Madison Green, 5 East 22nd Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 5 East 22nd Street by Carter Horsley

Commanding one of the city's most dramatic sites, at the south end of Madison Square Park and at the southeast intersection of Broadway and 23rd Street, Madison Green at 5 East 22^nd Street offers spectacular views, superb access to public transportation, and a location at the epicenter of the chic and trendy Flatiron district. 

The 31-story building was completed in 1982. 

The 423-unit condominium was originally planned as a rental by the developer, Rose Associates, but the project had difficulty at the time obtaining permanent long-term financing, as the area at the time was not considered prime. 

Philip Birnbaum was the architect and David Kenneth Specter designed the public spaces, which are broad and quite attractive.

Bottom Line

The first new residential construction on Madison Square Park, it has been followed by a several major residential conversions and it is across Broadway from the fabulous Flatiron Building and a block away across Fifth Avenue from Eataly, the food emporium. This quite large building has sensational views.

Description

The building's design is boxy and bulky and fairly conventional. One wonders if a reflective-glass façade were ever considered, as it may have been the best possible site in the city for such a treatment, given the architectural glories that surround it and the park: the Flatiron Building and the glorious buildings of the Metropolitan and New York life insurance companies. 

In their great book, "New York 2000, Architecture and Urbanism Between the Bicentennial and the Millennium," Robert A. M. Stern, David Fishman and Jacob Tilove wrote that the building was "of formidable bulk that confronted the park and its public with a meanly detailed light brown brick façade, monotonous stacks of balconies, and boxy massing."

Amenities

The building has a concierge, a doorman, a private club on the 30^th floor with fireplace, a physical fitness room, a bicycle room, private storage and a garage. 

Other amenities include a laundry room on each floor, a cash machine in the lobby, 24-hour video rentals, a teenage recreation room, and valet service. 

Apartments

There are 44 different apartment layouts. 

Most apartments have balconies, and there are several duplex penthouses. Apartment 8JK has a foyer that leads past a 12-foot-long angled study to a 30-foot-long, angled living/dining space with a terrace next to a 15-foot-wide kitchen. The unit also has a 7-foot-wide family room, a 15-foot-long bedroom with a terrace and a curved wall, and a 21-foot-long corner master bedroom with a curved wall. There is also a third bedroom. 

Apartment 10C is a two-bedroom unit with a 10-foot-wide foyer that opens onto a 20-foot-long living room and an 11-foot-wide dining area with a pass-through kitchen and a 8-foot-long balcony. 

Apartment 20A is a one-bedroom unit that has an entry foyer than opens onto a pass-through kitchen and a 19-foot-long living/dining room. 

Apartment 23C is a two-bedroom unit that has a 10-foot-wide foyer that leads to a 20-foot-long living room with an 8-foot-wide balcony and an 11-foot-long dining area and a pass-through kitchen. 

Apartment 16J is a four-bedroom unit that has an 11-foot-wide entry foyer that opens onto a 23-foot-long, angled living room with a terrace and an open, pass-through kitchen.  The apartment also has a 14-foot-long home office and another small terrace accessed from one of the bedrooms. 

Apartment 20JK is a three-bedroom unit that has a 10-foot-wide, angled foyer that leads to a 23-foot-long living room with a 9-foot-wide balcony and a 10-foot-wide corner dining room next to a 10-foot-wide, open kitchen with a pass-through.  The apartment also has a 10-foot-wide home office that opens onto a 19-foot-long family room with its own 9-foot-wide balcony.