505 East 79th Street (East River House)
505 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075
Yorkville, Upper East Side
BBL 1015760005 · BIN 1050765
- Year built
- 1963
- Type
- Condop
- Units
- 209
- Floors
- 19
- Landmark
- No
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $932
- Listing discount
- 2.8%
- Recorded sales
- 187
- On record
- 2003–2026
East River House is one of the larger post-war cooperatives east of York Avenue, and the reason to look at it is a simple arithmetic one: 209 apartments across a 215-foot blockfront, two blocks from Carl Schurz Park and the East River esplanade, in a corridor whose prestige buildings sit a few hundred feet north and east and price accordingly. The building has always been the practical option in a neighborhood with several very impractical ones.
The scale is the story. A 209-apartment corporation spreads fixed costs — staff, elevators, boiler plant, insurance, management — across a base that a fifty-unit pre-war co-op does not have, and it owns a 14,000-square-foot garage whose income offsets the maintenance line rather than being carved out as a separate commercial condominium the way it is in newer buildings. That is an unusually clean structure: one tax lot, one corporation, one commercial asset, no ground lease, no condominium overlay, no sponsor entity in the picture more than half a century after conversion. It also concentrates risk in one place. If the garage lease is old, below market, or approaching renewal, that is a budget event a buyer should know about before contract rather than after.
The building's other governing fact is what it does not carry. There is no J-51 abatement burning off and no 421-a schedule stepping down — the building predates 421-a entirely, and DOF's exemption record across every roll available shows nothing but the small, fluctuating aggregate that individual shareholders' veterans, senior and STAR benefits produce on a co-op lot. Buyers who have been trained by newer Yorkville stock to ask "when does the abatement end?" should understand that here the answer is that there is nothing to end. The maintenance is what it is, and the underlying mortgage and the garage lease are what move it.
Philip Birnbaum designed it, in 1963, at the height of a career spent building large, efficient, well-closeted apartment houses on the East Side. Architectural records describe a handsome red-brick building whose defining feature is its balconies and terraces, positioned to take the East River view. That is the product: outdoor space and river light, at Yorkville pricing rather than East End Avenue pricing.
Architecture and unit composition
The building rises nineteen stories in red brick across the full north blockfront of East 79th Street, with a large land parcel — nearly 22,000 square feet — and 260,000 gross square feet above it. The massing is post-war and straightforward; the elaboration is in the balconies and setback terraces, which appear through the upper stock and on the eastern and southern exposures where the river is visible over the low-rise blocks toward East End Avenue.
The apartment mix runs from alcove studios in the low 600-square-foot range through one-bedrooms around 750 square feet and two-bedrooms from roughly 900 to 1,300 square feet, with larger configurations above, per listing records. Birnbaum's planning conventions are present throughout — real entry foyers, defined dining space in the larger lines, and closet counts that renovation-minded buyers routinely underestimate. Line position matters more than floor here: southern and eastern lines carry the outdoor space and the river outlook; northern and western lines look across the block and price as the value tier. Combinations exist — DOB filings record at least two apartment combinations, in 2002 and 2005 — which is why the corporation's apartment count and any brokerage unit count may differ slightly.
Building operations
Full-service and conventionally run: 24-hour doorman, live-in resident manager, three elevators, central laundry, storage and bicycle rooms, and the 24-hour attended garage. The building's DOB record over the past twenty-five years reads as steady stewardship rather than deferred maintenance — repeated facade and masonry campaigns including a Local Law 11 cycle with sidewalk protection in 2017, a boiler replacement with new burners filed in 2015, a fuel-conversion filing, and routine cellar and common-area work. That is the profile of a building that funds its capital work rather than postponing it, though the financial statements are the only place to confirm reserve levels and assessment history.
The corporation's debt is visible in the public record: refinancings in 2012 and 2018, and a May 2021 consolidation of roughly $8.1 million with about $2.5 million in new money. Against 209 apartments that is moderate leverage, but the maturity date is the number that matters to a buyer, and it is not public. Ask for it, along with the reserve balance, the current garage lease terms, and any assessment in place or recently concluded.
Policy framework
Nothing at this building is published. The board's financing ceiling, minimum down payment, post-closing liquidity requirement, debt-to-income standard, flip tax, sublet policy, pied-à-terre practice, and treatment of trusts, limited liability companies, co-purchasers, guarantors and parental gifting are all board-set and unpublished, and several of them change with board composition. Do not price an offer against a neighborhood assumption.
Obtain the following in writing from the managing agent before you offer: the maximum permitted financing and minimum down payment; the post-closing liquidity requirement and how the board measures it; whether a flip tax exists and how it is computed; the sublet policy including any ownership seasoning period, term limits and sublet fee; whether pied-à-terre purchases are considered and on what terms; and the board's posture on trusts, LLCs, co-purchasers and guarantors. Then run the Co-op Board Qualification Calculator against the actual figures, not the corridor norm.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $72,728/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $29
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 filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the engineer identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair before the next inspection cycle. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
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 2020–25. 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
East River House has one of the deeper resale records in its immediate area — ACRIS records more than two hundred share transfers against the lot, running steadily from the years after the 1971 conversion through the current year. That depth is the building's practical advantage in diligence: there is real same-building evidence to price against, which is not true of every co-op on these blocks.
