953 Fifth Avenue
953 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10075
BBL 1013910004 · BIN 1041787
- Year built
- 1925
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark status
- Not an individual landmark; in the Upper East Side Historic District
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission records, updated February 2026
- Subletting by shareholders
- Not permitted
- Maximum financing
- 60% of the purchase price
- Flip tax
- Tiered or formula; see fees
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 953 Fifth Avenue 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.
953 Fifth Avenue is a slim, mid-block limestone cooperative with seven apartments and duplex and triplex layouts described in the profile. The seven recorded residences occupy a 14-story tower across from the park; that count does not establish the number of households, apartment interiors or a comparative privacy ranking.
It carries an unusual provenance, too. The building was designed by Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes — better known as the author of the monumental Iconography of Manhattan Island and a scion of the family that built the Ansonia — who designed the building and then lived in it himself, in a duplex on the seventh and eighth floors that the press of the day described as "compact but immaculate and elegant, like a private coach on a European express train." That an architect-historian of his standing built and inhabited the house gives 953 a pedigree that pure square footage cannot buy.
For a buyer, the proposition is singular: a full-floor-and-then-some residence — grand entertaining rooms, libraries, multiple bedrooms, wood-burning fireplaces — behind a Neo-Renaissance limestone facade, with Central Park filling the casement windows. Assess the actual apartment’s plan, outlook and service level against specific Fifth Avenue alternatives rather than assign an unsupported comparative rank.
Architecture and unit composition
Stokes designed 953 Fifth Avenue in a restrained Neo-Renaissance register entirely appropriate to its address: a three-story rusticated limestone base anchors the elevation, with quoins and stringcourses ordering the shaft above and a green copper mansard-style roof crowning the building. The detailing is scholarly rather than showy — the hand of a man who had catalogued the architectural history of the island he was building on.
The interiors are the point. The profile describes duplex and triplex layouts across fourteen floors with grand park-facing rooms, long libraries and dining rooms measured in the high teens of feet, multiple bedrooms and service areas, and the wood-burning fireplaces and oversized casement windows that pre-war Fifth Avenue buyers prize. A building-area average above 4,000 square feet per residence does not establish interior area or a citywide size ranking. Verify measured plans and the actual Central Park outlook from each apartment.
Building operations
The seven-unit count does not establish staffing, household composition or ownership tenure. The building is fully staffed, with an attended entrance and a resident superintendent, and offers private storage. Assess privacy from the actual entrances, circulation, visitor patterns and acoustics rather than from the apartment count.
Purchases clear through a board application, financial review, and interview; the documented financing maximum is 60% of the purchase price, and the flip tax is tiered or formula-based. Subletting, pied-à-terre use, pet policies, flip-tax terms, and the current financing cap are governed by the building's house rules and offering plan and should be reviewed at contract.
Application and transaction fees
Fees below are from building management's published schedule, as of October 2026. They are shown as published, item by item; no total is added because the total depends on the transaction. Deposits are listed apart from nonrefundable charges.
- Terms
- Equal to 2.5%
- Paid by
- Buyer
Source: building management's published schedule, as of October 2026
Purchase
6 items
Fees and charges
| Item | Paid by | When | Amount | Refundable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application Processing Fee | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $600 | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Messenger Fees | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $65 | Refundable Not stated |
| Recognition Agreement FeeConditional | Paid by Buyer | When At closing | Amount $300 (if applicable) | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Bedbug Disclosure FeeNon_Refundable | Paid by Seller | When At closing | Amount $25 | Refundable Not stated |
| Managing Agent Closing Fee | Paid by Shareholder | When At closing | Amount $900 (Shareholder is Individual) or $1,000 (Shareholder is a Estate) | Refundable Non-refundable |
| New York State Transfer Tax Stamps FeePer share | Paid by Shareholder | When At closing | Amount $0.05 per share | Refundable Non-refundable |
Ownership transfer
4 items
Fees and charges
| Item | Paid by | When | Amount | Refundable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application Processing Fee | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $600 | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Background Check FeePer applicant | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $100 per applicant/occupant | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Credit Report FeePer applicantRequired | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $75 per applicant/occupant | Refundable Non-refundable |
| Messenger Fee | Paid by Buyer | When With the application | Amount $65 | Refundable Non-refundable |
Management updates its schedule without a public filing. The date is when management last updated the page, not when a rule changed. Confirm the current schedule with management before you apply.
Considering an apartment here? Send Corey the listing to discuss the building's costs and purchase requirements.
Own an apartment here? Request an apartment-specific pricing review.
Financing and purchase requirements
- Maximum financing
- 60% of the purchase priceSource: building management's published schedule, as of October 2026
Sublet and pied-à-terre policy
A condominium owner leasing a unit and a co-op shareholder subletting are different rules, and a building-wide rule is different from a restriction on one apartment. This is the building's rule; confirm it for the specific apartment.
