Leonard Bernstein’s “radical chic” penthouse sells for $24M

Park Avenue pad immortalized by Tom Wolfe last belonged to art collector Carol Feinberg

Back: views of PHA unit of 895 Park Avenue. Front: Composer Leonard Bernstein (Warburg Realty, Getty Images)
Back: views of PHA unit of 895 Park Avenue. Front: Composer Leonard Bernstein (Warburg Realty, Getty Images)

A Lenox Hill co-op unit that once belonged to composer Leonard Bernstein has traded hands for $24 million, down from its list price of $29.5 million.

The seller of the penthouse apartment at 895 Park Avenue was the family of Carol Feinberg, an art collector and philanthropist who died last year. Feinberg and her husband, a wine and spirits importer who died in 2002, bought the residence from the Bernsteins in 1974. The buyer is a trust managed by Christopher Meagher.

When the home was listed in late 2020, it was the first time it had been on the market in 46 years. The New York Times noted that Bernstein and his wife, Felicia, hosted an event there in 1970 for the Black Panther Party, which was famously chronicled by the journalist Tom Wolfe in New York magazine.

But “radical chic” is not what sold the unit at East 79th Street this time around. More likely it was its 6,300 square feet, plus another 700 square feet of outdoor space, on the 19th and 20th floors of the 37-unit building. It has six bedrooms and six and a half bathrooms.

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The Feinbergs largely preserved the prewar layout, although they did combine some rooms on the lower level and add a solarium, according to the Times. Their youngest son, David Feinberg, told the paper, “I suspect whoever will buy this apartment will do a major renovation.”

The entrance is on the top floor, where there is a gallery with a powder room. The gallery leads to the library, living room and dining room. The gallery also hosts a curved staircase.

The dining room flows into the glass-enclosed solarium with doors into the terrace. Off the dining room are a large pantry, wine storage and yet another terrace.

The bedrooms are located downstairs, as are an office and a laundry room.

The contract for the home sale was one of the priciest in Manhattan signed during the week of May 31 to June 6. Bonnie Chajet and Allison Chiaramonte of Warburg Realty had the listing.