The Oxford, 422 East 72nd Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 422 East 72nd Street by Carter Horsley

The Oxford at 422 East 72^nd Street is one of the handsomest post-war apartment towers on the Upper East Side. 

When Sotheby's moved from Madison Avenue to York Avenue this area was dominated by low-rise residential structures of mixed quality and an ambulance alley for the hospitals along York Avenue to the south. 

The neighborhood changed pretty quickly and soon sported several genuine "luxury" residential high-rise buildings near the East River and this 44-story tower significantly reinforced the ever-improving ambiance of the area. 

The Oxford, which was developed by Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc., and designed by Emery Roth & Sons, has 205 apartments, most of which are two- or more bedrooms. 

The mid-block building between First and York avenues was completed in 1990.

Bottom Line

Around the corner from Sotheby’s, the auction house, and close to hospital alley on York Avenue and an entrance to the FDR Drive, this tall apartment tower has a very handsome entrance and many balconies.

Description

The red-brick tower is distinguished by its attractive, asymmetrical top and its large and lushly landscaped plaza designed by Thomas Balsey Associates on 72^nd Street that has a very long glass-enclosed vaulted canopy. 

There are medical offices on the lower two floors that have their own entrance. The building's garage has its entrance on 71st Street. 

The building's health club with swimming pool is on the second floor where there is also a 9,500-square-foot terrace.

Amenities

The building has a 24-hour doorman and concierge, a roof deck, a health club with pool, a garage, some fireplaces, a children’s playroom with a catering kitchen, an outdoor basketball court and basement storage. It also has a cobblestone garden.  

It is also pet-friendly. 

Apartments

All the apartments have whirlpool baths and many have balconies. 

Apartment 9E is a two-bedroom unit with an 11-foot-wide foyer that leads passt a 9-foot-long “pass-through” kitchen to a 25-foot-long living room with a 15-foot-side balcony. 

Apartment A on floors 24 through 35 is a three-bedroom unit with an angled foyer that leads to a long gallery that opens onto a 23-foot-long living room with a 17-foot-long balcony and an adjoining 13-foot-long dining room next to a pass-through kitchen. 

Apartment 35C is a two-bedroom unit that has an 11-foot-long entry foyer that leads to a 21-foot-long living room with a 15-foot-wide balcony and 13-foot-wide dining room next to a 10-foot-long enclosed kitchen. 

Apartment 40A has a 29-foot-long living room next to an enclosed kitchen and a 37-foot-long terrace. The master bedroom has a small balcony and there are two other bedrooms. 

Apartment 20DEF has a 20-foot-wide entry gallery that leads past a 12-foot-wide wet bar to a 28-foot-long living room with a 14-foot-wide balcony that is open to a 26-foot-loot –long dining room adjacent to a 14-foot-long office with a 14-foot-wide balcony.  The apartment also has a 13-foot-square kitchen, a master bedroom with an 11-foot-balcony and four other bedrooms.

History

The site was formerly occupied by a dental clinic owned by New York Hospital and a garage. The new building used air rights from two adjacent, 50-foot-wide, six-story tenement buildings that were renovated for rental apartments as part of the project. 

It was one of the first buildings on the Upper East Side to comply with new city regulations mandating easy accessibility for the handicapped and its entrances and hallways are wide.