- Subletting by shareholders
- Not permittedSource: building management's published schedule, as of October 2026
- Pied-à-terre ownership
- Not verified
Considering an apartment here? Send Corey the listing to discuss the sublet and pied-à-terre rules for that apartment.
Building staffing and amenities
- Attended lobby
- YesSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
- Live-in superintendent
- YesSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
- Elevator
- YesSource: NYC Department of City Planning records (PLUTO)
- Amenities noted
- StorageSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
Staffing and amenities as our building profile and recent listing records describe them. A feature not listed is not confirmed absent. Outdoor space, parking and some facilities can belong to particular apartments or to a separate owner; confirm access for the specific apartment.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $21,089/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $251
- Modeled exposure split equally across 7 units (the residential count on the city's lot record). Not an assessed amount; co-op shareholders are typically charged by share allocation.
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the inspector (QEWI) identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair, with repairs due by the deadline stated in the filing. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — a licensed professional engineer or registered architect who meets DOB’s FISP qualifications and signs the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
Management & transfer contacts
- Flip tax
- 2.5% of purchase price paid by either seller or purchaser
- Sublet policy
- Not allowed
- Policies and fees
- Max financing 60%
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.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2025 | PH | 3 BR · 4 BA · 4,700 sf | $12,000,000 | $2,553/sf | -20.0% |
| Nov 1, 2023 | MAIS | 3 BR · 5 BA | $6,825,000 | -7.8% | |
| Jun 5, 2023 | 3 | 4 BR · 4.5 BA · 3,500 sf | $4,500,000 | $1,286/sf | -17.4% |
| Aug 3, 2022 | 5 | 5 BR · 4 BA | $4,100,000 | -8.9% | |
| Jun 17, 2019 | 5 | 3 BR · 4 BA | $4,775,000 | -28.2% | |
| Apr 6, 2016 | 910 | 3 BR | $7,250,000 | -5.8% | |
| Apr 6, 2016 | 9 | 3 BR | $7,250,000 | -27.1% | |
| Jun 28, 2012 | 11 | 3 BR | $9,950,000 | +0.0% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2025) cleared a median $2,553/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. Median listing discount 8.5% 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.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01391-0004). 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.
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Keep up with 953 Fifth Avenue and its market
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What to know if you’re buying
Inspect current availability and the actual apartment’s privacy, circulation and acoustics. The upside is obvious — a mansion-scale, park-facing home in a seven-unit limestone house with architectural provenance. The discipline required is equally real: this is a cooperative, so expect a full board process and financial review; maximum financing is 60% of the purchase price, and subletting and pied-à-terre rules should be confirmed in the governing documents.
Do the structural diligence that small buildings demand. Review the reserves, assessments and capital plan for facade restoration, elevator modernization, roof and mechanical work; the cost to a particular apartment depends on the governing allocations and project funding, not an equal division by seven. Confirm the apartment’s actual floor coverage, Park outlook and noise conditions; a smaller building does not assure more quiet than larger alternatives.
What to know if you’re selling
Establish current availability and recorded turnover before making scarcity claims in marketing. The story is the building itself — seven apartments, an architect-historian's own house, a Neo-Renaissance limestone facade, and full-width Central Park views — layered onto the scale of the individual residence. That narrative reaches the small, specific pool of buyers who shop the avenue's trophy cooperatives.
Review dated in-building sales and compare verified dimensions and outlooks with specific Fifth and Park Avenue cooperative residences; seven apartments do not establish resale frequency or a market ranking. Choose a marketing plan for the actual residence and current market; pricing should reflect its condition, layout, outlook and documented carrying costs without presuming that buyers are reached only through confidential marketing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 953 Fifth Avenue, these nearby premier Fifth Avenue cooperatives form the relevant peer set:
- 955 Fifth Avenue — limestone co-op immediately adjacent
- 960 Fifth Avenue — landmark Fifth Avenue cooperative to the north
- 950 Fifth Avenue — pre-war Fifth Avenue co-op nearby
- 944 Fifth Avenue — Fifth Avenue cooperative a block south
- 920 Fifth Avenue — premier park-facing co-op on the avenue
More Fifth Avenue buildings
- 936 Fifth Avenue — 1955 co-op
- 944 Fifth Avenue — 1925 co-op by Nathan Korn
- 950 Fifth Avenue — 1926 co-op by J.E.R. Carpenter
- 955 Fifth Avenue — 1938 co-op by Rosario Candela
- 956 Fifth Avenue — 1925 co-op by Nathan Korn
- 960 Fifth Avenue — 1928 co-op by Rosario Candela
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, transit, and pricing across Fifth Avenue — read The Roebling Team Guide to Fifth Avenue.
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.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
Considering a move at 953 Fifth Avenue?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com