The Fontaine (353 East 72nd Street)
353 East 72nd Street, New York, NY 10021
Lenox Hill, Upper East Side
BBL 1014470019 · BIN 1044882
- Year built
- 1975
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 138
- Pets
- Pet-friendly (verify current policy at offer stage)
- Subletting
- Permitted after two years of ownership
- Financing
- Up to 75% permitted
- Flip tax
- $135 per share
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median
- $635K
- Recent range
- $540K – $705K
- Listing discount
- 2.3%
- Recorded transfers
- 134
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at The Fontaine 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 Fontaine is a full-service, 35-story cooperative on 72nd Street between First and Second Avenues — one of the taller cooperatives on the Upper East Side, which is unusual in a neighborhood where the cooperative stock tends to be pre-war and mid-rise. Built in 1975 and converted to cooperative ownership in 1982, the building combines the cooperative form that defines the Upper East Side with a genuine amenity package — a fitness center, a roof deck with panoramic city views, and full-time service — and a tower height that delivers open exposures the neighborhood's lower cooperatives cannot.
For buyers, the building sits at Lenox Hill's accessible cooperative tier. It offers full-service living, real amenities, and high-floor city views at a price point below the prime Fifth, Park, and Madison Avenue cooperatives. The 72nd Street location, near the Second Avenue subway (the Q line) and close to the East River and the neighborhood's Lenox Hill medical corridor, is a genuine convenience. The building's policies are workable for the tier: financing up to 75%, a modest per-share flip tax, subletting permitted after two years, and pied-à-terre use permitted on a case-by-case basis.
Like most Upper East Side cooperatives, The Fontaine prices in rooms rather than square feet, and the resale market tracks the building's postwar tower layouts, its amenity package, and its high-floor exposures.
Architecture and unit composition
The Fontaine is a 1975 postwar high-rise — a 35-story tower rather than a pre-war or mid-rise building. The height is the point: the upper floors capture open city exposures and the panoramic views that the roof deck showcases. The building's tower form and its 138-unit scale support a full amenity program and a broad apartment mix.
The apartment mix reflects postwar tower construction — layouts across the 138 residences, priced by room in the cooperative convention, with the higher floors capturing the building's premium exposures.
Building operations
The Fontaine operates as a full-service cooperative with a 24-hour doorman, a live-in super, a fitness center, a roof deck/terrace with panoramic city views, a central laundry, bike storage, and private storage rooms. The lobby and elevators have been renovated. The fitness center and the roof deck are meaningful amenities for the cooperative tier.
As a cooperative, the building reviews prospective purchasers through a board application and interview process. Financing is permitted up to 75%, the flip tax is $135 per share, subletting is permitted after two years of ownership, and pied-à-terre use is permitted on a case-by-case basis with board approval. Specific current policies — including pet policy detail and the current board posture — should be confirmed against building materials and the managing agent during due diligence. Our Co-op vs Condo guide covers the ownership-structure framing.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
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).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2025–30. 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 record last verified September 2026.
Recent sales
The Fontaine trades at Lenox Hill's full-service cooperative tier, priced by room, with recent trading generally below the prime Upper East Side avenue cooperatives. The building's amenity package, tower height, and workable policies — 75% financing, a modest per-share flip tax, subletting after two years — support demand relative to amenity-light neighborhood co-ops. As with any cooperative, pricing should be read at the apartment level; room count, floor, exposure, and condition drive the variation, with the higher floors capturing the open-city views.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 2026 | 28D | 1 BR · 1 BA · 750 sf | $675,000 | $900/sf | -2.2% |
| Jul 1, 2026 | 18D | 1 BR · 1 BA | $540,000 | -13.6% | |
| May 20, 2026 | 26A | 1 BR · 1 BA | $640,000 | -1.5% | |
| Jul 9, 2025 | 20C | 1 BR · 1 BA | $590,000 | -1.7% | |
| May 29, 2025 | 30B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 650 sf | $625,000 | $962/sf | -3.8% |
| Mar 19, 2025 | 25D | 1 BR · 1 BA | $595,000 | -0.7% | |
| Oct 2, 2024 | 34C | 1 BR · 1 BA | $662,500 | -3.3% | |
| Jun 17, 2024 | 33B | 1 BR · 1 BA | $640,000 | -5.7% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $786/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 2.9% 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.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 13, 2012 | PH | $4,275,000 |
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 1-01447-0019). 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.
Closed rents at The Fontaine, last 36 months
| Size | Leases | Median / month |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | 4 | $4,722 |
4 closed sublet leases, October 2023 to September 2026. Most recent lease June 2026. Based on few leases. 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 $625K (7 transfers since 2024), a buyer putting 25% down would pay about $10,894 to close, or 1.7% of the price.
- Mansion tax: $0
- No mortgage recording tax or title insurance on a co-op purchase
- Attorneys, lender, building fees and filings: $10,894
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
This is a full-service cooperative — priced by room, board-approved. Expect the cooperative purchase framework: a board application, a financial review, and an interview. The building's policies are workable for the tier — 75% financing, a modest per-share flip tax, subletting after two years.
The tower height and amenities are the draw. The fitness center, the roof deck, and the high-floor city views distinguish The Fontaine from the neighborhood's lower, amenity-light cooperatives. Evaluate the specific apartment's floor and exposure.
Subletting is permitted after two years. For buyers who may want future flexibility, the two-year sublet rule is worth noting.
Confirm the board's current policies directly. Pet policy detail, sublet mechanics, financing thresholds, and the board's current posture should be confirmed against current materials during due diligence.
Model the maintenance and the underlying mortgage. As a cooperative, the monthly maintenance covers the building's operating costs, property taxes, and any underlying mortgage. Review the building's financials and reserve position.
What to know if you’re selling
Foreground the amenities and the views. The building's premium over amenity-light neighborhood co-ops derives from its fitness center, roof deck, and high-floor exposures. Lead marketing with the amenities and the specific apartment's floor and view.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. Recent comparables on the specific line, room count, floor, and exposure should anchor the approach.
Board approvability shapes the buyer pool. Prepare buyers for the cooperative application, and price and position to attract financially qualified applicants who will clear the board.
Closing timelines run to the cooperative calendar. Plan for a board application and interview cycle in addition to standard closing timelines.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Fontaine, also evaluate:
- 515 East 72nd Street — nearby full-service tower on 72nd Street
- 420 East 72nd Street — nearby 72nd Street building
- 422 East 72nd Street — adjacent 72nd Street inventory
- 315 East 72nd Street — nearby 72nd Street cooperative
- 360 East 72nd Street — nearby 72nd Street building
- 520 East 72nd Street — nearby 72nd Street building
More Upper East Side buildings
- Gemstone Condominium, 348 East 89th Street — 1915 condominium
- 350 East 72nd Street (Le Chambord) — 1988 condominium
- Wellington Tower (350 East 82nd Street) — 1998 condominium
- 359 East 68th Street — 1984 condominium
- 360 East 72nd Street — 1963 co-op by Philip Birnbaum & Associates
- 360 East 89th Street (Citizen360) — condominium by SHoP Architects
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 The Fontaine?
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