66 East 79th Street
66 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075
Lenox Hill, Upper East Side
BBL 1013930043 · BIN 1041880
- Year built
- 1926
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark
- Designated
- Financing
- Up to 50% permitted on most lines
- Flip tax
- 2%
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- Recent range
- $1.8M – $5.5M
- Listing discount
- 3.4%
- Recorded transfers
- 21
66 East 79th Street is an elegant, mid-block pre-war cooperative on the prized Madison-to-Park stretch of 79th Street — a fifteen-story brown-brick apartment house with most floors given over to a single private residence. Completed in 1926 to the design of Pleasants Pennington & Albert W. Lewis on the former site of three 1880s row houses, it is a refined, understated building of the kind that makes this block one of the most desirable in the city: between the Metropolitan Museum to the north and the Whitney's former Breuer building to the south, with Central Park, Madison's boutiques, and Park Avenue all within steps.
The building's character comes from its scale and its detailing. Twenty apartments across fifteen floors means almost every home is a full floor, entered from a private elevator landing — a level of privacy and light that defines the upper tier of pre-war living. The exterior reads as quiet quality: a three-story limestone base, brown brick above, wrought-iron window grilles, and a crisp roofline railing, with sidewalk landscaping softening the entrance.
Converted to cooperative ownership in 1986, the building today is a small, full-service co-op for buyers who want a full-floor pre-war home on a museum-corridor block, with the privacy and service that scale provides.
Architecture and unit composition
Pennington & Lewis designed 66 East 79th Street in the refined pre-war manner that 79th Street rewards — a limestone base supporting a tall brown-brick body, articulated with decorative ironwork at the second floor and a criss-cross railing at the roofline, the whole composition scaled to hold the streetwall with quiet authority. At fifteen stories and roughly 54,000 square feet across just 20 apartments, the building averages well over 2,500 square feet per residence, among the more generous footprints in the pre-war stock.
Because the layout is predominantly one apartment per floor, most homes are full floors entered from a private elevator landing into a gracious foyer, with the era's best features — high ceilings, separate dining rooms, defined bedroom wings, and deep, well-zoned principal rooms. Upper floors enjoy open light and views toward the museum corridor and the park. Renovation condition varies, so the building presents both turnkey full-floor homes and apartments with the canvas for a comprehensive renovation.
Building operations
66 East 79th Street operates as a full-service cooperative with doorman service and a resident superintendent, scaled to a small, high-touch shareholder base of roughly twenty households. With so few apartments, the building runs with the intimacy and discretion that full-floor co-ops on this block are known for — staff who know every resident and a board focused on stewarding the building. Basement storage serves the homes. The building permits financing up to 50% on most lines (some lines are all-cash) and charges a 2% flip tax on resale. Pets are permitted with board approval, generally with a weight limit.
A 20-unit building carries a concentrated budget, so the reserve posture and any planned capital work matter; prospective purchasers review the financials through the board-package process. The small shareholder count makes board admission a serious, relationship-driven process.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $43,705/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $182
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.
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 →Management & transfer contacts
- Flip tax
- 2% of purchase price
- Sublet policy
- Not Allowed (also no short-term/AirBnB, no corporate/diplomat)
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed case by case (secondary residence case by case)
- Notable fees
- Max financing 50%. New purchaser must replace original windows within 12 months of closing; 50% deposit of estimate held in escrow. Managing agent's fee $900 (individual)/$1000 (estate). Fidelifacts credit report $871/applicant
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2025 | 6 | 4 BR · 4 BA | $5,525,000 | -17.5% | |
| Apr 22, 2025 | 4N | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,825,000 | -25.5% | |
| Aug 23, 2022 | 9 | 4 BR · 4 BA | $12,013,000 | +0.5% | |
| Nov 2, 2021 | 1W | 1 BR · 1 BA · 797 sf | $700,000 | $878/sf | -3.4% |
| Aug 21, 2019 | 2S | 2 BR · 3 BA | $1,310,000 | -6.4% | |
| Aug 20, 2018 | 2N | 2 BR | $2,700,000 | +0.2% | |
| Aug 6, 2013 | 14 | 6 BR | $16,000,000 | -11.1% | |
| Dec 28, 2012 | 12N | 2 BR | $2,100,000 | -8.7% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2021): a median $878/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2025. Median listing discount 3.4% 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 1-01393-0043) 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
This is a prime full-floor cooperative, so the purchase runs through a rigorous board application and interview, with substantial financial scrutiny and strong post-closing liquidity expectations. The building permits financing up to 50% on most lines — though certain lines trade all-cash — and applies a 2% flip tax on resale. Pets are welcome with board approval, typically subject to a weight limit. Pre-war full-floor co-ops of this caliber expect primary-residence ownership and discourage pied-à-terre and investor purchases. The reward is rare: a full-floor pre-war home with private-landing entry on the museum corridor, the kind of residence new construction in this neighborhood simply cannot replicate.
What to know if you’re selling
The selling story is scarcity and quality — a full-floor pre-war residence by Pennington & Lewis on the Madison-to-Park block, with private-landing entry, full-service staff, and light on multiple exposures. That belongs to a small comparable set, and positioning against the right prime full-floor peers between Madison and Park is what sets and supports the price. Presentation matters at this tier; a well-prepared full-floor home draws the qualified, board-ready buyer the building requires. Because a failed board application is costly at this level, we qualify financial and board fit early.
Comparable buildings
If you're evaluating 66 East 79th Street, these nearby Upper East Side pre-war cooperatives form a relevant comparison set:
- 136 East 79th Street — pre-war co-op on the same block corridor
- 156 East 79th Street — pre-war 79th Street cooperative
- 173 East 79th Street — pre-war co-op nearby on 79th
- 21 East 79th Street — Art Deco full-floor cooperative on the museum block
- 35 East 85th Street — Carnegie Hill pre-war cooperative
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.
Considering a move at 66 East 79th Street?
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 66 East 79th Street 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.