Robbins Plaza is a 20-story New York City Housing Authority apartment building. It is located at the corner of 70th Street and 1st Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
History Plans for construction of the building were filed by architect Carl Puchall in 1971; the building was completed February 1975.
The housing project was named after Ira S. Robbins in April 1981. Robbins, who died in 1978, was a national leader in the field of public housing and served as president of the National Housing Conference from 1951 to 1957 and as one of NYCHA's three commissioners from 1958 to 1970.
In 1996, a rupture in an underground steam pipe adjacent to Robbins Plaza forced the evacuation of 56 apartments in the building due to asbestos contamination.
In 2018, Robbins Plaza along with Holmes Towers and the Isaacs Houses—all NYCHA-run developments on the Upper East Side—ranked among the worst in the nation after federal inspections by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In December 2025, NYCHA released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) that solicits proposals for about $2.5B for 27 housing projects including this building and is grouped in one of the three clusters for Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT).
See also New York City Housing Authority
References
External links Mayor Beame hands out gift baskets to tenants moving into 341 East 71st Street – Photograph taken on February 13, 1975 at the La Guardia and Wagner Archives Unveiling of a plaque marking the contribution of Ira S. Robbins – Photograph taken on April 23, 1981 at the La Guardia and Wagner Archives