multimillion-dollar price tags do not guarantee problem-free living. The claims include millions of dollars of water damage from plumbing and mechanical issues; frequent elevator malfunctions; and walls that creak like the galley of a ship — all of which may be connected to the building’s main selling point: its immense height, according to homeowners, engineers and documents obtained by The New York Times.

The claims include millions of dollars of water damage from plumbing and mechanical issues; frequent elevator malfunctions; and walls that creak like the galley of a ship — all of which may be connected to the building’s main selling point: its immense height, according to homeowners, engineers and documents obtained by The New York Times.

There’s a condo tower on so-called Billionaire’s Row in Manhattan that resembles a skinny cereal box. It’s one of the wealthiest residential addresses in the world. It’s also shrouded in mystery: Many owners at 432 Park are concealed by shell companies.

But now, some residents are offering a rare glimpse of life inside the building, which was the tallest residential tower in the world when it opened in 2015. My colleague Stefanos Chen has revealed complaints of serious construction flaws, floods, noise and surging fees.

“They’re still billing it as God’s gift to the world, and it’s not,” Sarina Abramovich, one of the earliest residents of 432 Park, told him.

I spoke to Mr. Chen about the exclusive building and the city’s evolving skyline. (Our conversation was lightly edited for clarity and brevity.)

Q: What’s the state of the luxury market in New York City?

A: We’re already a few years out from the peak of the market. This building was a good one to home in on now because it represented the pinnacle of the luxury condo market, around 2015.

Since then, a lot of things have changed that have pulled that market back, even before Covid: recent caps on state, local and property tax deductions that disproportionately affected home buyers in high-cost states like New York, and the introduction of a so-called mansion tax on properties that sell for more than $1 million. Couple that with a slowdown of interest from some foreign markets, like China, Brazil and Russia, and the luxury market began to sink.

Many people aren’t sympathetic to the plight of the ultrawealthy.

I think a lot of people online have talked about schadenfreude, the idea that it feels good to have a laugh at these very rich people’s expense. But I think beyond that, there is also real concern here about what was permitted to be built in the city at this height.

These tall buildings are seeing complaints, whether it’s related to mechanical issues or water or elevators creaking, all these issues that you wouldn’t expect someone to have paying $20 million or $30 million for an apartment.

(In his article, Mr. Chen wrote that the problems have also raised concerns that some of the construction methods and materials have not lived up to the engineering breakthroughs that only recently enabled the construction of towers like 432 Park, which stands nearly 1,400 feet high.)

There was a lot of contention about these buildings even rising in the first place. People complained about them blocking out their views and casting shadows. Now that they’re completed, why were they allowed to rise in this state?

What’s the appeal of exceptionally tall buildings?

As some developers themselves have admitted to me, it’s ego. It’s wanting a trophy apartment that has the best view of Central Park.

Many recent additions to the skyline were built explicitly because they can make a ton of money on the tippy-top penthouse apartments.

Since then, a lot of things have changed that have pulled that market back, even before Covid: recent caps on state, local and property tax deductions that disproportionately affected home buyers in high-cost states like New York, and the introduction of a so-called mansion tax on properties that sell for more than $1 million. Couple that with a slowdown of interest from some foreign markets, like China, Brazil and Russia, and the luxury market began to sink.

Many people aren’t sympathetic to the plight of the ultrawealthy.

I think a lot of people online have talked about schadenfreude, the idea that it feels good to have a laugh at these very rich people’s expense. But I think beyond that, there is also real concern here about what was permitted to be built in the city at this height.

These tall buildings are seeing complaints, whether it’s related to mechanical issues or water or elevators creaking, all these issues that you wouldn’t expect someone to have paying $20 million or $30 million for an apartment.

(In his article, Mr. Chen wrote that the problems have also raised concerns that some of the construction methods and materials have not lived up to the engineering breakthroughs that only recently enabled the construction of towers like 432 Park, which stands nearly 1,400 feet high.)

There was a lot of contention about these buildings even rising in the first place. People complained about them blocking out their views and casting shadows. Now that they’re completed, why were they allowed to rise in this state?

What’s the appeal of exceptionally tall buildings?

As some developers themselves have admitted to me, it’s ego. It’s wanting a trophy apartment that has the best view of Central Park.

Many recent additions to the skyline were built explicitly because they can make a ton of money on the tippy-top penthouse apartments.