134 East 93rd Street (The Royal Carnegie)
134 East 93rd Street, New York, NY 10128
Carnegie Hill, Upper East Side
BBL 1015217501 · BIN 1048365
- Year built
- 1988
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 30
- Floors
- 15
- Landmark
- No
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,240
- Listing discount
- 2.7%
- Recorded sales
- 49
- On record
- 2003–2026
Carnegie Hill is one of the most heavily landmarked districts in Manhattan, and the practical effect is that almost nothing has been built there since the 1930s. The Royal Carnegie is one of the exceptions, and the reason is a boundary. The Expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District covers seventeen separate lots on this block. It does not cover this one. Verified against the Commission's own database rather than against a map or PLUTO's district field, Block 1521 Lot 7501 carries no designation of any kind. That single fact is why a fifteen-story building went up on this corner in 1988 when the brownstones and prewar cooperatives around it could not be touched.
What went up is a red-brick building with limestone detailing and a canopied entrance on East 93rd Street — the contextual late-1980s idiom rather than the glass tower of the same decade. The choice was almost certainly a response to the district beginning a few doors west. The building is not a copy of its prewar neighbors, but it is deliberately quiet about the fact that it is not one.
The building's most interesting history is financial rather than architectural. Sales opened in the fall of 1990 and the first ten or so closings were recorded that November and December — into the worst New York residential market in a generation. The sponsor sold what it could and then, in July 1992, transferred nineteen unsold residential unit lots in a single deed to an investment entity, which held them and retailed them out individually between 2000 and 2004. That is the shape of a sponsor exiting a stalled sellout at a discount, and it means the building's early ownership history divides into two distinct cohorts: the 1990–91 original purchasers and the 2000–04 buyers who bought from an investor rather than from a sponsor. It also means the building has been fully in individual hands for more than two decades. No single party holds the residential stock.
The third fact is the tax posture, and it is simple: nothing. No 421-a, no J-51, no exemption of any kind on any residential unit lot across every year of Department of Finance data available. The residences have been taxed at full assessment throughout. For a buyer that is a clean number to underwrite — there is no benefit expiration ahead and no step-up to model — but it also means the monthly carrying cost runs higher than at comparable-vintage buildings that still carry a benefit, and the comparison should be made on carrying cost rather than on price per foot alone.
Architecture and unit composition
The site is a corner lot of 5,539 square feet — 55 feet on East 93rd Street and roughly 101 feet along Lexington Avenue — built to a floor-area ratio of 8.68 against the C1-8X maximum of 9.00. There is effectively no unused development right on the lot, and the corner geometry is the building's principal architectural asset: unlike an interior Carnegie Hill lot, this one has two protected street frontages and light on both.
The base is commercial. Three commercial condominium units occupy roughly 8,339 square feet at and below grade, addressed to Lexington Avenue, and they are separately owned — one of them was sold out of the sponsorship in July 1992 and has traded independently since. Residential floors begin at the third and run to the fifteenth, with the elevation carrying red brick above a limestone-detailed base and a canopied entrance set on the quieter East 93rd Street side rather than on the avenue.
The residential plate holds two or three homes per floor, which is a small enough count that the corner exposures are shared across most of the inventory rather than concentrated in one line. The top of the building carries duplex and full-floor layouts — PH14, PH15A and PH15B in the recorded schedule, with a duplex arrangement across the fourteenth and fifteenth floors. Combinations have altered the middle of the building as well: apartments 5A and 5B were merged under a 2018 alteration permit, and 7A and 8A are a recorded duplex. The practical consequence is that the published unit count is a weak guide to what actually exists. Confirm the room count, the exposures and the ceiling height against the current floor plan for the specific residence.
Building operations
The Royal Carnegie runs as a full-service condominium: attended lobby, full-time doorman and concierge coverage, a fitness room, a private garden, a bicycle room and basement storage units. That is a substantial service program for thirty residences, and the arithmetic follows — common charges per square foot at a building of this size carrying doorman and concierge coverage will run above what a larger full-service building charges for the same service. Evaluate common charges against the operating budget and the specific unit rather than against the amenity list.
The building has maintained its exterior on a regular cycle: façade and terrace restoration work was filed and signed off in 2005–06 and again in 2011–12, with associated sidewalk sheds, scaffolding and debris chutes. Because the lot is not landmarked, that work proceeded without Landmarks Preservation Commission review, which is a real cost and schedule advantage over the designated buildings on the same block. Ask for the most recent façade-inspection filing status, the current reserve position, and whether any assessment is live or recently concluded.
Policy framework
Ownership form: Condominium. Purchases close through the board's right of first refusal rather than a cooperative-style approval, but the building does run a substantive application through management — the fee schedule and document requirements below are closer to a co-op package than to a minimal condominium waiver.
Pets: Permitted with conditions per management-sourced records. A dog requires the city license and current veterinary records with the application, and the pet must be current on required vaccinations. Confirm any weight or breed limits in the house rules.
Subletting: Permitted. Management runs a formal lease-application process carrying the same fee schedule as a purchase, so a landlord should budget the application, credit-report and move-in costs into every tenancy.
Pied-à-terre, LLC, trust and foreign ownership: Permitted under the standard condominium framework.
Working capital contribution: Per management-sourced records, a purchaser pays a contribution equal to one month's common charges at application. No flip tax is documented; confirm with the managing agent before pricing a sale.
Application and move fees: $800 purchase application processing fee, $200 credit and background report per applicant and adult occupant, $750 move-in fee with a $1,500 refundable deposit, and $750 move-out fee with a $1,500 refundable deposit on the seller's side.
