New rental building at 1510 Lexington Avenue will ban smoking

Kenbar Management announced today that its new 298-unit rental apartment building at 1510 Lexington Avenue, which opens next month, will ban smoking on and in its premises.

"The feedback from prospective residents has been overwhelmingly positive," Neal Sigety, a partner in Kenbar Management LLC, developer of 1510 Lexington Avenue, said in a press release.

"In our years of experience as developers and owners of New York City apartment buildings, we've seen a growing demand for a healthier lifestyle at home as well as in the workplace. We're responding to a trend we see all around us," he added.

This 18-story rental tower at Lexington Avenue and East 97th Street is seeking LEED Silver certification and is one of three rental buildings developed by Kenbar that comprise "Carnegie Hill Place." All three have been designed by SLCE Architects and are managed by Rose Associates.

1510 Lexington will offer 298 studios, one, two and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 450 sq. ft to 1,300 sq. ft. The building will have 24/7 concierge services, water filtration, a garage with valet parking, bicycle and personal storages and a package room with refrigerated storage for deliveries.

Apartments will have triple-plane windows, Bosch washers and dryers, KitchenAid stainless steel kitchen appliances and dual flush Kohler toilets.

The building will also have a children's playroom, a caf? and lounge with a fireplace overlooking a garden, a roof garden with indoor and outdoor fireplaces and a fitness center.

Rents for apartments at 1510 Lexington Avenue will start at: $2250. All apartments at 1510 Lexington Avenue will be subject to rent stabilization.

Cornelius E. Sigety and Kinne S. Yon, the brother and sister owners of Kenbar Management LLC, developed two other multi-use buildings that make up Carnegie Hill Place: 1501 Lexington Avenue and 1500 Lexington Avenue.

An article by C. J. Hughes in today's edition of The New York Times noted that "the Related Companies will ban smoking at some of its downtown apartment buildings because of health concerns about secondhand smoke, according to company officials" although smokers already living in the properties will not be affected. The article also said that Pan Am Equities began asking new renters at its buildings about 18 months ago not to smoke and a spokesperson for Pan Am said the company had not "had any negative feedback." The article also quoted a lawyer for the National Multi Housing council that about 50 public housing agencies have now forbidden smoking.