- Year built
- 1958
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 97
- Landmark
- No
50 East 79th Street is a post-war cooperative that punches above the typical white-brick-era building on two counts: a prime Madison Avenue corner and a genuinely distinctive top. Completed in 1958 to the design of Brown & Guenther and converted to a cooperative in 1963, the 20-story red-brick tower is anchored by a two-story polished gray-granite base and crowned by a series of angled terraces on its top five floors — a sculptural massing that distinguishes it from its flat-topped post-war neighbors and gives its upper apartments private outdoor space with a real architectural identity.
The location is the structural advantage. The southeast corner of Madison Avenue and East 79th Street sits in the heart of the Upper East Side's museum-and-gallery district — within easy reach of the Metropolitan Museum, the gallery row of Madison Avenue, and the luxury retail and dining that define the corridor. The block sits at the productive seam between Lenox Hill to the south and Carnegie Hill to the north, with the 77th Street subway and the full weight of the Fifth and Madison Avenue cultural inventory close at hand.
For buyers who want a full-service Upper East Side cooperative in a premier location — with the practical advantages of post-war construction, an on-site garage, and the bonus of distinctive upper-floor terraces — 50 East 79th Street occupies a clear niche: well-positioned, comfortable, and architecturally a cut above the generic post-war tower.
Architecture and unit composition
The building rewards attention from the street: the granite base grounds the composition, the red-brick body rises cleanly, and the angled terraces at the top transform the upper five floors into the building's signature. Those terraced apartments carry private outdoor space and the best light and views in the building.
The roughly 97 apartments span post-war configurations across the 20 stories, with a unit mix weighted toward the comfortable one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts characteristic of 1958 Upper East Side construction. Post-war signatures recur throughout: efficient, practical floor plans, good light, and solid mid-century construction. Apartment-level variation is significant — floor altitude, exposure, the presence of terrace space on the upper floors, and renovation history all matter to value, and lines price on their individual merits.
Building operations
50 East 79th Street operates as a full-service post-war cooperative with a 24-hour doorman, a live-in resident manager, a fully equipped fitness center, a bike room, storage, laundry, and a discounted on-site parking garage available to shareholders subject to availability.
The board posture is well-defined. The cooperative carries a 2% flip tax, payable by the buyer, and permits financing of up to 65% of the purchase price. The building is pet-friendly, allowing one dog per residence, and pied-à-terre ownership is welcome — a flexible combination for a Madison Avenue co-op that broadens the buyer pool to part-time residents and out-of-town purchasers. Buyers should review the current proprietary lease and house rules in the course of a purchase.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $69,136/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $59
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The facade passed its last inspection with no required repairs — nothing to budget for here, and no facade assessment on the horizon for roughly five years.
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 50 East 79th Street:
- With roughly 97 apartments, the building produces a moderate cadence of closings — typically a few transactions per year.
- Pricing spans a band tied to apartment scale, floor, exposure, and outdoor space; high-floor terraced apartments anchor the top of the range, with lower-floor and interior units more accessible.
- The Madison Avenue corner, the museum-district location, and the pied-à-terre-friendly posture support steady buyer interest.
Treat the ranges here as general context rather than quotations of specific trades; the building's sales record updates from public data.
What to know if you’re buying
The Madison Avenue corner is the asset. A premier museum-and-gallery-district location with the Met, gallery row, and luxury retail close at hand.
The upper-floor terraces are the building's signature. The angled top-five-floor terraces offer private outdoor space found nowhere else in the building — and command a premium accordingly.
The policy posture is accommodating. A defined 2% buyer-paid flip tax, 65% financing, one dog per residence, and pied-à-terre ownership permitted make the board's expectations clear up front.
The on-site garage is a practical edge. Discounted shareholder parking is a real day-to-day advantage on this stretch of Madison.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the corner location, the terraces, and the garage. The Madison Avenue museum-district position, the distinctive upper-floor terraces, and the on-site parking are the strongest selling points.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. Floor, exposure, terrace space, and renovation drive value more than building averages.
The buyer pool skews toward established Upper East Side buyers and pied-à-terre purchasers. The location, full-service profile, and flexible policies draw a motivated, well-capitalized demographic.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. Roughly 4–8 weeks from contract to closing, subject to board-package and interview scheduling. Note the 2% buyer-paid flip tax in pricing conversations.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 50 East 79th Street, also evaluate:
- 30 East 76th Street — nearby Upper East Side cooperative
- 14 East 75th Street — nearby Lenox Hill cooperative
- 130 East 75th Street — nearby Upper East Side building
- 175 East 77th Street — nearby Upper East Side cooperative
- 33 East 74th Street — nearby Lenox Hill cooperative
- 45 East 82nd Street — nearby Upper East Side building
The Roebling Team at 50 East 79th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper East Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because Upper East Side 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 50 East 79th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
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