342 East 53rd Street
342 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
Midtown East
BBL 1013450031 · BIN 1039804
- Year built
- 1958
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark
- No
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median
- $626K
- Recent range
- $350K – $895K
- Listing discount
- 2.0%
- Recorded transfers
- 74
342 East 53rd Street is a mid-century co-op in the eastern reach of Turtle Bay — the quiet stretch of Midtown East between First and Second Avenues, near Sutton Place and the United Nations, where side-street apartment houses give the neighborhood its residential calm. Converted to cooperative ownership in 1984, the seven-story building has settled into the role its block plays best: an established, pet-friendly co-op address with a landscaped courtyard garden, a well-kept lobby, and attainable entry price points in a genuinely central location.
The building's appeal is its combination of a leafy, low-key setting and co-op stability, a short walk from the East Side's transit and employment spine. For buyers who want an owner-occupied home in a stable building rather than a corporate-feeling rental or a glass tower — and who value the eastern Turtle Bay quiet — 342 East 53rd sits squarely in the target. Note that this building is distinct from the individually landmarked pair of 19th-century houses at 312 and 314 East 53rd Street a short distance west; 342 is a separate, larger, later apartment house.
Architecture and unit composition
The building presents the mid-century masonry vocabulary of its 1958 vintage — a canopied entrance, lush sidewalk landscaping, and a recently renovated lobby and hallways. Behind the façade, the roughly 50 to 51 residences run from studios through two-bedrooms, arranged several to a floor around a landscaped interior courtyard. As at any cooperative of this age, individual homes reflect decades of owner renovation, so condition and configuration are unit-specific.
Building operations
342 East 53rd Street runs as a managed cooperative with a live-in superintendent handling day-to-day operations, a voice-intercom (virtual) doorman system rather than a staffed lobby, a bike room, a central laundry room, and a landscaped courtyard patio garden. The building is pet-friendly and 100 percent shareholder-owned. As a cooperative, purchases are subject to board review and approval, and the building's governing documents set the framework: a 20 percent minimum down payment, no flip tax reported, pieds-à-terre permitted, and subletting permitted after two years of ownership with board approval and a liability-insurance certificate naming the co-op. Co-purchasing, gifting, and guarantors have generally been allowed. We obtain current building financials and house rules from the managing agent for clients at offer stage.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
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.
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 →Management & transfer contacts
- Sublet policy
- Allowed; short-term rentals/AirBnB not allowed
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed (case by case)
- Notable fees
- Application fee $450; credit check $125/applicant; move-in/out deposits $250 each; max financing 75%
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 2026 | 2GH | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,100 sf | $875,000 | $795/sf | -2.2% |
| Feb 5, 2025 | 0B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 570 sf | $535,000 | $939/sf | -1.8% |
| Jan 7, 2025 | 5G | 1 BA | $365,000 | -3.7% | |
| Oct 24, 2024 | 4C | 1 BA | $370,000 | -1.3% | |
| Aug 6, 2024 | 5H | 1 BR · 1 BA · 800 sf | $639,000 | $799/sf | -1.4% |
| Aug 2, 2023 | 2C | 1 BA | $350,000 | +0.0% | |
| Jul 26, 2023 | 4B | 1 BA | $376,000 | -3.3% | |
| Jul 7, 2023 | 2A | 1 BR · 1 BA · 800 sf | $626,000 | $783/sf | +8.9% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $813/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 3.2% 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 1-01345-0031) 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 on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
This is a cooperative, so the purchase runs through a board: a full financial and personal package followed by an interview, with the building's financing and residency requirements set by its governing documents — including the 20 percent minimum down. The absence of a flip tax and the day-one pied-à-terre allowance are genuine flexibilities relative to stricter co-ops; the two-year sublet wait is the constraint to plan around. Beyond board posture, value here is driven by the home — layout, exposure, floor, and renovation quality — and by the building's courtyard setting and central Turtle Bay location. Run the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator to compare the co-op carry against the neighborhood's alternatives.
What to know if you’re selling
The selling case is a stable, financially sound co-op with a landscaped courtyard garden in a quiet, central Turtle Bay location — with no flip tax and a pied-à-terre allowance that widen the buyer pool. The buyer pool is owner-occupants and pied-à-terre buyers who value the neighborhood's residential calm and the building's stability. Presentation and board-readiness drive outcomes: a well-renovated, well-staged home that will clear the board cleanly commands the premium. Pricing belongs against the comparable Midtown East co-op set, with layout and condition carrying real weight in the number.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 342 East 53rd Street, also evaluate nearby Midtown East cooperative inventory:
- 347 East 53rd Street — Turtle Bay cooperative on the same block
- 310 East 53rd Street — Midtown East cooperative nearby
- 250 East 53rd Street — full-service Midtown East building
- 345 East 52nd Street — Turtle Bay cooperative a block south
- 226 East 52nd Street — Midtown East cooperative nearby
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Midtown East — read The Roebling Team Guide to Midtown East.
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.
Considering a move at 342 East 53rd Street?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 342 East 53rd 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.