1931 · 6 floors · 61 units
A hotel that stopped counting in nights.
144 East 40th Street went up in 1931 and spent most of the century as the Seton Hotel. The 2010 renovation kept the plan and changed the term: the same rooms, the same front desk, let by the week instead of the night.
The entrance canopy still carries the hotel name it opened under
Why the building matters
Six floors of brick and limestone, built when a room in Midtown was expected to have a window that opened.
A 1931 floorplate is deeper and taller than anything built on this block since. That shows up in the rooms as ceiling height and real windows, and in the ground floor as space that a modern developer would have sold: a lounge with a fireplace, a second recreation room, and a planted courtyard at the back of the lot.
The building holds 61 units across six floors, which is small enough that the front desk knows who lives here. Security is on site around the clock and a superintendent lives in the building, so a broken radiator is a phone call rather than a ticket.
The last major renovation was in 2010. Everything since has been maintenance rather than reinvention, which is the honest way to describe a building of this age.
Included for every resident
- Electricity, gas, heat, water and trash
- Air conditioning
- High-speed Wi-Fi throughout
- Weekly housekeeping
- Bed linens and towels
- Communal kitchen and laundry room
- Lounge, recreation room and courtyard
- Front desk, security and mail handling
House rules
- Minimum stay of seven nights
- No smoking anywhere in the building
- No pets
- Quiet hours after 11pm in the shared rooms
Shared rooms
The parts of the building nobody has to book.
Residents' lounge
The largest shared room in the building: a fireplace, deep armchairs, arched windows onto the street. It is where most people end up working in the evening.
Communal kitchen
Full cooking facilities on a shared floor. Rooms have a microwave, kettle and fridge; anything that needs a stove or an oven happens here.
Courtyard
A planted open-air courtyard at the back of the building, sheltered from the street. Rare on this block, and the reason a lot of residents stay a second term.
Laundry room
On-site washers and dryers, no trip to a laundromat and no coins.
Recreation room
A second shared space for meals, television and evenings that are not work.
Front desk and security
Staffed reception through the day and security around the clock, with a live-in superintendent for anything that breaks.
Inside
Enquire
Come and see it
In-person viewings run most weekdays, and a video walkthrough is possible if you are not in New York yet. Either way, ask before you commit to the dates.
- Phone
- 1-929-630-2212
- Address
- 144 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016