891 Park Avenue

Hess designed 891 Park in the elegant, vertically-minded Art Deco that defined the best Park Avenue apartment houses of the early 1930s. The three-story limestone base grounds the brick shaft; the fourth-floor balcony and the upper-floor terra-cotta detailing give the elevation rhythm; and the geometric ornament across the top three floors, met by an ironwork parapet, provides a crisp, period-correct crown. The result is a building that holds its own on Park Avenue without imitating its pre-war Renaissance-revival neighbors.

The reviewed descriptions report homes of roughly 1,725 square feet, typically two bedrooms with some configurations allowing three and en-suite baths. Confirm actual measurements, approved bedroom counts, full-floor extent and elevator access for the specific residence. The pre-war fabric is intact and exceptional: high beamed ceilings around 9 feet 3 inches, wood-burning fireplaces, oak herringbone floors, and the salvaged Plaza Hotel mantels that lend individual apartments a genuine provenance. Many homes have been comprehensively renovated while preserving the original detail, combining Deco character with contemporary systems and kitchens.

891 Park is a full-service cooperative: a full-time doorman attends the entrance, with a resident superintendent on premises, and each apartment has its own storage. Confirm which residences share landings or corridors from approved plans and current access arrangements; fifteen apartments over fifteen stories does not establish private access for every home.

On board policy, the cooperative permits financing of up to 50% of the purchase price and allows co-purchasing. A flip tax of 3% applies, paid by the seller. Purchases clear through a board application, financial review, and interview. Occupancy, pet and sublet specifics are governed by the house rules and should be reviewed at the point of contract.

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 (2023): a median $857/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2025. Median listing discount 4.5% 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 1-01413-0004). 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.

The buy case combines a fifteen-unit Art Deco house with Park Avenue doorman service; verify the specific home’s floor extent, landing access and privacy before describing it as full-floor. The pre-war detailing, the wood-burning fireplaces, and the Plaza-salvaged mantels give the apartments real character, and the Park Avenue location near 78th Street puts Central Park, Madison Avenue, and the Museum Mile within a short walk.

Plan for a cooperative purchase at the avenue's standard: a board package, a financial review, and an interview, with financing capped at 50% of the purchase price and a 3% flip tax payable by the buyer at closing — both figures worth building into your underwriting from the outset. Review current financials, capital plans, reserves and assessment history, and determine the actual allocation of façade, elevator and mechanical costs under the governing documents; fifteen apartments do not establish fifteen owners or equal shares. Assess the actual home and current availability rather than assuming full-floor ownership or scarcity from the unit count.

Describe the actual apartment layout and verified landing access alongside the wood-burning fireplaces, Plaza Hotel mantels where present and 1931 Hess design. The fifteen-apartment count does not establish one home per floor or a particular buyer pool.

Assess relevant in-building and Park Avenue sales using the home’s verified configuration; do not exclude multi-line buildings solely on the assumed floor arrangement here. Presentation of the original Deco detail, the renovated systems where present, and verified landing arrangements help buyers assess the home without assuring a top-of-range result — and the 50% financing cap and 3% flip tax should be disclosed clearly so prospective buyers underwrite accurately from the start.

If you're considering 891 Park Avenue, these nearby Park Avenue cooperatives form a useful comparison set:

• 888 Park Avenue — pre-war co-op directly opposite
• 895 Park Avenue — Lenox Hill cooperative peer
• 875 Park Avenue — pre-war Park Avenue co-op nearby
• 898 Park Avenue — Park Avenue cooperative a block north
• 910 Park Avenue — premier Park Avenue co-op to the north