139 East 79th Street
139 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075
Upper East Side
BBL 1015080016 · BIN 1047469
- Year built
- 1928
- Type
- Cooperative
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 4BR+ median
- $6.5M
- Recent range
- $5.7M – $6.5M
- Listing discount
- 5.8%
- Recorded transfers
- 16
139 East 79th Street is a tall, slender 1928 cooperative built to an unusually exclusive plan: fifteen stories holding roughly fifteen residences — close to one apartment per floor. That ratio is the building's defining quality. Where most pre-war co-ops chop each floor into several units, 139 East 79th was conceived for large, near-full-floor homes, giving owners private-landing arrival, four exposures, and the room counts of a townhouse stacked vertically on one of the most desirable blocks of the Upper East Side.
Designed by Louis Allen Abramson and completed in 1928, the building presents a handsome brown-brick shaft over a two-story sandstone base with gray granite detail and a carved rope quoin at the corner. It was converted to a cooperative in 1946 — among the earliest co-op conversions in the city — and has operated since as a full-service, doorman building between Park and Lexington Avenues, steps from Central Park, the Museum Mile, and the Lexington Avenue subway.
For buyers, this is rarefied territory: a boutique, near-full-floor pre-war co-op on a prime East 70s block, with the privacy and scale that only a low-density plan delivers. For sellers, the floor-through layouts, the doorman service, and the address are the marketing core.
Architecture and unit composition
Abramson's design is a quietly dignified pre-war apartment house — a brown-brick tower rising from a two-story sandstone base, detailed with gray granite trim and a rope quoin at the corner, with a canopied entrance setting the tone. The narrow floor plate and tall massing produce a slender, elegant profile and, internally, apartments that enjoy light from multiple sides.
The near-one-per-floor plan is the story. With approximately 15 residences across roughly 45,100 square feet, the building averages around 3,000 square feet per apartment — among the most generous unit-to-floor ratios anywhere in the corridor. The result is grand, near-full-floor homes with private elevator landings, gracious entry galleries, separate dining rooms, multiple bedrooms, and the high ceilings and solid plaster walls of the finest pre-war construction. Apartments here trade rarely and reward renovation; the masonry envelope keeps them quiet and stable.
Building operations
139 East 79th Street runs as a full-service cooperative — a full-time doorman, a canopied entrance, a resident superintendent, central laundry, and private storage — managed for owner-occupant stability. As a boutique co-op of roughly 15 large units, monthly maintenance covers building staff, heat and hot water, the unit's share of real estate taxes, and the upkeep of the masonry façade and pre-war systems.
Governance is by a board of directors that reviews purchase applications and conducts interviews; buyers should expect a thorough co-op board package and a financing review. At a building of this caliber, with large floor-through homes and an established owner-occupant culture, underwriting is generally conservative and primary-residence-oriented. Pet, sublet, renovation, and pied-à-terre policies are set by the board and house rules.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $17,844/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $99
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.
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 selling price (Buyer, at closing)
- Sublet policy
- Not allowed
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed (very restrictive guest policy when owner not home)
- Notable fees
- App processing $500; Closing fee $750 w/broker, $800 w/o; move-in/out deposits $1,000 each
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 2025 | 10 | 4 BR · 4.5 BA | $6,500,000 | -2.3% | |
| Oct 27, 2023 | 6 | 4 BR · 4.5 BA | $6,450,000 | -5.8% | |
| Feb 16, 2023 | 12 | 4 BR · 4 BA | $5,700,000 | -8.8% | |
| Nov 1, 2021 | — | 4 BR · 4 BA | $7,100,000 | -5.3% | |
| Sep 19, 2019 | PH | 2 BR · 3 BA · 1,400 sf | $3,015,000 | $2,154/sf | +7.7% |
| Jun 7, 2018 | 14THF | 4 BR | $6,850,000 | -8.7% | |
| Jun 6, 2018 | 14 | 4 BR · 3,500 sf | $6,850,000 | $1,957/sf | -8.7% |
| Feb 14, 2018 | 11 | 4 BR · 4 BA · 3,600 sf | $6,250,000 | $1,736/sf | -13.2% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2019): a median $2,154/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2025. Median listing discount 7.3% 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 1-01508-0016) 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
Plan for a thorough pre-war co-op purchase: a complete board package, financials, references, and an interview, appropriate to a building of large floor-through homes. Maintenance covers heat, hot water, staff, and the building's share of taxes; ask for recent financials, the reserve position, and any assessment or capital-project history, since a 1928 building carries periodic façade and systems work.
The buying argument is scale and privacy. You are acquiring a near-full-floor pre-war home with private-landing arrival and multiple exposures on one of the best blocks in the East 70s — steps from Central Park, the Museum Mile, and the 6 train. Confirm the building's financing cap, sublet stance, and pet policy against the current house rules; the boutique, owner-occupant character here is central to the building's enduring value.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the plan. Near-full-floor living with a private elevator landing, multiple exposures, and townhouse-scale room counts is the rarest commodity in pre-war Manhattan, and it is the heart of any listing here. Pair it with the doorman service, the Abramson façade, and the Park-and-Lexington address.
Price against the prime East 70s pre-war floor-through set rather than the broader side-street co-op market — the comparison belongs with the corridor's largest and most exclusive layouts. Given how rarely apartments here come available, a well-positioned listing benefits substantially from scarcity; a clean board package and current financials keep a co-op closing predictable.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 139 East 79th Street, also evaluate these nearby Upper East Side cooperatives:
- 136 East 79th Street — pre-war cooperative across the street
- 151 East 79th Street — pre-war co-op on the same block
- 133 East 80th Street — pre-war building a block north
- 50 East 79th Street — pre-war cooperative nearby
- 173 East 79th Street — pre-war East 70s peer
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
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 139 East 79th Street?
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 139 East 79th Street 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.