Real estate taxes: No exemption or abatement of any kind on the residential unit lots. Underwrite full unabated taxes on the specific unit and run True Monthly Carrying Cost analysis against the current bill.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $31,937/yr
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $68,854/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $89 – $191
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. Facade inspections run on a fixed five-year cycle; future inspection, repair, and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
Recent sales
The Royal Carnegie has traded continuously since 1990, and its transaction record divides cleanly into three phases: the sponsor's 1990–91 closings, the investor-held units retailed individually between 2000 and 2004, and ordinary resale activity from the mid-2000s to the present. Every phase involved separate, unrelated purchasers taking title to individual unit lots, which is what a functioning condominium looks like in the record.
Pricing here should be evaluated per square foot against the small set of postwar and late-twentieth-century Carnegie Hill and Upper East Side condominiums, not against the prewar cooperative stock that surrounds the building. The two markets have different closing mechanics, different financing rules and different buyer pools, and a per-room comparison against a neighboring prewar co-op will mislead in both directions. The absence of any tax abatement is the largest single variable separating the headline price from the true monthly cost, and it should be carried into every comparison. Index any market judgment to the last complete year rather than to a partial current year. Unit-level transaction history is maintained in The Roebling Research Library and shared with clients during diligence.
Recent closings at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2026 | 9B | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,440 sf | $1,920,000 | $1,333/sf | -12.7% |
| Jan 22, 2025 | 7A | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,300 sf | $1,850,000 | $1,423/sf | -7.5% |
| Dec 22, 2023 | 11C | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,350 sf | $1,850,000 | $1,370/sf | -7.0% |
| Jun 16, 2023 | 6C | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,100 sf | $1,300,000 | $1,182/sf | +0.0% |
| Apr 7, 2022 | 6A | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,170 sf | $1,510,000 | $1,291/sf | -5.6% |
| Aug 24, 2021 | 4C | 1,087 sf | $1,200,000 | $1,104/sf | off-mkt |
| Aug 20, 2021 | 7C | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,400 sf | $1,925,000 | $1,375/sf | -12.5% |
| Feb 25, 2021 | PH15B | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,735 sf | $3,545,000 | $2,043/sf | -18.5% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,240/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 2.7% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
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 1-01521-7501) 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 from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
What to know if you’re buying
The lot is not landmarked, and that cuts both ways. No Landmarks Preservation Commission review means faster and cheaper exterior work for the condominium and for a shareholder replacing windows. It also means the building has none of the district protection that keeps the block around it stable, and neither does anything else on this lot line.
Do not trust the published unit count. Thirty residential lots were recorded; several have been combined. City data reports 27, 30 and 33 at different dates. Verify what exists on the floor you are buying on.
Underwrite full taxes. No 421-a, no J-51, no abatement in any year of the available Department of Finance record. There is no benefit expiration ahead, which is a genuine advantage — but the starting number is the full number.
The application is heavier than a typical condominium's. Management runs a full package with an $800 processing fee, per-applicant credit reports, move deposits and a working capital contribution equal to a month's common charges. Budget the closing costs and the timeline accordingly.
Understand the commercial units. Three separately owned commercial condominium units occupy the base, addressed to Lexington Avenue. Ask how they are governed under the declaration, what their common-charge share is, and what use restrictions apply.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the corner and the light. Two protected street frontages on a Carnegie Hill lot is a scarce condition, and it is the physical advantage that no amount of renovation at a mid-block competitor can replicate.
Correct the landmark assumption early. Buyers and their attorneys frequently assume any Carnegie Hill address sits inside the historic district. This lot does not, and for a buyer planning window or terrace work that is a positive, not a negative — but only if you tell them.
Price against condominiums, not co-ops. The prewar cooperatives on the surrounding blocks have entirely different economics, policies and buyer pools. The right comparable set is the small group of late-twentieth-century and newer Upper East Side condominiums.
Be direct about the tax posture. No abatement means a higher monthly number than an abated competitor, and a stable one. Present it up front with the True Monthly Carrying Cost analysis rather than letting it surface in diligence.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Royal Carnegie, also evaluate:
- 245 East 93rd Street — Astor Terrace, the SOM-designed 1985 Carnegie Hill condominium with a private gated park; the closest peer by vintage and type
- 1289 Lexington Avenue — The Hayworth, a 2019 HOK-designed Carnegie Hill condominium with SheltonMindel interiors; the newer full-service alternative on the same avenue
- 180 East 88th Street — DDG's 50-story hand-laid brick condominium; the new-development alternative a few blocks south
- 126 East 86th Street — ARLOPARC, a 28-residence 2024 condominium; the closest current-vintage boutique comparable, and also unabated
- 324 East 93rd Street — The Marx, a six-residence 2020 condominium on the same street in Yorkville; a different block and a much smaller building
- 125 East 93rd Street — a 1924 George F. Pelham cooperative directly across the street; the prewar co-op alternative
- 131 East 93rd Street — Frank Braun's 1923 cooperative on the same block; prewar scale and co-op economics
- 115 East 86th Street — a 1928 building converted to cooperative ownership in 1982; the larger prewar co-op option nearby
- 345 East 93rd Street — Mill Rock Plaza, a 32-story Yorkville co-op converted in the mid-1980s; the large-building alternative further east
- 340 East 93rd Street — Plymouth Tower, a 367-unit full-blockfront Yorkville cooperative with a rooftop pool; the amenity-heavy, low-per-unit-cost alternative
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent.
Considering a move at The Royal Carnegie?
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