Main image: 18 East 71st Street via Google Maps. Bill Cosby (2011) by The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia via Wikimedia Commons
Free Upper East Side News, Delivered To Your Inbox
Bill Cosby’s Upper East Side real estate troubles have taken another turn: his longtime townhouse at 18 East 71st Street has now hit the market with Corcoran for $29 million. The listing, which went live Friday, makes no mention of its infamous owner, though the 12,000-square-foot limestone mansion has been tied to Cosby since 1987.
Advertisement
Cosby purchased the seven-story building nearly 40 years ago for about $6.2 million, reportedly as a gift to his wife Camille. Before that, the townhouse had served as a private school building. Records show the deed was initially shuffled between a business partner, Cosby’s mother-in-law, and eventually the couple themselves.The 88-year-old disgraced entertainer has faced mounting financial and legal woes in connection with the property. First Foundation Bank foreclosed on the East 71st Street townhouse last year, alleging that the Cosbys defaulted on loans totaling $17.5 million and failed to pay more than $300,000 in property taxes. In court filings, the Cosbys denied those claims.
This is not the couple’s only battle on the Upper East Side. As East Side Feed reported in December, the Cosbys were also sued over a $4.2 million loan tied to their Lenox Hill home at 243 East 61st Street, a four-story brownstone they bought in 1980. That property was eventually listed this spring for $7 million while the foreclosure case was still active, and later took a price cut.
Both townhouses—just ten blocks apart—have been central to Cosby’s New York life. The East 61st Street brownstone was once home to the comedian’s only son, Ennis, who was tragically killed in Los Angeles in 1997. The East 71st Street property, larger and grander, served as the Cosbys’ primary Manhattan residence.
The sale also draws fresh attention to East 71st Street itself, which has become notorious by association. Just a few doors down from the Cosby home, at 9 East 71st Street, is the townhouse once owned by Jeffrey Epstein. That seven-story residence was purchased by a former Goldman Sachs executive for $51 million in 2021.
Advertisement
Cosby, once one of America’s most beloved entertainers, has seen his reputation collapse following decades of sexual assault allegations. He was convicted in 2018 in Pennsylvania, spent three years in prison, and was released in 2021 when the state’s Supreme Court overturned the ruling. He has denied all accusations.Now, as his New York properties cycle between foreclosure suits and brokerage listings, Cosby’s real estate portfolio seems to mirror his personal downfall: once symbols of power and prestige, now tangled in debt disputes and public scandal.
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