Pricing within the building turns on three variables in roughly this order: outdoor space and exposure, renovation condition, and line size. Balconied and terraced lines with river outlook carry the premium; interior and north-facing lines are the entry tier. Against the surrounding market, the building trades as the large-scale post-war value option in a corridor whose pre-war and East End Avenue stock prices well above it — and, because there is no abatement in the picture, the maintenance figure a buyer sees is the maintenance figure they will keep paying, adjusted only for the building's own budget. Unit-level transaction history is maintained in The Roebling Research Library and shared with clients during diligence.
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. 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 8, 2026 | 15K | 3 BR · 2 BA · 1,550 sf | $1,925,000 | $1,242/sf | +0.0% |
| May 11, 2026 | 19BC | 3 BR · 2,500 sf | $3,237,500 | $1,295/sf | +7.9% |
| Feb 9, 2026 | 8C | 2 BR · 1 BA · 1,000 sf | $707,500 | $708/sf | +1.2% |
| Feb 5, 2026 | 2M | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,315 sf | $1,225,000 | $932/sf | -2.0% |
| Feb 2, 2026 | 8G | 1 BR · 1 BA · 750 sf | $435,000 | $580/sf | -4.4% |
| Dec 4, 2025 | 7F | 1 BA · 630 sf | $450,000 | $714/sf | -3.2% |
| Oct 30, 2025 | 10E | 2 BR · 1 BA · 630 sf | $440,000 | $698/sf | +0.0% |
| Aug 8, 2025 | 2C | 2 BR · 1 BA · 1,100 sf | $860,000 | $782/sf | -12.7% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $932/sf across 5 sales. Median listing discount 2.8% 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 1-01576-0005) 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
These are shares, and the board is the gate. You will submit a full board package — financial statement, tax returns, bank and brokerage verifications, employment and personal references — and you will sit for an interview. The package is the transaction. Build it before you are in contract, not after.
Get the financing ceiling and liquidity requirement in writing first. They are unpublished and they are the two numbers most likely to end a deal late. A post-war co-op of this size can sit anywhere from 70 to 80 percent financing, with a post-closing liquidity requirement measured in years of maintenance and mortgage. Assume nothing.
Ask about the garage lease. The garage is the corporation's only commercial income. Its rent, term and renewal date belong in your underwriting, because a below-market lease or an approaching renewal is a maintenance question in disguise.
Ask about the underlying mortgage maturity. The corporation consolidated roughly $8.1 million in May 2021. Find out when it matures and what the board's plan is. Refinancing risk at a 209-unit co-op is manageable, but only if it is known.
Establish the sublet, pied-à-terre and entity rules before you offer. If you need to sublet in five years, or you are buying through a trust or as a second home, that is a threshold question, not a closing detail. Run the Co-op Affordability Calculator once you have the real maintenance and the real financing cap.
What to know if you’re selling
Qualify the buyer against the board, not the market. The most expensive outcome here is a signed contract that fails at the board. Screen for liquidity and debt-to-income against the building's actual standards before you accept an offer, and prepare the buyer's package alongside them.
Lead with the outdoor space. Balconies and terraces with river outlook are the building's differentiated product in a corridor where most post-war stock has neither. Photograph them, and market the line rather than the floor.
Document the building's stewardship. The facade cycles, the boiler replacement, and the absence of any abatement cliff are all answers to questions a careful buyer's attorney will ask. Put the financial statements and the garage lease terms in front of counsel early.
Price the renovation math honestly. Estate-condition apartments in a Birnbaum building renovate extremely well, and the buyer pool knows it — but they will price the work. Run the Renovation Cost Calculator against your asking strategy.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 505 East 79th Street, also evaluate:
- 515 East 79th Street — the immediate cooperative neighbor on the same tax block; the closest like-for-like comparison
- 510 East 80th Street (The Carriage House) — same block, lot 7501; the condominium alternative for buyers who want deeded ownership and no board approval
- 425 East 79th Street — Yorkville cooperative at similar scale, west of York Avenue
- 440 East 79th Street — post-war cooperative on the same street
- 460 East 79th Street — the York Avenue-adjacent post-war alternative
- 1498 York Avenue — cooperative on the western end of the same block
- 2 East End Avenue and 10 East End Avenue — the East End Avenue corridor's cooperatives at the block's eastern end; the prestige step-up
- 200 East End Avenue — full-blockfront post-war cooperative opposite Carl Schurz Park, with an on-site garage and a comparable operating profile
- 300 East 79th Street — the large post-war alternative further west on the same street
- 525 East 80th Street — Yorkville cooperative one block north
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, 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.
Considering a move at East River House?
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 East River House 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.