Normandie Court, 225 East 95th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 225 East 95th Street by Carter Horsley

One of the city's largest luxury rental apartment developments, this three-building complex of 1,477 apartments was erected by Milford Management in 1987.

The 34-story towers occupy the full block bounded by Third and Second Avenues and 95th and 96th Streets. Most of the "slab" buildings are parallel to the cross-streets and form an imposing wall for the northern edge of the Upper East Side.

Fortunately, that "wall" is not solid because of the separation of the towers. Furthermore, the façades of the beige-brick towers are modulated with brown brick that serves as vertical accents to further break up the mass of the project. A rooftop health club and pool atop one of the towers also adds some visual interest.

Milford Management erected a smaller but similar full-block development, Windsor Court at 151-5 East 31st Street, in 1988.

In addition to a health club and pool, this development also has a garage. a doorman, a driveway, a recreation room, a concierge, a bicycle room, and valet service and permits small dogs. The buildings have canopied entrances.

The building, which is known as Normandie Court, has the addresses of 205 East 95th Street, 202 East 96th Street and 1695 Third Avenue.

There is a subway station nearby at Lexington Avenue and 96th Street on which there is also good cross-town bus service. A major entrance and exit to the FDR Drive is to the east as are several playgrounds.

The very popular and desirable Carnegie Hill neighborhood is just to the west and south with many excellent schools and nice restaurants.

When it was erected it was a "great leap forward" in the redevelopment of the "top" of the Upper East Side" whose traditional northern boundary was East 96th Street.

Since it was erected it has become less isolated as new residential construction has blossomed just 96th Street with the erection of the Monterey and Carnegie Hill Tower buildings and numerous small towers have been building on Third Avenue and on 95th Street.

The grounds of Normandie Court are very impressively landscaped and there is even a waterfall near Third Avenue.

The development was designed by the Vilkas Group that also designed the Liberty House Condominiums and Liberty Terrace, both in Battery Park City.