- Year built
- 1930
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 42
- Landmark
- No
320 East 72nd Street is a 1930 pre-war cooperative defined by its extraordinarily low density: 42 apartments across 19 stories, including four duplexes and a maisonette. That ratio is the building's whole identity. Where a typical Upper East Side building of similar size holds well over a hundred apartments, 320 East 72nd was conceived around large, full-floor-scale residences — most apartments open onto their own private elevator landing, and the remainder share a landing with only one neighbor. The result is a building that lives like a far more exclusive address than its mid-block Lenox Hill setting might suggest.
Designed by Lafayette A. Goldstone, an architect active across pre-war Manhattan's apartment and institutional work, the building presents a restrained, dignified pre-war face: red brick over a limestone base, limestone columns framing the canopied entrance, and the consistent fenestration and roofline that mark the era's better apartment houses. The interiors carry the period's luxury signatures with unusual consistency — every apartment has at least one wood-burning fireplace and a minimum of four bathrooms, alongside the generous room scale of full-floor-scale layouts.
The location places residents in central Lenox Hill, on a residential cross street within easy reach of the Second and Third Avenue retail corridors, the 72nd Street crosstown axis, and the Q train at 72nd and Second a short walk away.
For buyers, 320 East 72nd offers something genuinely scarce: a low-density pre-war cooperative built around large, fireplaced apartments with private-landing privacy, at Lenox Hill pricing rather than the Fifth and Park Avenue premium.
Architecture and unit composition
The 42 apartments across 19 stories skew decisively toward large, full-floor-scale configurations — a direct consequence of the low-density design — and include four duplexes and a ground-level maisonette. Every apartment carries at least one wood-burning fireplace and no fewer than four bathrooms, consistent with the building's positioning as a building of large residences. Most apartments open onto a private elevator landing; the balance share a landing with a single neighbor.
Pre-war signatures of the 1930 vintage are typical here: high ceilings, entry galleries, separated formal living and dining rooms, and the room proportions that define the era's luxury apartment design.
Building operations
320 East 72nd operates as a full-service pre-war cooperative with full-time doorman coverage, elevator service, and an on-site superintendent. The private and semi-private elevator-landing arrangement is a structural feature of the low-density design and a meaningful part of the building's appeal. Board posture at a low-density pre-war building of this character tends toward the rigorous end.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $8,742/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $17
Facade safety — Local Law 11
Safe to live in today — but the last inspection flagged repairs that are due on a deadline, so facade work and its cost are coming. Whether that’s a real concern depends on the scope, the timing, and how the building plans to pay for it — reserves or an assessment — which is exactly what we’d dig into for you.
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 →Recent sales
Sales context at 320 East 72nd:
- Turnover is low given the 42-unit scale — typically only a small number of closings per year, and in some years very few.
- Pricing reflects the large-apartment format; with relatively few smaller units, trades concentrate at the upper end of the configuration range.
What to know if you’re buying
Low density is the whole proposition. Forty-two apartments in a 19-story building means large residences and private-landing privacy. This is the building's scarcity value and its primary marketing identity.
Every apartment is large and fireplaced. Expect full-floor-scale layouts, at least one wood-burning fireplace, and a minimum of four bathrooms; confirm the exact configuration line by line.
Inventory is thin. With so few apartments, availability is intermittent. Buyers should be prepared to act when a fitting apartment appears.
Board approval follows tier-one pre-war co-op norms. Strong financials, clean post-closing liquidity, and primary-residence intent are typically central; expect a rigorous posture.
What to know if you’re selling
Scarcity is your strongest lever. Few large, low-density pre-war buildings exist on the Upper East Side at this price tier; the private-landing format, the apartment scale, and the fireplaces should anchor the listing.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. With limited internal turnover, comparable sets are thin and cross-building analysis is essential; floor altitude, exposure, duplex versus simplex, and renovation history all matter.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. Generally 6–10 weeks from contract signing to closing, subject to board package and interview pacing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 320 East 72nd Street, also evaluate:
- 315 East 72nd Street — full-service East 72nd Street co-op nearby
- 530 East 72nd Street — full-service East 72nd Street co-op
- 360 East 72nd Street — full-service East 72nd Street co-op
- 420 East 72nd Street — full-service East 72nd Street co-op
- 50 East 72nd Street — pre-war Lenox Hill co-op
The Roebling Team at 320 East 72nd Street
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper East Side, Central Park West, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because Lenox Hill buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 320 East 72nd, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
Current availability including off-market, the full comp set, and the board & financials read most listings don't show.