515 East 79th Street (Asten House)

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. Slab and riser conditions for renovation need confirming for the specific apartment, and all work runs through standard co-op alteration agreements.

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.

Recent sales

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.

Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2025): a median $1,060/sf (floor-adjusted) across 7 sales. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 3.1% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01576-0014). 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.

A purpose-built co-op is a different underwriting story. There was no rental conversion — the building was sold apartment by apartment from new in 1982 — so conversion-era tenancies do not arise; confirm current share ownership and any unsold-share rights from the corporate records. The corporate documents are on file with us; review the current budget, audited statements, debt and any assessments.

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 is permitted up to 70 percent of the purchase price. Pied-à-terre use is permitted with conditions; confirm those conditions, gifting rules and liquidity requirements from the cooperative's governing documents and application instructions. 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.

Lead with the balcony and the light. Check current listings to compare outdoor space in full-service doorman buildings under the $2 million threshold; make sure the listing data captures it correctly.

Market the documentation. Built-as-co-op provenance and the 2082 proprietary lease term are on the record. 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.

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