1020 Fifth Avenue
1020 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028
Upper East Side
BBL 1014950001 · BIN 1046777
- Year built
- 1925
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 13
- Floors
- 14
- Landmark
- Designated
- Financing
- Not permitted — 100% cash purchases only
- Flip tax
- 2% of the sale price.
- Subletting
- Not permitted — an owner-occupancy building.
Compiled by The Roebling Research Desk from the building’s offering plan, amendments, and related building documents (primary source dated 2026). Board policies can change by amendment — confirm at the offer stage.
Every recorded sale at this building, 2007–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 4BR+ median
- $8.2M
- Recent range
- $8M – $8.3M
- Listing discount
- 12.9%
- Recorded transfers
- 12
1020 Fifth Avenue is among the most architecturally and culturally distinguished pre-war cooperatives on the Gold Coast — a 1925 Warren and Wetmore commission that translated the firm's institutional architectural vocabulary (most familiar from Grand Central Terminal) into a 13-apartment Fifth Avenue residential composition. The building occupies the northeast corner of 83rd Street and Fifth, directly opposite the Metropolitan Museum of Art's main Fifth Avenue facade — among the most architecturally substantial settings of any Manhattan apartment building, and a positioning that fundamentally shapes both the daily life and the resale dynamics of the apartments inside.
What architecturally distinguishes 1020 Fifth from neighboring pre-war Fifth Avenue peers is the staggered floor plate design. Warren and Wetmore organized the building so that six of the 13 apartments enjoy large primary salons measuring approximately 20'9" by 40'2" — substantial rooms by any Manhattan apartment standard — with extra-high ceilings ranging from 14 to 18 feet. The result is apartments that read closer to a great-house architectural scale than to a typical pre-war Manhattan apartment, even before the additional architectural detail and finish work that Warren and Wetmore deployed throughout the building. For buyers responsive to scale and proportion, the staggered-floor apartments at 1020 Fifth are among the most distinctive interiors in pre-war Fifth Avenue inventory.
The building has carried a meaningful cultural register across its century. Socialite and former U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg Georgette Mosbacher has been a resident; her full-floor apartment listed at $29.5 million via and the architectural record. Ward Melville, the early-20th-century business figure who shaped Stony Brook University, was a resident. Hedge fund principals and global business figures have populated the inventory across the building's modern era. The building's positioning across from the Met has made it a magnet for residents whose connections to the museum's institutional culture are part of their identity — board members, donors, curators, and patrons.
What structurally differentiates 1020 Fifth from peer Gold Coast pre-wars is the combination of 13-apartment scale, the staggered architectural premise, and a particular institutional posture reflected in the building's policy framework: financing prohibited, subletting prohibited, applications still submitted in four physical copies to the property management office on Lexington Avenue. The building has not modernized its administrative apparatus, and the friction is part of the screening framework.
Architecture and unit composition
The 13 apartments span configurations from approximately 4,000 sf simplexes (in the smaller floor plates) to substantially larger configurations exceeding 6,500 sf (in the larger staggered-floor apartments with the oversized salons). The duplex inventory is meaningful — Warren and Wetmore's original design accommodated several duplex configurations, some of which have been preserved across the building's century.
Pre-war architectural signatures throughout: 11–18 foot ceilings depending on the apartment (with the 14–18 foot ceilings concentrated in the six staggered-floor apartments), formal entry galleries, library-living-room combinations, multiple primary suites, formal dining rooms with full butler's pantries, service wings, separate service entrances and elevators.
Park-facing apartments on the western flank have direct views across to the Metropolitan Museum and Central Park beyond — among the most architecturally framed Park views in Manhattan inventory, with the Met's monumental facade providing visual anchoring. View permanence is essentially absolute given the institutional weight of the Met on the opposite side of Fifth Avenue.
Building operations
1020 Fifth operates as a full-service pre-war cooperative with full-time doorman, attended elevator, on-site superintendent, and private storage. The building's small unit count (13) produces an institutional culture characteristic of the smallest tier-one Gold Coast co-ops — residents and staff know each other across multi-decade tenures.
