Building: 870 United Nations Plaza

870 United Nations Plaza is a modernist masterpiece that echoes the finest apartment houses of the 1920s, a quiet, private oasis a short walk from the heart of Manhattan. Its walls of windows framed in bronze and aluminum offer residents rich natural light and dazzling, protected views, from sunrises over the East River to sunsets that make the midtown east skyline glow.

The approach is along a block-long, private driveway that leads to a dramatic bronze and glass awning bordered by planters lush with seasonal foliage. Residents are greeted by uniformed doormen, and led via a red carpet into one of New York’s most iconic lobbies. Designed around a peaceful inner garden with stately trees, the luminous double-height lobby has the feel of a modern cathedral, illuminated by Venini chandeliers and distinguished by period artwork and walls lined with mosaic and Kevazingo wood.

Part of a pioneering multi-use complex with two apartment towers atop a seven-story office base, 870 opened in 1965 and immediately took its place among the city’s best cooperative houses. The brainchild of architects Max Abramovitz and Wallace K. Harrison, authors of the neighboring United Nations complex, Lincoln Center and the Time-Life Building, it epitomizes the mid-century modern International Style and incorporates features that distinguished New York’s great apartment houses—solid plaster walls, high ceilings, and rosewood parquet floors.

From the outset, U.N. Plaza has attracted accomplished urbanites from the worlds of entertainment, the arts, fashion, finance, law, media, healthcare, and politics. Today, U.N. Plaza counts among its owners many professionals in architecture, interior design, and real estate—connoisseurs of the special value and discrete charm of co-op apartment houses and admirers of landmark design.

The 870 tower houses 168 apartments that start at the seventh floor and extend to the 38th and range from generously scaled one-bedrooms (measuring over 1,000 square feet) to 28 duplexes with five bedrooms and six bathrooms, working fireplaces and private elevators.

Glass curtain walls offer distinct vistas for every room, from the gardens of the United Nations to dazzling panoramas of modern Midtown, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, the Citicorp Center, the East River and the iconic Pepsi Cola sign in Long Island City.

A staff of over 40 representing an apartment-to-employee ratio of 7-to-1 anticipates every need. The Resident Manager or Assistant Manager are always on-premises. Concierge, doorman services, and a reception desk are manned 24 hours while dedicated HVAC, Handymen, and Security and Package room teams attend to any needs throughout the day.

AMENITIES

A large, windowed, newly-renovated private gym complete with Pilates, bicycles, cardio and stretching equipment, and free weights
Club 39, a lounge featuring a golf simulator, billiard table, and ping pong, is available for private events and boasts a caterer’s kitchen and bar
A roof deck with lounge chairs and 360° views
A library, a bicycle storage room, in-house dry cleaning, large laundry room
Each apartment comes with a spacious private storage unit at no additional cost. Staff rooms may be purchased separately
Three passenger and one service elevators
Short-stay parking along the long driveway is available for residents and visitors.
An attached, heated indoor garage with Tesla/electric car chargers is accessible from inside the building
U.N. Plaza is pet-friendly, and animal companions can run freely at an expansive dog run at Peter Detmold Park nearby

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

870 U.N. Plaza is walking distance from Midtown offices and surrounded by fine restaurants, supermarkets, specialty food stores, florists, both big-brand and quirky retailers. A weekly farmers’ market at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on Second Avenue and 47th Street with its organic produce vendors, fishmonger and artisanal bakers.

Neighborhood schools include PS 59 (aka Beekman Hill International School); PS 18; The Montessori Family School; The Beekman School; and the United Nations International School, most served by school bus services.

FDR access north on 42nd street and south on 49th street is moments away. Convenient public transportation such as the M50 cross-town bus to Broadway and beyond and the M15 First Avenue bus are just a block away.

U.N. Plaza has only one neighbor on its two-acre block: the adjacent children-only MacArthur Park.

The new East River Waterfront Esplanade providing cycling, running or walking paths, is accessible from nearby 53rd & Sutton.

Building description provided by 870 East Tower, Inc.