The Royal York II, 420 East 64th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 420 East 64th Street by Carter Horsley

This 13-story, twin-building development, which is known as the Royal York, was built in two parts: the 425 East 63rd Street structure was built in 1956 and the 420 East 64th Street structure was built in 1959.

Greenberg & Ames was the architectural firm for the 494-unit project that was developed by Beloff-York Associates.

The building was converted to a condop in 1990. 

Bottom Line

A handsome mid-block complex with an attractive garden courtyard that is close to Rockefeller University, New York Hospital and Sotheby’s.

Description

This pale orange-brick building has a lush sidewalk landscaping, four light stanchions, a nice lobby, a doorman, a garage, discrete air-conditioners and a health club.

Amenities

The complex has doormen, a garage, a health club, and a canopied, two-step-down entrance, but no roof deck and no balconies.

Apartments

In the 64^th Street building, the East Penthouse A is a one-bedroom unit with an 8-foot-long entry foyer that opens onto a 28-foot-oot long great room with an open kitchen and a 50-foot-long terrace.

East Penthouse C is a one-bedroom unit with an 11-foot-wide entry foyer that opens onto a 21-foot-long living room and 9-foot-long dining area next to an 8-foot-long kitchen.  It has a large terrace accessed from all the major rooms.

In the same building, apartment WPHD is a one-bedroom unit that has a long entry foyer that leads past a 10-foot-long dining room adjacent to an open 11-foot-long kitchen.  The unit has a 21-foot-long living room with a terrace and there is another, larger terrace off the bedroom and kitchen.

Apartment W4E in the same building is a one-bedroom unit with a 5-foot-wide entry foyer that opens onto the living room with a pass-through kitchen and a den/second bedroom.

Apartment E9D is a two-bedroom unit that has a long entry foyer that opens onto a 29-foot-long living room and 11-foot-long dining room and a 10-foot-long enclosed kitchen.

Apartment E3B is a studio unit with a 6-foot-square entry foyer that opens onto a 21-foot-long living room with an 8-foot-long alcove and a 7-foot-long open kitchen.

In the 63^rd Street building, apartment 12E is a three-bedroom unit with a 13-foot-long entry foyer that leads to a 20-foot-long living/dining room across from an open 13-foot-wide kitchen.

The West Penthouse C is a one-bedroom unit that has a 21-foot-wide living/dining room with an 11-foot-long open kitchen with an island and a 43-foot-long terrace.

Apartment E6H is a one-bedroom unit with a 13-foot-long entry foyer that opens onto a 22-foot-long living room and an 11-foot-long den next to an enclosed kitchen.

Apartment E2B is a one-bedroom unit with a 6-foot-square entry foyer opening onto a 21-foot-long living room, a 7-foot-long kitchen and a small bedroom.

Apartment W1E is a one-bedroom unit with an 8-foot-wide entry foyer leading to a 22-foot-long living room next to a 9-foot-wide Baby Room/Office and an 8-foot-long enclosed kitchen.

Location

It is across the street from the "First Avenue Estate" of the City and Suburban Homes Company, a full-block complex of six-story, walk-up, beige-brick residential buildings erected starting in 1901 and designed by James E. Ware as "working class" housing by the company that also built a similar complex on the block bounded by York Avenue and the FDR Drive between 78th and 79th Streets that was designated a landmark in the face of redevelopment.

This mid-block building is across the avenue from Rockefeller University and there is considerable traffic on the avenue because of a nearby uptown entrance to the FDR Drive.

In the late 1990s, this neighborhood began to witness a considerable upgrading with the long-delayed opening of a very large supermarket and a large, elegant restaurant, Gustavino's, in the vaults beneath the nearby Ed Koch Queensborough Bridge.

There is a handsome seven-theater cineplex at First Avenue and 62nd Street and there are many restaurants along First Avenue.

The southbound York Avenue bus turns west on 57^th Street.