- Year built
- 1926
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 22
- Floors
- 13
- Landmark
- Designated
- Subletting
- Restrictive (typical of tier-one Fifth Avenue cooperatives)
950 Fifth Avenue is among J.E.R. Carpenter's earlier Fifth Avenue cooperatives — the 1922 commission places the building near the start of Carpenter's substantial pre-war Fifth Avenue portfolio. Where Carpenter's mature 1925 vintage (944 Fifth, 1010 Fifth, 1020 Fifth, 1030 Fifth, 1136 Fifth, 1148 Fifth, 1165 Fifth) represents the firm's full apartment-design discipline executed at the construction-quality peak of the era, the 1922 vintage at 950 Fifth reflects the firm's developing vocabulary at the start of the 1920s residential boom.
The Carpenter Fifth Avenue portfolio — the largest single-firm body of work on the corridor — produced the apartment-design vocabulary that defined "pre-war Fifth Avenue luxury." The portfolio's earliest commissions (907 Fifth: 1916; 950 Fifth: 1922; and additional pre-WWI / early-1920s buildings) preceded the mature 1925-vintage peak and represent the developmental period during which Carpenter's apartment-design discipline was still consolidating.
The 22-apartment scale places 950 Fifth among the tighter Carpenter Fifth Avenue cooperatives — comparable to the smaller mid-portfolio inventory and producing limited annual transaction volume. The building's residential roster across more than a century of cooperative ownership has produced an exceptionally stable institutional culture.
The Lenox Hill / Gold Coast positioning at 950 Fifth is at the central core of the residential Fifth Avenue cooperative corridor. The Whitney Museum's former Marcel Breuer building (now The Met Breuer) is one block south at Madison and 75th. The Met Museum is four blocks north at 82nd and Fifth. The dense pre-war Fifth Avenue cooperative inventory immediately surrounding 950 Fifth — 944 Fifth (Carpenter 1925), 960 Fifth (Candela + Warren & Wetmore 1928), 998 Fifth (McKim Mead & White 1912) — produces one of the most architecturally substantial single-block stretches on the corridor.
For buyers, 950 Fifth represents a particular tier of Lenox Hill / Gold Coast Fifth Avenue inventory: Carpenter architectural pedigree at the firm's early-portfolio vintage, 22-apartment scale producing limited annual turnover, central Lenox Hill positioning at the heart of the Fifth Avenue cooperative corridor.
Architecture and unit composition
The 22 apartments span configurations from approximately 2,500 sf 3BRs to substantially larger 4–5 BR and full-floor configurations across the 13 stories. The building's most architecturally distinctive apartments are the full-floor configurations and the upper-floor residences with longer Central Park view envelopes.
Carpenter's early-1920s signatures throughout: 10–11 foot ceilings in primary rooms (consistent with the era's luxury norm), formal entry galleries, library-living room combinations, primary suites with substantial closet infrastructure, service wings characteristic of 1922-era luxury apartment design.
Park-facing apartments on the western flank command direct Central Park views across to the Park's eastern boundary and the West Side beyond. The view permanence is essentially absolute.
Building operations
950 Fifth Avenue operates as a full-service pre-war cooperative with full-time doorman, attended elevator, on-site superintendent, and private storage. The 22-apartment scale produces a low operational density characteristic of tighter pre-war Lenox Hill Fifth Avenue inventory.
Specific policy details (financing posture, flip tax structure, sublet policy specifics, pied-à-terre allowance) should be confirmed directly with property management during due diligence. The board posture follows tier-one Lenox Hill Fifth Avenue norms — rigorous financial review, strong personal references, primary-residence intent the working assumption.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $10,074/yr
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $43,522/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $93 – $403
Facade safety — Local Law 11
Safe to live in today — but the last inspection flagged repairs that are due on a deadline, so facade work and its cost are coming. Whether that’s a real concern depends on the scope, the timing, and how the building plans to pay for it — reserves or an assessment — which is exactly what we’d dig into for you.
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 →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 | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 2013 | 5/6 | 4 BR | $22,000,000 | -20.0% |
| Sep 2, 2010 | 89 | 3 BR | $25,000,000 | -13.8% |
Market read. Median listing discount 13.8% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 4, 2018 | 10/11 | $8,262,680 |
| Jan 18, 2008 | 3/4 FL | $25,492,500 |
| Dec 14, 2004 | 10 | $20,200,000 |
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01391-0001) 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
The Carpenter architectural pedigree is real. Buyers attentive to architectural detail should weight Carpenter's authorship and the building's position within his early-portfolio Fifth Avenue work.
The Lenox Hill / Gold Coast positioning is structural. Central Fifth Avenue cooperative corridor with proximity to the Met Breuer (former Whitney) and the broader Lenox Hill cultural concentration.
Confirm specific policies directly with management. Financing posture, flip tax structure, sublet specifics, and pied-à-terre allowance should be obtained directly during the contract review process.
Board approval follows tier-one Lenox Hill / Fifth Avenue norms. Strong financial profile, professional accomplishment, primary-residence intent are central criteria.
View permanence is excellent. Central Park is permanent.
Renovation is constrained by historic district status. The board reviews scope and quality with attention to preservation of original detail.
What to know if you’re selling
The architectural pedigree is a marketing asset. Listing copy should reference Carpenter's authorship, the firm's broader Fifth Avenue portfolio, and the 1922 vintage's position within Carpenter's developmental period.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. Floor altitude, configuration, and renovation history all matter substantially.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. 6–10 weeks from contract signing to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 950 Fifth Avenue, also evaluate:
- 944 Fifth Avenue — J.E.R. Carpenter 1925; immediate neighbor south, same firm later vintage
- 960 Fifth Avenue — Candela + Warren & Wetmore 1928; immediate neighbor north
- 907 Fifth Avenue — J.E.R. Carpenter 1916; same firm earlier vintage
- 998 Fifth Avenue — McKim Mead & White 1912; nearby tier-one pre-WWI
- 820 Fifth Avenue — Starrett & van Vleck 1916; nearby pre-WWI peer
- 834 Fifth Avenue — Rosario Candela 1931; nearby tier-one Candela
The Roebling Team at 950 Fifth Avenue
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper East Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because Fifth Avenue Lenox Hill / Gold Coast buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 950 Fifth, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
Current availability including off-market, the full comp set, and the board & financials read most listings don't show.