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Moving plumbing is not a fun process and you may find this project more difficult and expensive than expected - particularly since it seems that there is not even a sink in the bathroom. Did you ask the board if they would be open to this kind of renovation before you moved in?

That being said, I would suggest you put in a shower only. For a 1BR apartment that sounds like it's in an area likely to appeal to young singles, this should not impact your resale values, and will allow you to really minimize square footage.

I think splitting your window will also be rather awkward. What I would recommend is keeping the window inside the bathroom, but then using glass bricks for part of the wall between the bathroom and the living room to allow some of the natural light in.

i agree with eeeck all the way.

i also suggest you go ask your neighbors what they did to solve the issue of the window, since that one is a bit strange. i don't think you should split it. if anything you should have a very bright bathroom :)

this problem crops up so often for nycers. i would ask around the building/neighborhood until you find someone who has the bathroom of your tenement dreams...then find out who did it for them.

Ok, I'm sure mine will be an unpopular comment but nevertheless-- I vote to embrace the tenement layout. When I moved into mine, it had a bathroom with shower carved out of the kitchen. Part of the bath wall jutted out in front of the window and made an already small apartment that much more claustrophobic and awkward. After living with it like that for a few years and longing for the ability to take an actual bath again, I ripped it out and am in the process of basically restoring it to its original layout. I like my tub in the kitchen and the extra visual space it provides. I know I'm weird.

AT has had the small bathtub vs. shower debate a few times. Japanese soaker tubs are an oft overlooked option.

We redid our bathroom and tucked one into a small alocove thereby maximizing available space. We got ours shipped in from the Japanese Bath Company (if you can find someone else who is interested in this kind of tub in your neighbourhood shipping costs become less prohibitive). www.japanesebath.com.au

The website has dimensions of the tubs they offer so you can see what might fit.

We got the Koharu. I'm 5'11" and sit comfortably in the bath with water up to my neck.... wonderful. the tub also creates a showering space more generous than 90 percent of shower stalls. i aught to post some pix...

Anyhoo; good luck.

I don't think it's weird at all, campari. Those apartments have so much character, and ripping everything out somehow degrades their history. Bathing has long been a communal experience. Not that I think you should publicly bathe, but you might give the kitchen bathing a try- pretend you're an Irish immigrant and there are 14 other people living in that tiny apartment of yours. It could be fun.

I desperately wanted to do move the plumbing in my apartment, but ended up saving $15-$20,000 and loving the final outcome by not moving it. Embrace what you have. Get a fabulous tub, put it on a platform or surround it with a cool soffit, box or glass element. You'll end up saving money and i am pretty sure you'll like the outcome. Luxury apartments, particularly in resort communities now have tubs with operable windows into the master bedroom- it can be sexy!

If you move plumbing in NYC and it's an elevator building or on the entrance floor (doesn't matter if you need to climb 100 steps to the entrance) you likely need to make the whole place ADA adaptable. If it's on an upper floor with no elevator you will have no problem there.

Regardless, moving plumbing is very very expensive. Plumbing lines up in buildings for a reason, it minimizes the location of leaks. If you move stuff around you add another leak location. You will certainly need to waterproof the hell out of everything, and your board might want to inspect to make sure you're doing it correctly. You might need to now get this approved by the building department, which could mean an expeditor and another $2,000 for them (believe me it's worth it.) You also generally can't get into the apartment below to run plumbing, so you might need to build up a false floor to run plumbing. But that floor could need to be fireproofed. Floors are also way more expensive than walls. See why this is becoming a really expensive proposition?

You're in a tenement, everything is a little funky there, and it's that character that makes it a great place to live!

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I agree with the shower proposal, but that is personal tastes. Do what suits you best.

It will be very difficult and expensive (if not impossible) to move the toilet. What you are able to do vis-a-vis moving the bathtub/shower depends upon what is in the area around the toilet, what floor you are on, and what is below you. You may have to raise the bathroom slightly so drain lines can run underneath a platformed floor (the lines need to be pitched 1/2 inch per foot of travel).

Before getting too deep into the process of finding fixtures, get a reputable bathroom remodeler out to see what you have and what can be done. If the plumbing lines are accessible (in the floor or in the apartment/space below you), this is all readily doable. If you need to build a platform, you may decide that the quaint location of your bath is preferable. If plumbling lines would need to be sent up from the basement/lead pipes removed/etc., this is a very different equation.

The NYT did a nice article recently (past 6 months?) on renovating small bathrooms. Perhaps you could get some ideas.