21 East 79th Street
21 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075
BBL 1014910012 · BIN 1046432
- Year built
- 1930
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark status
- Requires confirmation
- City records and our profile differ. Confirm with building management.
- Subletting by shareholders
- Not permitted
- Pied-à-terre
- Permitted
- Pets
- Pets permitted; species and limits not stated
- Washer/dryer
- Permitted
- Maximum financing
- 50% of the purchase price
- Flip tax
- Requires confirmation
- Our building profile and the source for this line differ. Confirm with building management.
- Doorman
- Doorman (hours not stated)
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 21 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.
21 East 79th Street is a jewel-box pre-war cooperative — a fourteen-story Art Deco apartment house with essentially one residence per floor, on one of the most coveted blocks in Manhattan, between Madison and Fifth a step from the Metropolitan Museum and Central Park. Completed in 1930 to the design of Van Wart & Wein, it belongs to the last and most refined moment of the pre-war apartment era, when limestone, Art Deco massing, and full-floor planning produced some of the city's most enduring residences.
The building's defining trait is its scale: just fifteen apartments across fourteen stories, most of them full floors. That arithmetic produces a level of privacy and light that almost nothing built before or since can match — a private elevator landing opening into your own floor, light on multiple exposures, and a shareholder community small enough that the building functions almost like a townhouse stacked vertically.
For a buyer, this is trophy pre-war inventory in the truest sense: an Art Deco limestone building on the museum block, with full-floor homes, wood-burning fireplaces, and Central Park within a single block. It is the kind of address that defines the Upper East Side's pre-war pinnacle.
Architecture and unit composition
Van Wart & Wein gave 21 East 79th Street a crisp Art Deco identity: a limestone-clad elevation over a polished granite base, a canopied entrance, and the disciplined, vertically emphasized massing of the period, with ornament kept deliberately spare so the material and proportion do the work. The fourteen-story building carries roughly 54,000 square feet across fifteen apartments. That aggregate ratio is not an interior apartment measurement or evidence of a citywide size ranking; use the specific floor plan and verified dimensions.
Because the layout is essentially one apartment per floor, homes here are full-floor (with a small number of variations), entered from a private elevator landing into a gracious foyer. Interiors carry the era's best features — high ceilings, separate dining rooms, defined bedroom wings, wood-burning fireplaces in many homes, and expansive principal rooms. The upper floors and penthouse enjoy open views toward Central Park and the city, and select homes have wrap or set-back terraces. This is full-floor pre-war living of the highest order.
Building operations
21 East 79th Street operates as a full-service cooperative with attended entry and a resident superintendent, scaled to a small, high-touch shareholder base. With only fifteen apartments, the building is run with the intimacy and discretion that full-floor co-ops on this block are known for — staff who know every household, deliberate stewardship of the building's fabric, and a board focused on preserving the asset. Basement storage serves the residences. The building permits up to 50% financing and charges a 2% flip tax on resale, terms consistent with a prime pre-war full-floor cooperative.
A building of this size carries a concentrated budget, so capital decisions and the reserve posture matter; prospective purchasers review the financials and any planned capital work through the board-package process. The small shareholder count also means board admission is a serious, relationship-driven process.
Application and transaction fees
Fees below are from building management's published schedule, as of September 2026. They are shown as published, item by item; no total is added because the total depends on the transaction. Deposits are listed apart from nonrefundable charges.
- Terms
- Requires confirmationOur building profile and the source for this line differ. Confirm with building management.
Purchase
5 items
Fees and charges
| Item | Paid by | When | Amount | Refundable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application Processing Fee | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $600 | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Recognition Agreement FeeConditionalConditions: If Financing | Paid by Buyer | When At closing | Amount $300 (if applicable) | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Managing Agent's Fee | Paid by Shareholder | When At closing | Amount $900 (Seller is an Individual) or $1000 (Seller is an Estate) | Refundable Non-refundable |
| New York State Stamp TaxPer share | Paid by Shareholder | When At closing | Amount $0.05 per share. | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Fidelifacts Credit ReportConditional · Per applicant | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $871.00 per Applicant/Occupant, $1,633.13 if there are two (2) Applicants/Occupants | Refundable Non-refundable |
Ownership transfer
4 items
Fees and charges
| Item | Paid by | When | Amount | Refundable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application Processing Fee | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $600 | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Background Check FeePer applicant | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $100 per applicant/occupant | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Credit Report FeePer applicantRequired | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $75 per applicant/occupant | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Messenger Fee | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $65 | Refundable Non-refundable |
Management updates its schedule without a public filing. The date is when management last updated the page, not when a rule changed. Confirm the current schedule with management before you apply.
Considering an apartment here? Send Corey the listing to discuss the building's costs and purchase requirements.
Own an apartment here? Request an apartment-specific pricing review.
