Apparently pink crown moldings were in style in 1929.

As chief of executive officer of Grameen America, a micro-lender founded by Nobel Peace Price winner Muhammad Yunus, and a partner at prepaid debit card company NetSpend, Stephen Vogel knows a thing or two about the "unbanked"—the 60 million Americans without bank accounts. Thankfully, Mr. Vogel and his wife, Laurie, are not among them: the couple dropped $6.6 million on a unit at the Beresford at 211 Central Park West, according to city records.

The eighth floor unit, which the Vogels bought from Donald and Leila McCollum, was poised to enter the sparsely-populated ranks of New York City co-ops to be foreclosed on, according to The Real Deal. Fortunately, the couple's attorney finally convinced lender JPMorgan Chase to let them save face by selling it themselves and paying back the $1 million lien.

"They gave us some time to conclude the deal," broker Chandru Ramnani of RSNY told The Real Deal, but "the way [the bank] was dealing with this was totally out of line."

The Classic Seven sold significantly under the asking price—at one point the sellers wanted $7.85 million. The discount may have had something to do with the pressure that JPMorgan Chase was likely exerting on Mr. and Ms. McCollum. Or it could have to do with the fact that the apartment is, according to Mr. Ramnani's listing description, in its "original condition," dating back to the Beresford's erection in 1929, when pink crown moldings and double maid's rooms were considered the cat's pajamas.

Ms. McCollum, née Benitez, was once a television star in the Philippines, where she met her husband. Mr. McCollum, for his part, was "a US Army photographer," reported the Philippine Daily Inquirer, "who was with Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Carlos P. Romulo during the Leyte landing at the end of World War II."

"I miss Manila," Ms. McCollum told the Inquirer. "But when I get homesick, I go to Queens where you can get all the Filipino food you want. Even kalamansi or sitaw!"

We just hope that Ms. McCollum won't be homesick for the Beresford. The luxury co-op lifestyle might be harder to replicate outside of the Upper West Side's hallowed halls.

Holbrooke and Marton.

Kati Marton had already moved on from the spacious four-bedroom, four-bath co-op that she and the late diplomat Richard Holbrooke once shared at the Beresford. Now she's finally sold it, city records show, for the bargain price of $11 million.

But the famed journalist was clearly eager to make a deal. After listing the eighth-floor apartment at 211 Central Park West for $14.7 million in August of 2011, she reduced the price to $13.5 million only a month later, whipping through a series of sharp price cuts in the following months.

Their Beresford home.

In June, Ms. Marton bought a more modest co-op at 33 Riverside Drive and apparently decided it was really time to let go of the past, dropping the price to $11.3 million. She did share the home with not one, but two former husbands. She bought the eight-floor spread in the early 1990s with Peter Jennings, her second husband, and held onto it after their divorce.

The listing, held by Stribling broker Beatrice Ducrot, includes all the bells and whistles of a Central Park West listing, with Park views from the living room, library and master bedroom. Wood panels, carved doors and wood-burning fireplaces abound. It is, without a doubt, "well suited to entertaining and gracious living," as the listing claims. When Holbrooke was alive, the couple held a dinner toasting Hilary Clinton in the apartment every December with guests like Matt Damon, Glenn Close and Robert de Niro.

Which is good news for the buyers—Janet and Marvin Rosen. Mr. Rosen, a lawyer, was the finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1995 to 1997 and presumably continues to hobnob with some political personages.

The apartment won't entirely the same as it was when the power couple lived there, of course. Minus the stardust, it's missing an add-on office. A little over a year ago Ms. Marton sold the adjoining one-bedroom that Holbrooke had used as an office for $1.8 million. It sounded like the perfect place to get a remaining hour of important government work done while the caterers were busy prepping dinner next door.

But not to worry, with a total of four bedrooms and ample closet space, the Rosens can certainly find a place to put their desks.

kvelsey@observer.com

The vendor, who has withstood numerous legal challenges from the Beresford's lawyer, finally caved as the hurricane battered his corner across from Central Park, at least according to a tweet from Beresford resident and architecture critic Paul Goldberger:

Residents in the quadra-towered luxury building have been scowling at the vendor since he set up his cart in front of their building earlier this year. The smells, the noise of the generator, the mustard spilling on the sidewalk. But the city refused to oust the vendor, who has a valid permit, and like any other vendor, is permitted to operate anywhere he wishes, so long as it does not interfere with safety.