The application process is unusually traditional: four physical copies of the board application are required, submitted to the property management office at 770 Lexington Avenue. This requirement is a meaningful editorial signal — it indicates a building that has not modernized its screening apparatus and that maintains the procedural friction that some Manhattan tier-one co-ops have explicitly designed into their approval process.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $22,184/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $142
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the engineer identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair before the next inspection cycle. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent). Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library.
See the full facade history →Management & transfer contacts
- Flip tax
- 2% of purchase price (paid by Purchaser)
- Sublet policy
- Not Allowed
- Notable fees
- Managing Agent's Fee $900 (individual)/$1000 (estate); Stock Transfer Processing Fee $450
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 7, 2025 | 12 | 4 BR · 3.5 BA · 3,500 sf | $8,000,000 | $2,286/sf | +0.0% |
| Apr 17, 2023 | 9 | 4 BR · 4.5 BA | $8,300,000 | -12.6% | |
| Feb 18, 2022 | 4 | 4 BR · 4.5 BA | $13,500,000 | -18.2% | |
| Nov 14, 2017 | 7 | 5 BR · 4,700 sf | $16,500,000 | $3,511/sf | -13.1% |
| Dec 18, 2013 | 8 | 4 BR | $18,000,000 | -28.0% | |
| Jul 5, 2007 | 9 | 3 BR | $11,750,000 | +17.5% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2025) cleared a median $2,286/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 12.9% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01495-0001) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
Financing is not permitted. 1020 Fifth requires 100% cash purchases. Alongside 740 Park, 820 Fifth, 834 Fifth, 998 Fifth, and the rest of the tier-one Gold Coast cash-only inventory, this is the building's central screening mechanism.
Subletting is not allowed. Buyers must intend full owner-occupancy. The building does not accommodate investment-grade or absentee ownership.
The 2% buyer-paid flip tax is structural. On a $20M apartment, that's $400,000 of additional buyer-side closing cost on top of mansion tax and standard items. Lower in percentage than 740 Park's 3% but applied to substantial purchase prices.
The four-physical-copies application process is real. Buyers should plan to coordinate with their broker and attorney to produce four complete physical packages — a procedural friction that itself filters the buyer pool toward those willing to engage with the building's institutional norms.
Board approval is among the most rigorous in the Gold Coast. Strong financial profile, professional accomplishment, primary-residence intent, and personal references all matter. The 13-unit scale produces an unusually intimate board culture; references that connect to existing residents weigh heavily.
The staggered-floor apartments are differentiated inventory. Six of the 13 apartments have the oversized salons and very high ceilings; the other seven do not. Pricing and apartment selection should reflect this differentiation. Buyers seeking the most architecturally distinctive Warren and Wetmore inventory should target the staggered-floor configurations.
View permanence is exceptional. The Met opposite; Central Park west; the corridor is built out.
What to know if you’re selling
Marketing is largely private. Most 1020 Fifth transactions occur with limited or no public marketing. The buyer pool is small, institutional, and accessible primarily through private broker networks.
Pricing requires apartment-level context. Comparable sales are sparse given turnover velocity, and the staggered-floor architectural premium produces meaningful within-building variation. Pricing benefits from broker familiarity with the building's specific inventory history.
The 4-physical-copies application process is a buyer-screening tool you can position. Sellers who emphasize the building's institutional posture and traditional culture attract buyers comfortable with that framework — and screen out those who aren't, before contract.
Closing timelines are co-op standard but the package work is heavier. 6–10 weeks from contract signing to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 1020 Fifth Avenue, also evaluate:
- 998 Fifth Avenue — McKim, Mead & White 1912; the building that launched the Fifth Avenue luxury tradition; cash-only
- 1040 Fifth Avenue — Candela 1930; Jackie Kennedy's building; trust purchases permitted
- 1030 Fifth Avenue — pre-war Fifth Avenue, comparable Carpenter era
- 1107 Fifth Avenue — Carnegie Hill 1925; Marjorie Merriweather Post triplex history
- 1148 Fifth Avenue — Carnegie Hill pre-war
- The Brentmore (88 CPW) — comparable scale and intimate institutional culture on CPW
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Fifth Avenue — read The Roebling Team Guide to Fifth Avenue.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
Considering a move at 1020 Fifth Avenue?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 1020 Fifth Avenue would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.