Financing and purchase requirements
- Maximum financing
- 50% of the purchase priceSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
- Guarantors
- Not permittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
- Co-purchasing
- PermittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
- Parent buying for an employed child
- Not permittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
- Parent buying for a student child
- Not permittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
- Purchase or lease by a corporation
- Not permittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
Sublet and pied-à-terre policy
A condominium owner leasing a unit and a co-op shareholder subletting are different rules, and a building-wide rule is different from a restriction on one apartment. This is the building's rule; confirm it for the specific apartment.
- Subletting by shareholders
- Not permittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
- Pied-à-terre ownership
- PermittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
- Short-term rentals
- Not permittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
Considering an apartment here? Send Corey the listing to discuss the sublet and pied-à-terre rules for that apartment.
Pets and in-unit washer/dryer
- Pets
- Pets permitted; species and limits not statedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
- In-unit washer/dryer
- PermittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of September 2026
Considering an apartment here? Send Corey the listing to confirm the pet and washer/dryer rules for that apartment.
Building staffing and amenities
- Doorman
- Doorman (hours not stated)Source: The Roebling Team's building profile
- Live-in superintendent
- YesSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
- Elevator
- YesSource: NYC Department of City Planning records (PLUTO)
- Amenities noted
- StorageSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
Staffing and amenities as our building profile and recent listing records describe them. A feature not listed is not confirmed absent. Outdoor space, parking and some facilities can belong to particular apartments or to a separate owner; confirm access for the specific apartment.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $38,735/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $215
- Modeled exposure split equally across 15 units (the residential count on the city's lot record). Not an assessed amount; co-op shareholders are typically charged by share allocation.
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the inspector (QEWI) identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair, with repairs due by the deadline stated in the filing. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — a licensed professional engineer or registered architect who meets DOB’s FISP qualifications and signs 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 data last refreshed October 2026.
Management & transfer contacts
- Flip tax
- Requires confirmation
- Sublet policy
- Not permitted
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, from The Roebling Research Library. 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 25, 2023 | 9 | 4 BR · 3.5 BA | $12,271,500 | -5.2% | |
| Mar 28, 2022 | 5 | 4 BR · 4 BA | $6,500,000 | -9.7% | |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 4 | 4 BR · 4.5 BA | $8,000,000 | -2.4% | |
| Aug 24, 2021 | PH | 2 BR · 4 BA · 2,660 sf | $7,000,000 | $2,632/sf | -6.7% |
| May 30, 2018 | 12 | 3 BR | $12,000,000 | -33.0% | |
| Jul 6, 2005 | 4 | 4 BR | $9,000,000 | +5.9% | |
| May 11, 2005 | 2 | 3 BR | $7,000,000 | -6.6% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2021): a median $2,632/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 6.6% 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.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01491-0012). Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified in The Roebling Research Library. 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.
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What to know if you’re buying
This is a prime full-floor cooperative, so the purchase runs through a board application and interview; confirm the building's current financing, liquidity and ownership requirements from its application instructions. The building permits financing up to 50% and charges a flip tax on resale (tiered or formula; see fees). Pied-à-terre use is permitted; subletting is not. The reward for clearing that bar is rare: a full-floor Art Deco home on the museum block, with privacy, light, and a Central Park address that almost no new construction can replicate.
What to know if you’re selling
The selling story is scarcity and pedigree — a full-floor Art Deco residence by Van Wart & Wein, on the Metropolitan Museum block, with private-landing entry, wood-burning fireplaces, and one-per-floor light. That package belongs to a very small comparable set, and positioning against the right prime full-floor pre-war peers on Madison and Fifth is what sets and supports the price. Presentation matters at this level: a well-prepared, well-photographed full-floor home draws the qualified, board-ready buyer this building requires. We qualify financial and board fit early, because at this price tier the cost of a failed board application is high.
Comparable buildings
If you're evaluating 21 East 79th Street, these nearby Upper East Side cooperatives offer comparisons; verify each construction era separately:
- 136 East 79th Street — pre-war co-op on the same block corridor
- 156 East 79th Street — pre-war 79th Street cooperative
- 173 East 79th Street — pre-war co-op nearby on 79th
- 35 East 85th Street — Carnegie Hill cooperative; verify its construction era separately
- 111 East 85th Street — Upper East Side cooperative; verify its construction era separately
More Upper East Side buildings
- 20 East 68th Street — 1955 condop by Boak & Paris
- 20 East 76th Street (The Surrey Residences) — 1925 condominium by Schwartz & Gross
- 21 East 66th Street — 1921 condominium
- 21 East 87th Street / 22 East 88th Street — 1927 co-op by Emery Roth
- The Carlton House (21 East 61st Street / 680 Madison Avenue) — condop
- 23 East 81st Street — 1906 condominium
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, 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.
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. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
Considering a move at 21 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.
646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com