B
ill Cosby’s Upper East Side townhouse at 18 East 71st Street has been listed for $29 million, according to Realtor.com. The 13,000‑square‑foot limestone and copper‑mansard Gilded‑Age residence, originally the Luyster Mansion designed by John Duncan in 1899, was bought by Cosby in 1987 for $6.2 million as a surprise gift for his wife Camille. The property sits just steps from Central Park, a few doors down from the former Epstein townhouse that sold for $51 million in 2021.
The listing, handled by Corcoran’s Adam Schneider, omits any mention of Cosby or the financial turmoil surrounding the home. Court filings show the couple defaulted on $17.5 million in loans tied to the property in June 2024 and owe over $300,000 in back taxes. First Foundation Bank foreclosed last year, but Cosby and Camille deny the bank’s claims. The foreclosure suit also names a separate Lenox Hill townhouse at 243 East 61st Street, where CitiMortgage sued the couple for a $4.2 million loan default.
Inside, the mansion boasts 11 fireplaces, a mahogany elevator, a formal dining room that seats 30, and a 500‑square‑foot roof terrace. The main floor features a Carrara marble vestibule, a 15‑foot‑high center hall, and a 500‑square‑foot primary parlor with inlaid mahogany floors. The chef’s kitchen, originally part of the Lycée Français, is tiled in terracotta, fitted with beveled glass, and houses a restaurant‑grade rotisserie oven. The primary suite includes two full bathrooms, vaulted skylights, and a study on the top level. A guest room offers private terrace access, skylights, and wide‑plank pine floors.
The property’s history is tangled. In 1990, the Cosbys accused former attorney Mary Waller of embezzling millions related to the purchase, foreshadowing the complex financial disputes that followed. The townhouse is now the second Manhattan foreclosure involving Cosby, after the Lenox Hill case.
Cosby’s public reputation has collapsed since his 2018 conviction for assaulting Andrea Constand, overturned in 2021, and the subsequent accusations from more than 60 women. A spokesperson declined to comment on the East 71st Street foreclosure and sale.
