1000 Park Avenue

1000 Park Avenue

A twelve-story brown brick building, lit from the left by late afternoon sun, in front of an intersection with a traffic light

Looking southeast (2008)
Alternative names 1000 Park
General information
Type Co-operative apartments
Address 1000 Park Avenue
Town or city New York City
Country United States
Coordinates 40°46′45″N 73°57′30″W / 40.77917°N 73.95833°W
Current tenants approx. 70-140 homeowners
Construction started 1915[1]
Completed 1916[2]
Owner Building co-op
Technical details
Floor count 12 (70 apartment units)
Design and construction
Architect Emery Roth
Main contractor Bing & Bing

1000 Park Avenue is an apartment building on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Park Avenue and East 84th Street.

It was built in 1915-16 by the developers Bing & Bing from a design by Emery Roth. The brown brick structure is 13 stories tall with some Gothic-inspired stone and terra cotta decoration. Two carved figures in medieval dress near the main entrance are said to represent the Bing brothers.[3] Across 84th Street is the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.

The building is currently a co-op owned by its residents. There are 64 units.[1][4]

Among the former residents of the building are James J. Rorimer, former Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Nicola Kraus, co-author of the 2002 bestselling chick lit novel The Nanny Diaries. She vehemently denies that Mrs. X, the mother in the novel, set at a similar Park Avenue building with a fictitious address, is based partially on women she worked for at 1000 Park. Most often speculated as the model for the character is Lisa Birnbach, a part-time CBS News correspondent best known for editing The Official Preppy Handbook in 1980, who has some similarities to the character in the book. Birnbach confirmed that Kraus had worked for her, but described her as "more of a play date for my daughter" than an actual nanny.[5]

Another resident of 1000 Park named as a possible model for Mrs. X did not return phone calls from The New York Times requesting comment. Kraus did not think it inappropriate to use her former neighbors as models for her characters, but current residents of building disagreed. One even referred to Kraus as a "snitch" and suggested the co-op board should forbid residents from fictionalizing their neighbors' lives.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Upper East Side Book: Park Avenue: 1000 Park Avenue". Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  2. ↑ Trager, James (2004). The New York Chronology. New York: HarperCollins. p. 363.
  3. ↑ Kugel, Seth (July 9, 2006). "Taking a Peek at Prewar Classics". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2010. ... two carved figures ruling over the limestone entrance of 1000 Park Avenue are said to represent the Bing brothers themselves
  4. ↑ "Forbes 400 Exec Israel Englander Buys 1000 Park Avenue Co-op For $9.3M". co-opsales.com. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kuczynski, Alex (March 10, 2002). "'Who, Moi?' Mummies Ask On Park Ave.". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2010.

Coordinates: 40°46′45″N 73°57′31″W / 40.779258°N 73.958502°W