The Forum (339 East 74th Street)

The Forum is a postmodern-era masonry tower whose most recognizable exterior gesture is a pronounced sloping curtain-wall face — a design signature that distinguishes it from the flat brick slabs common to the surrounding blocks. The building rises 25 stories on a mid-block parcel, which gives upper-floor units open exposures and, on higher floors, city and partial river-direction sight lines despite the interior-block position.

The 149 residences span studios through three-bedroom layouts, giving the building a genuinely mixed resident profile rather than a single dominant unit type. Interiors reflect their 1980s new-construction origins — efficient, well-proportioned layouts rather than pre-war scale — and every apartment includes its own washer/dryer, a convenience that continues to differentiate the building in resale.

Because the building is mid-block between First and Second Avenues, it sits a short walk from the Second Avenue subway, First Avenue crosstown service, and the retail and dining corridors of Yorkville and Lenox Hill, while remaining off the heavier avenue traffic.

The Forum operates as a full-service cooperative: a full-time doorman and concierge at the lobby, an on-site parking garage, a fitness center, and a roof deck available to residents. Maintenance charges reflect a co-op cost structure — meaningfully lower on a monthly basis than a comparable condominium's combined common charges and taxes — with the portion attributable to the building's underlying mortgage and property taxes typically tax-deductible to shareholders.

The building's condop-style governance is the operationally distinctive feature. Purchasers are not subject to a co-op board approval process, financing is permitted to 90%, and subletting is allowed immediately and without the term limits most co-ops impose. As with any cooperative, buyers should review the current financial statements, the underlying mortgage terms, reserve levels, and any assessment history during due diligence — the Roebling Research Library holds these materials for review.

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.

Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $892/sf (floor-adjusted) across 3 sales. 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 3.1% 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 1-01449-7502). 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 on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.

The condop structure is the headline advantage. No board approval, up to 90% financing, no flip tax, and immediate/indefinite subletting give this building condominium-grade flexibility at cooperative pricing. If that combination is what you're after, confirm each policy in writing at offer stage — the Roebling Research Library holds the current rules.

Underwrite it as a co-op on value. Price on a per-room and per-square-foot basis against Upper East Side cooperative comparables, not condominium benchmarks. The lower monthly carry and partial tax deductibility of maintenance are part of the value equation.

Diligence the building's financials. Review current financial statements, the underlying mortgage, reserves, and any assessment history. A flexible rule set does not substitute for balance-sheet review.

The amenity set is real. Full-time doorman, on-site garage, fitness center, roof deck, and in-unit washer/dryer in every apartment — a full-service package that many co-ops of this vintage lack.

Condition drives price. Given the 1987 vintage, renovated units command a premium. Budget for updates on unrenovated inventory and price accordingly.

Lead with flexibility. The no-board-approval, 90%-financing, no-flip-tax, sublet-friendly rule set widens your buyer pool well beyond the typical Upper East Side co-op. Marketing should make that flexibility explicit.

No flip tax is a seller advantage. Unlike most neighborhood cooperatives, there is no transfer fee deducted at closing — a real net-proceeds benefit worth surfacing to prospective buyers evaluating total cost.

Price at the apartment level. Floor, exposure, layout, and renovation condition drive value. Comparable sales within the building are the right anchor, read on a per-room basis.

Positioning matters against nearby co-ops. The building competes with more restrictive cooperatives in the immediate blocks; its flexibility and full amenity package are the differentiators to emphasize.

If you're considering The Forum, also evaluate:

• 340 East 74th Street (The Avon House) — full-service Upper East Side building directly across the block
• 170 East 78th Street — nearby Upper East Side cooperative
• 180 East 79th Street — Upper East Side full-service building a few blocks north
• 130 East 75th Street — Upper East Side cooperative in the immediate vicinity
• 14 East 75th Street — Upper East Side cooperative near Central Park
• 167 East 61st Street — flexible Upper East Side building with condop-style characteristics