Enjoy the view, have a cigarette if you want.

Although Brooklyn may be the hottest place for the modern luxury seeker, Alberto Weisser was clever to buy in the Flatiron District. After all, we're not sure how well the C.E.O. of agribusiness giant Bunge Limited would have done in the locavore-obsessed borough.

Mr. Weisser, who is not likely to be shilling his livestock feed and edible oil at the Fort Greene farmer's market (alas!), has forked over $12.5 million for a penthouse condo at 260 Park Avenue South, according to city records.

The four-bedroom, 3.5-bath home has 12-foot ceilings, dark oak floors and a kitchen with calacatta countertops and islands, according to the listing held by Prudential Douglas Elliman brokers Melanie Lazenby and Dina Lewis.

The building has been having some issues of late, with its posh halls filled with the rancid odor of cigarette smoke and that little dust-up a few years over a huge concrete hole in the floor. But apparently such problems were not dire enough to stop Ray Vasson and Anjani Argarwal Vasson from asking $12.5 million for the condo they bought for $8.6 million in 2007, or from getting it.

Then again, high-end real estate is selling like hotcakes, so why not.

And besides, a penthouse always rises above a building's riffraff and petty problems, doesn't it? And when Mr. Weisser steps off the elevator into "this magnificent penthouse, wrapped in over 3,000 square-feet of private terrace space," we're sure that he'll forget all about unstable grain prices. Heck, he even has the legal right to smoke a whole pack of cigarettes if he wants.

kvelsey@observer.com

Take up the torch! (Dale M. Moore, flickr)

It may be a small victory in a losing war, but at least José Arozamena can come home tonight, light up a cigarette and take a long, celebratory draw.

A judge has ruled that Mr. Arozamena, who lives at 260 Park Avenue South, can continue to light up in his apartment, the Post reports.

The condo board may have been emboldened by Mayor Bloomberg's most recent move to kick smoking in the butt, but they were a little overzealous. After all, the mayor's proposed legislation would only have required formal smoking policies and disclosures, not full-out bans.

Moreover, smoking wasn't forbidden by the condo, even if the board did try to argue that the smell of smoke violated house rules.

The judge found scant proof that Mr. Arozamena was the source of the stench, if there was a stench, or that his love of lighting up was unreasonable conduct. It all made Mr. Arozamena as hard to kick as a two-pack-a-day habit.

And while smokers can draw a long, ragged sigh of relief at this news, it's likely to be short-lived, with 59 percent of New Yorkers preferring smoke-free apartment buildings.

But really, as irksome as the occasional whiff of cigarettes can be, anti-smoking crusaders should put things in perspective. At least they don't live next to a fish farming enthusiast.

kvelsey@observer.com

Ever since the penthouse at Superior Ink sold for a downtown record of $31.5 million in November, The Observer has been awaiting the next blockbuster sale in the building. Turns out a third-floor unit has just sold in another record deal. And by record we mean record exec.

Jon Brian Celler, a vice president at Epic Records, bought his new three-bedroom condo on Jan. 18, according to city records, paying $4.28 million for the 1,929-square-foot home in a sponsor sale. The sale was behind an LLC that led to Mr. Celler's old apartment at 260 Park Avenue South while also revealing that his favorite band might just be the Gin Blossoms: Allison Road LLC. (Apologies if that '90s alternarock hit is now stuck in your head, too.)

Mr. Celler seems to be hitting all the right real estate notes, as his old two-bedroom pad went into contract for $2.25 million in December. For an encore, he managed to negotiate a 16 percent discount on his new home, which had been asking $5.125 million. It's a good deal, but also not free, like Mr. Celler's new neighbor Steve Ross got. Granted he did build the Robert A.M. Stern-designed condo.

The third-floor unit enjoys a 19-foot-long entrance gallery that opens onto a 34-foot-deep living room with north and west views of the Hudson and the city's newest gold coast, where big buyers abound from the Perry Street Lofts to starchitects row at the tip of 11th Avenue.

The record industry has seen better days, but Mr. Celler is doing just fine.

Read past Manhattan Transfers here. >>

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo

Who knew public health could be so lucrative? Jonathan Fielding is the director of public health for Los Angeles County, where, according to his UCLA faculty biography, "he is responsible for the full range of public health activities for ten million county residents." He is also the new owner, according to city records, of a swanky $2.625 million condo at glossy 260 Park Avenue South.

A former vice president of Johnson & Johnson-which might explain his apparent disposable income-and a founding member of numerous national task forces, Dr. Fielding is noted for having developed plans for combating public-health emergencies, such as bioterrorism and pandemic disease. His L.A. positions are noted as current, so it's likely the new condo is either a pied-à-terre, a gift, an investment, or an escape hatch, should a swine flu epidemic happen out west.

He bought the apartment from Chicago-based developer Sunil S. Gehani, who, like Dr. Fielding, could not be reached for comment. And while Douglas Elliman agent Frances Katzen, who had the listing, was unable to talk about the sale due to a confidentiality agreement, she did tell The Observer of the building, "It's a very solid building, apartments sell very well there; we have reached up to $1,800 per square foot, which is phenomenal for a non-view building." ("Non-view" typically means no big park or river nearby.)

The "soaring" sixth-floor condo offers "true elegance," with oak floors and "perfectly inlayed moldings that flow effortlessly" throughout the apartment. The two bedrooms face west over a private courtyard and sculpture garden; and the 2.5 bathrooms "provide stylish function," according to the listing. The master bedroom is paneled with cherry wood walls and 11-foot ceilings, and the kitchen is described as "a cook's heaven" with "stunning cabinetry." In the living room "a decorative non-working fireplace grounds the home as a hearth, providing luxurious components not seen before." Ugh, not seen before because fireplaces usually work?

cmalle@observer.com

More Manhattan Transfers:

A Majestic Departure? Conan Lists His CPW Apartment for $29.5 M.

Hedge Fund Honcho Steve Eisman Plays Hopscotch on Park

A Fortunate Play for Fortunoff Heir: Tiki Barber Sells For $3.495 M.