Still, it looks like the storm finally drove the vendor away from the lofty corner, delighting Mr. Goldberger, who has been watching these things carefully. But only time will tell if he returns (we're guessing he comes back as soon as the subways come back to life.

kvelsey@observer.com

Isn't real luxury being able to get a hot dog whenever you want?

Hot dogs, at least the organic artisanal sort, have been having a bit of a renaissance in some quarters of Brooklyn. But let's get real. They are not high class.  Unlike the Beresford. And Beresford residents, while they may be subjected to the indignity of passing a hot dog cart in the course of their day, do not want to see one every time they walk out the front door.

A battle is brewing, reports The Real Deal, and the towered luxury co-op wants the hot dog vendor who has been parked in front of the building at Central Park West and West 81st Street since the spring to get off its lawn. Or the narrow strip of subway between the street and the subway entrance that would be the lawn if it had one (instead of a gated interior court).

After all, while the Beresford has a reputation for being somewhat more laid back than its luxury companions across the Park, the building does have standards. And the interests of upscale residents such as Jerry Seinfeld and John McEnroe have to be considered.

"This vendor occupies a very narrow part of the congested sidewalk at the northwest corner of Central Park West and West 81st Street, right in front of the subway entrance, and poses both a safety hazard and adds considerable refuse along the street, including overflowing garbage receptacles,” building manager Alex Kalajian wrote The Real Deal in a statement.

The sidewalk is dirty. The generator on the cart is noisy. And then there's ever-present the odor of hot dogs. It's just. too. much.

The board has filed several complaints with the authorities about the vendor without success, Mr. Kalajian said.

Too bad for the Beresford, but the vendor is well within his rights to set up where ever he wants, city officials told the paper. The vendor has a valid permit and a spokesman said that vendors are allowed to change their locations if they want to. This vendor's decision to shift corners may have been motivated by purely for economic reasons, as Mr. Kalajian claims, but the man—a Middle Eastern immigrant who speaks limited English according to someone from the community board—is an entrepreneur, after all. And most entrepreneurs pick locations for purely economic reasons.

“We have a list of intersections that, for a variety of reasons, [might be off limits]. Maybe it’s close to a subway entrance or in an area of really bad traffic. Otherwise, they’re free to go wherever they want.”

On the bright side, it's never been easier to get a snack.

kvelsey@observer.com

Ms. Gustavson and husband Christopher Sales, who is also involved with the financial industry at Credit Suisse, must be doing well in their careers, as they've upgraded from a two-bedroom rental at 375 West End Avenue to a sprawling three-bedroom spread that they just bought at the Beresford for $5.2 million, according to city records.

The couple bought the 16th-floor spread at 211 Central Park West, which has all the grand proportions befitting a pair with burgeoning  financial prominence: a private foyer, a 27-foot gallery, a 28-foot living room and a 24-foot dining room.

The seller, Wendy Barasch, who is a portfolio manager at Evercore Wealth Management, also did well with her investment—she bought the unit for $2.9 million in 2004. Not as well as she might have liked given that the place originally went on the market for $5.7 million in November and was most recently listed for $5.4 million with Brown Harris Stevens broker John Burger (it took a brief hiatus from the market during the holidays).

Apparently, the couple decided that now was the time to finally buy. And for Ms. Barasch, she must have had an inkling that now was the time to sell luxury real estate in Manhattan.

kvelsey@observer.com

In two sentences alone, the lovely Brown Harris listing reports that "a grand stairway leads to six large bedrooms, seven and one-half bathrooms, a paneled library, huge family room, formal dining room, superb kitchen, laundry room, two terraces, three fireplaces and four exposures," and that Mr. Weinstein has a "Creston system for sound and lighting," plus three zones of air conditioning.

On the downside, the apartment's monthly maintenance fee is $10,076; on the plus side, the floor plan shows that the master bedroom suite has a terrace, a gallery, a dressing room, and two walk-in closets.

mabelson@observer.com