515 East 79th Street (Asten House)
515 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075
- Year built
- 1981
- Type
- Cooperative — and a structurally unusual one: the building was erected as a cooperative, not converted to one
- Units
- 178
- Floors
- 30
- Landmark
- No
- Amenities
- 24-hour doorman and concierge, live-in resident manager, fitness center, bike storage, central laundry
- Pets
- Permitted with board approval — one dog under 35 pounds per listing records
- Financing
- 70 percent maximum per listing records
Most Manhattan co-ops are conversions — pre-war or post-war rental buildings whose tenants bought the keys decades after construction. Asten House belongs to a much thinner cohort: it was built as a cooperative, offered to the public off floor plans in 1982 under a plan sponsored by DVX Development Corp. and Resnick 79th Street Associates. The offering plan, its amendments, and the proprietary lease are on file in The Roebling Research Library, which lets us state the building's founding facts with unusual precision: 178 apartments and 830 rooms as offered, 86,880 shares, a two-level garage for roughly 75 cars, a concierge desk in the lobby, and balconies on every apartment above the third floor.
The architecture is by Philip Birnbaum — the most prolific luxury-apartment architect of post-war Manhattan, whose office shaped hundreds of the city's white-brick and tower buildings. Here the Birnbaum plan logic shows in the two-wing elevator arrangement: four elevators split between separate wings, so the typical floor's six apartments (lines A through F) divide into small three-unit landings. Architectural records have noted the building's bay windows, consistent fenestration, and discreet air-conditioning sleeves; the block itself is one of the better ones on this cross-street, with sidewalk landscaping and the quiet of the East End corridor beginning at the corner.
The founding-era documents also carry a piece of market history: the second amendment records the sponsors buying purchasers' mortgage rates down to 13¾ percent through Chemical Bank for the first three years — a reminder that this building sold into the brutal interest-rate environment of 1982, when the penthouses were offered at $550,000 to $650,000. The cooperative has since governed itself with documented care: shareholders voted a 2 percent seller-paid transfer fee into the proprietary lease in 2004, and in 2008 extended the lease term to 2082 — the kind of housekeeping lenders and attorneys like to see.
Architecture and unit composition
The tower rises 30 stories (the top floor is numbered 32) in white brick, midblock between York and East End Avenues. The original mix ran from studios through three-bedroom lines, six to a floor, with the third amendment converting the top floor into three penthouses of five to six rooms each. Combinations since have brought the city-records count to 163. Balconies are nearly universal above the third floor — a genuine differentiator in the Yorkville co-op stock — and upper floors pick up open river, bridge, and skyline outlooks over the lower East End corridor buildings. Post-1980 construction also means more forgiving slab and riser conditions for renovators than the pre-war stock nearby, though all work runs through standard co-op alteration agreements.
Building operations
Full-service: 24-hour doorman and concierge, live-in resident manager, fitness center, bike room, and central laundry, with the attached garage offering shareholder rates per listing records. The lobby and hallways have been renovated in recent cycles per brokerage records. The building is institutionally managed; the proprietary lease on file documents the 2 percent transfer fee mechanics and the 2082 lease term, and we hold the full offering plan and amendments for diligence review.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $91,439/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $47
Recent sales
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Recent transfers at this building, sourced from NYC Department of Finance records. Apartment-level detail (line, condition, asking-price context) verified upon consultation request.
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2026 | 17B | $1,525,000 |
| Feb 18, 2026 | 20F | $1,175,000 |
| Dec 29, 2025 | 25AD | $3,690,000 |
| Nov 12, 2025 | 7F | $880,000 |
| Sep 24, 2025 | 19A | $1,325,000 |
| Aug 18, 2025 | 12F | $1,087,500 |
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 1-01576-0014) 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.
What to know if you’re buying
A purpose-built co-op is a different underwriting story. There is no conversion-era sponsor-unit overhang, no rent-regulated tenancy history — the building was sold apartment by apartment from new in 1982. The corporate documents are clean and on file with us.
The no-sublet policy is structural, not negotiable. Per listing records the building does not permit subletting. Buy here to live here; if you need rental flexibility in your five-year plan, this is the wrong building. Verify the current policy — and any hardship provisions — with the managing agent at offer stage.
Budget the flip tax into your eventual exit. The 2 percent seller-paid transfer fee is written into the proprietary lease, with family and estate exemptions spelled out. We provide the lease language from the Research Library during diligence.
The balcony stock is the building's signature. Nearly every line above the third floor has one. Price the difference between usable outdoor space with open exposure and balconies facing lot-line conditions — the spread is real.
Financing at 70 percent is more liberal than the corridor's pre-war boards. Combined with case-by-case pied-à-terre and gifting postures, the board framework is moderate by Upper East Side standards. Run the Co-op Board Qualification Calculator before offering.
Transit honesty: the Q at 86th and Second is the practical subway; the 6 at 77th and Lexington is a long crosstown walk. The M79 crosstown and York Avenue buses do the daily work. Spend a rush hour on your actual commute before contract.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the balcony and the light. Outdoor space on a full-service doorman building under the $2 million threshold is a scarce search result; make sure the listing data captures it correctly.
Market the documentation. Built-as-co-op provenance, the 2082 proprietary lease term, and clean governance history survive attorney review. We furnish the underlying documents from the Research Library to serious buyers' counsel.
Price against the corridor, not the avenue. The buyer cross-shops East End Avenue post-wars and the York Avenue full-service stock. Renovated units with open views clear at premiums; estate condition clears when the ask respects the renovation math — run the Renovation Cost Calculator against your strategy.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 515 East 79th Street, also evaluate:
- 200 East End Avenue — the corridor's full-blockfront post-war co-op opposite Carl Schurz Park; the step-up in park frontage
- 525 East 86th Street — 1961 Yorkville co-op between York and East End; the like-for-like full-service alternative seven blocks north
- 520 East 76th Street — the near neighbor south along the York corridor
- 180 East 88th Street — the boutique new-development condo alternative in Yorkville
- 40 East End Avenue — boutique new-development condo at the corridor's southern end, a block east
- 180 East End Avenue — post-war full-service co-op on the avenue proper
- 170 East End Avenue — park-facing post-war condo; the condo alternative with balconies
- 45 East End Avenue — post-war co-op at 82nd Street, closer to the park
The Roebling Team at Asten House
The Roebling Team at Compass works Yorkville, the East End Avenue corridor, and the broader Upper East Side as a core practice area. We publish this building profile because Asten House buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — founding documents, policy framework, and corridor-level comparables — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at 515 East 79th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.