| 1000 Park Avenue | |
|---|---|
 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″N73°57′30″W / 40.77929°N 73.95845°W /40.77929; -73.95845 |
| Current tenants | approx. 70-140 homeowners |
| Construction started | 1915[1] |
| Completed | 1916[2] |
| Owner | Building co-op |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 13 (70 apartment units) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Emery Roth |
| Main contractor | Bing & Bing |
1000 Park Avenue is an apartment building on theUpper East Side of theNew York Cityborough ofManhattan. It is located at the northwest corner of the intersection ofPark Avenue and East 84th Street. It was built in 1915–16 by the developersBing & Bing from a design byEmery Roth. The brown brick structure is 13 stories tall with someGothic-inspired stone andterra cottadecoration. Twocarved figures in medieval dress near the main entrance are said to represent the Bing brothers.[3] Across 84th Street is theChurch of St. Ignatius Loyola.
The building is currently aco-op owned by its residents. There are 64 units.[1][4]
Among the former residents of the building are the British authorP. G. Wodehouse,[5]James J. Rorimer, former Director of theMetropolitan Museum of Art, andNicola Kraus, co-author of the2002bestsellingchick lit novelThe 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 isLisa Birnbach, a part-timeCBS News correspondent best known for editingThe 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 aplay date for my daughter" than an actualnanny.[6]
Another resident of 1000 Park named as a possible model for Mrs. X did not return phone calls fromThe 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.[6]
... two carved figures ruling over the limestone entrance of 1000 Park Avenue are said to represent the Bing brothers themselves