Number 5, 5 East 44th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 5 East 44th Street by Carter Horsley

One of the narrowest "slivers" in midtown, this bright and colorful, 20-story, residential condominium mid-block tower at 5 East 44^th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues was designed by Alan Ritchie of The Office of Philip Johnson, which also designed the Urban Glass House at 330 Spring Street. 

Sam Suzuki of The Vintage Group is the developer. 

The building has 20 apartments, many of them occupying full floors. 

It was completed in 2009.

Bottom Line

One of the few bright and cheery spots in the mid-blocks off Fifth Avenue in midtown. It is steps away from Brooks Brothers and a block away from Grand Central Terminal and offers full-floor apartments.

Description

The tower, which is only 28 feet wide, is faced with "off-white" metal panels and has a big red "accent column" on the lower part of the façade and a yellow "accent column" on the floors above.

Amenities

The building has an attended lobby, central air-conditioning, few apartments and a live-in superintendent. 

There is no roof deck, no garage, no balconies and no sidewalk landscaping. 

There is excellent transportation in the area as well as many clubs and the New York Public Library.

Apartments

Apartments have high ceilings, Bulthaup kitchens and Toto toilets. 

Apartment 2B has a 15-footlong living area with a 9-foot-long dressing area and a 26-foot-long terrace as well as an 11-foot-long kitchen. 

A typical floor-through apartment has a 25-foot-wide living/dining room next to a 10-foot-wide open kitchen with a long gallery leading to two bedrooms.

History

The site once was occupied by Canfield's Gambling House, which was closed in an anti-vice campaign in 1901 by District Attorney William Jerome and, according to New York Songlines, a website, was "perhaps the most prestigious illegal joint of the Gilded Age."

Location

It is two doors from the Art Deco skyscraper at 535 Fifth Avenue, immediately adjacent to 11 East 44th Street, which has J. Press as its major retail tenant, and it is across the street from the Cornell Club. Brooks Brothers is on the same block and Grand Central Station and the MetLife Building are one-and-and-a-half blocks to the east.