308 East 72nd Street (The Knickerbocker)
308 East 72nd Street, New York, NY 10021
BBL 1014467502 · BIN 1085184
- Year built
- 1996
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 75
- Floors
- 22
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Cats and dogs permitted with board approval
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 (floor-adjusted)
- $1,667
- Listing discount
- 4.5%
- Recorded sales
- 82
- On record
- 2003–2026
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at The Knickerbocker 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.
The Knickerbocker is a 1996 full-service condominium built to deliver prewar-caliber white-glove service in a modern building envelope — a 22-story red-brick tower on a mid-block Lenox Hill stretch between First and Second Avenues. It was developed by the Jack Parker organization and designed by Schuman Lichtenstein Claman & Efron, a firm responsible for a large share of the Upper East Side's postwar residential inventory.
What distinguishes it from the neighborhood's older cooperative stock is the combination of condominium ownership flexibility with a service culture modeled on the prewar full-service house. The building maintains a staffed lobby, a paneled library where continental breakfast and afternoon tea are served, a children's playroom, and a fitness room. For buyers who want the looser resale, financing, and subletting rules of a condominium without giving up doorman-and-concierge service, the Knickerbocker is a straightforward fit on a quiet residential block.
Architecture and building operations
The building is a 22-story postwar high-rise clad in red brick above a three-story limestone base, with rusticated keystones and a single setback terrace on the upper massing. Interiors include central air conditioning, and in-unit washer/dryers are permitted subject to building engineer approval. There is a live-in superintendent, a full-time handyman, and a porter for deliveries.
Operations are full-service: a 24-hour doorman and concierge staff the lobby. Amenities include a fitness room, a paneled library lounge that opens onto a planted terrace, a children's playroom, and private storage available for an additional fee. The building is non-smoking.
Policy framework
- Type: Condominium
- Pets: Cats and dogs permitted with board approval
- Pied-à-terre: Permitted
- Financing maximum: Up to 100% financing permitted, subject to board approval of the purchase
- Flip tax: Verify with managing agent at offer stage
- Subletting: Permitted with board approval; short-term rentals and Airbnb-style rentals prohibited; corporate and diplomatic purchases or leases not permitted; guarantors not accepted
- Trust/LLC/foreign buyers: Condominium transfers accommodate trust and entity ownership; confirm terms at contract
- Board interview: Condominium purchase applications are reviewed by the board, which conducts virtual interviews and exercises a right of first refusal rather than the approval discretion of a cooperative
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $68,385/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $76
- Modeled exposure split equally across 75 units (the city tax-lot count). Not an assessed amount; co-op shareholders are typically charged by share allocation.
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).
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
Management & transfer contacts
- Sublet policy
- Allowed subject to board approval; short-term/AirBnB not allowed
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed; secondary residence allowed
- Notable fees
- Buyer processing $1,000; condominium fee $1,500; credit/background $150/applicant; working capital 1% of purchase price; move-in/out deposits $1,000; max financing 100%; guarantors not allowed; Spectrum bulk $80.33/mo
Recent sales
The Knickerbocker trades on a price-per-square-foot basis, as condominiums do. Value at this address reflects the building's full-service operation, its 1996 construction with central air and in-unit laundry potential, and its quieter mid-block position east of the main avenues. As a condominium, it draws buyers who prioritize financing flexibility, resale liquidity, and the ability to sublet — factors that generally support pricing relative to comparable-quality cooperative product nearby.
Specific unit pricing turns on floor, exposure, layout, terrace access, and renovation condition. Because per-square-foot figures vary meaningfully across lines and over time, buyers and sellers should ground expectations in current, unit-specific comparables rather than building-wide averages.
Recent closings 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 2026 | 18C | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · 1,412 sf | $2,700,000 | $1,912/sf | off-mkt |
| Jul 10, 2025 | 11D | 4 BR · 4.5 BA · 2,575 sf | $4,875,000 | $1,893/sf | -0.3% |
| Jun 10, 2025 | 9B | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · 1,482 sf | $1,875,000 | $1,265/sf | -16.7% |
| Oct 4, 2024 | 12A | 1,665 sf | $2,450,000 | $1,471/sf | off-mkt |
| Aug 13, 2024 | 4E | 1 BR · 1.5 BA · 916 sf | $940,000 | $1,026/sf | -6.0% |
| May 1, 2024 | 16D | 4 BR · 2,575 sf | $4,300,000 | $1,670/sf | off-mkt |
| Mar 4, 2024 | 14CD | 4 BR · 5.5 BA · 4,005 sf | $4,900,000 | $1,223/sf | -10.8% |
| Nov 9, 2023 | 18C | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · 1,412 sf | $2,200,000 | $1,558/sf | -4.3% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,667/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount 4.5% 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 1-01446-7502). 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 from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
Closed rents at The Knickerbocker, last 36 months
| Size | Leases | Median / month |
|---|---|---|
| 2 bedroom | 3 | $8,995 |
| 4 bedroom | 3 | $17,200 |
7 closed leases, October 2023 to September 2026. Most recent lease April 2026. Sizes with fewer than 2 leases are not shown. Compiled by The Roebling Team at Compass from closed leases.
At the recent median sale of $2.7M (4 sales since 2024), a buyer putting 25% down would pay about $110,151 to close, or 4.1% of the price.
- Mansion tax: $33,750
- Mortgage recording tax: $38,981
- Title insurance: $12,150
- Attorneys, lender, building fees, reserves and filings: $25,270
Assumes a resale (the seller pays transfer taxes), a $4,500 attorney fee and a mortgage on the rest.
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What to know if you’re buying
- Condominium flexibility with full service. You get doorman-and-concierge staffing alongside the financing, resale, and subletting latitude of a condo.
- Financing is accommodating. The building permits high loan-to-value financing subject to board approval — an advantage over the typical prewar co-op cap.
- Pets are welcome. Cats and dogs are permitted with board approval; confirm any weight or number limits at application.
- Modern systems. Central air throughout, and in-unit washer/dryers where engineer-approved — comforts the older housing stock often lacks.
- Confirm parking. Sources conflict on whether a garage is currently available at the building; verify parking arrangements directly at offer stage.
What to know if you’re selling
- Lead with service and flexibility. The full-time doorman, concierge, and library amenity distinguish the Knickerbocker from bare-bones postwar condos.
- Position against co-op alternatives. For buyers weighing nearby cooperatives, emphasize the financing and subletting latitude a condo provides.
- Renovation condition drives spread. Updated kitchens, baths, and in-unit laundry command a premium; stage and document accordingly.
- Know your comparables. Price to current per-square-foot trades in the building and immediate blocks, not to stale averages.
Comparable buildings
- 188 East 76th Street — 1990s full-service Lenox Hill condominium; nearby peer
- 310 East 70th Street — nearby Lenox Hill peer
- 1440 Second Avenue — nearby Upper East Side peer
- 404 East 66th Street — nearby Upper East Side peer
- 180 East 79th Street — nearby Lenox Hill peer
More Upper East Side buildings
- 305 East 72nd Street (Charing Cross House) — 1955 co-op by H.I. Feldman
- The Georgica (305 East 85th Street) — condominium by CetraRuddy Architects
- 306 East 82nd Street — 2008 condominium
- 308 East 79th Street — 1928 co-op by Jacob M. Felson
- 310 East 70th Street — 1959 co-op
- 310 East 86th Street (The Harper) — 2021 condominium
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, 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. 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.
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