425 East 52nd Street, Manhattan

A Sutton-area townhouse with a legendary oceanographic past and a very busy surrounding block.

This Midtown East property has stayed out of the city's operational registers, carrying zero open housing-code violations. But while the house itself has a thin paper trail, the local blocks bring plenty of activity, especially from nearby construction. Two things to know:

Once owned by the Cousteau Society. The history of this property has a legendary twist: Jacques Cousteau's oceanographic society owned this townhouse before transferring it to a private buyer in the mid-nineties. That institutional heritage is a rare find for a standard residential block.

After-hours construction dominates the local noise record. Surrounding blocks have seen heavy development activity, with 108 noise complaints logged within three blocks over the past year. More than half of those — 63 calls — were specifically for construction before or after legal hours, with the most recent report on July 31, 2026.

Quieter signals on this building and the blocks around it:

• There were 132 illegal parking complaints within three blocks last year, mostly for sign violations rather than blocked hydrants.
• Street conditions generated 55 reports within three blocks, with noisy plates and defective hardware driving most of the volume.
• The property itself carries zero open department violations, reflecting a very light historical footprint.

425 East 52nd Street is a 2-unit building in Manhattan, New York City (BBL 1013640014). Brix does not yet have a current violation read for this property (not enough recent data), along with inspection history, DOB filings, tenant complaints, and rent stabilization status.

Built in 1940, this mixed-use building sits in Manhattan and is tracked by Brix using public NYC records from HPD, DOB, ACRIS, and 311.

The building last changed hands on October 7, 2002, according to recorded deeds.

Brix score: 100/100. View the Building Report on Brix.