155 East 79th Street

The lot is 3,550 square feet with a building frontage of roughly 35 feet. On a footprint that narrow, the only way to produce apartments of consequence is to stack them vertically, and that is what the design does: seven duplexes, each on two full floors, served by a private elevator landing.

The new-building application records 34,583 square feet of zoning floor area and 38,343 square feet of total construction floor area. PLUTO reports 28,014 square feet of building area, which corresponds closely to the aggregate area of the seven residences rather than to the building as approved — and PLUTO's resulting built-FAR figure of 7.89 understates the building. On the DOB zoning floor area the building sits at roughly 9.7 FAR against the district's 10.0 residential maximum. It is, in other words, effectively built out.

Published market records describe wood-burning fireplaces, glass stairs connecting the two levels of each residence, ceiling heights above ten feet in the entertaining rooms and above nine feet in the bedrooms, white oak plank flooring, and balconies at the upper floors, with a substantial terrace at the top of the stack. The kitchens and baths were specified at the level the price point implies. Those details come from published sources rather than from a plan on file, and a buyer should confirm the specification of the specific residence rather than the building generally.

The duplex layout is the thing to walk before contract. Two-floor apartments trade internal stairs against single-level convenience, and the exchange suits some buyers and not others; the room counts are generous but the circulation is vertical, and that is a personal judgement no floor plan settles.

This is a small full-service building. Published market records describe an attended lobby with wood panelling, a fitness room, private storage for each residence, and bicycle storage. There is no retail unit and no commercial section, which means the operating budget and the common charge allocation are simpler than in a mixed-use condominium — every dollar of expense is spread across seven residences.

That denominator is the operating reality. A seven-unit building carrying a staffed lobby has a high fixed cost per residence, and common charges here should be read against the building's own budget rather than against a per-square-foot benchmark drawn from larger buildings. Ask for the current budget, the reserve position, and the record of any assessment.

On the façade, the building filed its Cycle 9 report on August 3, 2022 with a status of SAFE — no repair-and-maintenance programme outstanding on the last filed cycle. Confirm the current cycle status with the managing agent, since sub-cycle deadlines vary by block.

The building is a decade old, which is the age at which the first substantial mechanical and envelope questions typically arrive. A buyer should ask for the reserve study if one exists, the boiler and elevator service history, and the board's capital plan.

Because this is the question buyers ask most often on East 79th Street, it is worth answering with precision.

The Upper East Side Historic District covers a large area of the East 60s through 80s, and portions of East 79th Street fall inside it. This lot does not. LPC's own designated-building database, queried by tax lot, records four categories of designated property on Manhattan block 1508: 903 Park Avenue and 911 Park Avenue, both in the Park Avenue Historic District, and 116, 120, 124 and 130 East 80th Street, four individually designated houses. Tax lot 7502 — and former lot 22 before it — appears in none of them. The Department of Buildings new-building application likewise carries landmark status "N," and PLUTO's historic-district field is blank.

The practical consequences: no LPC permit is required for exterior work, window replacement or storefront change; the building's future alteration path runs through DOB alone; and the buildings on either side are themselves developable, which is the standard interior-lot risk on any Manhattan mid-block site.

Recent sales

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.

Market read. Most recent trades (2025) cleared a median $2,738/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 1.9% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01508-7502) 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.

There is no abatement, and there never was. The unit lots show zero exemption in every assessment roll from FY2016/17 forward. Buyers underwriting against abated new-development inventory elsewhere will find the monthly number higher than the price suggests — but there is also no expiry cliff ahead, which is the compensating advantage.

Get the declaration and by-laws. No offering plan for this building was located in either document library. The condominium framework guarantees there is no purchaser approval, but the leasing terms, any board right of first refusal, pet rules and any resale capital contribution have to come from the managing agent. Do not assume; ask, and get it in writing before contract.

Seven units means seven owners. Governance in a building this small is close-quarters by nature, and a single owner's position carries real weight. Read the minutes.

Model the fixed cost against the small denominator. A staffed lobby spread across seven residences is expensive per home. Run the full monthly number through the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator.

Correct the city record before it costs you. PLUTO reports 49 residential units and 15 floors at this lot. Neither is right, and both will surface in an automated valuation or a lender's data pull.

Mansion tax applies at every price point in this building. Run pricing through the Mansion Tax Calculator.

The duplex plan is the listing. Two full floors, private elevator landing, and townhouse circulation inside a serviced elevator building is a specific proposition, and the buyers who want it are not shopping for anything else. Lead there.

Clear tenure is a selling point in this market. Deeded condominium ownership, no ground lease, no retail section, no sponsor inventory, no abatement to expire. Say so; a surprising number of comparable buildings cannot.

Prepare the answer on landmark status. Buyers will assume the block is landmarked. It is not, and that fact cuts both ways — no LPC permit burden on this building, and no LPC protection on the neighbours' lots.

Condominium closings move quickly. No board package, no interview. A well-prepared file goes from contract to closing on the buyer's financing timetable, not a board's calendar.

If you're considering 155 East 79th Street, also evaluate:

• 135 East 79th Street — 2012 condominium on the same block; the closest peer in vintage, tenure and street
• 109 East 79th Street — 2020 condominium a few doors west; newer construction on the same corridor
• 124 East 79th Street (The Belgravia) — established full-service condominium nearby; larger and more amenity-led
• 151 East 78th Street — Peter Pennoyer's 14-residence condominium one block south; the direct boutique-new-construction peer
• The Benson (1045 Madison Avenue) — Peter Pennoyer Architects 2022 for Naftali Group; traditionally detailed new construction at a higher price tier
• 126 East 86th Street (ARLOPARC) — 2024 condominium; contemporary-traditional new construction, also unabated
• 170 East 78th Street — established condominium in the immediate blocks
• 150 East 78th Street — nearby alternative on the same grid
• 252 East 72nd Street — Peter Pennoyer Architects design; boutique Upper East Side condominium a few blocks south