2628 Broadway

Ariel East

One of two glass skyscrapers towering over Broadway at West 99th Street, 38-story Ariel East is a family building that’s decidedly luxury. The “pioneering” development — which also includes the 32-floor Ariel West on the other side of Broadway — was one of the first projects to bring luxury real estate to that stretch of the famous avenue, according to Seth Levin, an agent with the LevinKong Team at Keller Williams NYC. “The level of amenities, the level of service was not — and still isn’t — so prolific in that area.” The developer, Extell, completed the towers in 2007, although not without some backlash from neighborhood residents, many of whom felt the scale of the buildings dwarfed the brownstones and prewar residences in the area. Nearly 20 years later, Ariel East and Ariel West are still the tallest buildings in the immediate vicinity. “The towers are indisputably high and shiny, mirroring each other across Broadway like curiously tall fraternal twins,” author Jim Rasenberger wrote in The New York Times around the time the towers opened. “On bright mornings, the towers blaze with sun, sending bolts of reflected light into apartments to the east. To the west, they cast long moving shadows, like binary sundials.” Residents of both towers share amenities, which are spread out over the two buildings and include a pool, an outdoor basketball court and a party room with a baby grand piano.