By Stephen Jacob Smith 3/26 2:14pm

Manhattan Transfers

32 South Portland Avenue might not be as elaborate as its next-door neighbor, but that didn't stop it from setting a Fort Greene record.

Indie Production Designer Sets Fort Greene Record With $3.75 M. Brownstone

“I made my career on films that probably shouldn’t have been made, economically,” production designer Mark Friedberg once told Capital New York. Either things have recently changed for Mr. Friedberg or he was being awfully humble: his movies might not have made sense economically, but they made enough for him to make what appears to be a record-breaking townhouse buy.

Mr. Friedberg and his wife, Lydia Pilcher, just picked up a three-story brownstone at 32 South Portland Avenue for $3.75 million, blowing past the record 181 Washington Park, which sold last spring for $3.28 million. Read More

By Kim Velsey 10/10/12 10:22am

Manhattan Transfers

The Bayard Street building.

Former Corzine Confidant, MF Global Exec Bradley Abelow Grabs $1 M. Burg Pad Overlooking McCarren Park

It is one thing for a young banker to move to Williamsburg. It is an expected, if unfortunate, product of gentrification. But what does it say when a former Goldman Sachs boss and New Jersey political hand drops a million bucks on a Burg condo?

While former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine distracted himself from the whole MF Global scandal with plans for a new hedge fund (who wouldn’t like to think of making millions after you lose billions?), his former chief of staff, Goldman buddy and MF Global second-in-command Bradley Abelow decided to pick up another home, a condo on Karl Fisher Row overlooking the track and field at McCarren Park. Read More

By Kim Velsey 8/15/12 4:03pm

Manhattan Transfers

13 Photos

Brooklyn's Most Valuable House

Great Brooklyn Heights! Borough’s Most Valuable House Sells For $7.3 M.

The modern masterpiece at 40 Willow Place may not be able to command a sales price like some of its Brooklyn Heights neighbors—to wit, Truman Capote’s old abode at 70 Willow Street set a borough record when it sold for $12 million in March—but in the eyes of the tax assessor’s office, it is the finest in the borough.

Well, new owners Charles Brian and Elizabeth O’Kelley must have been quite taken with the townhouse’s sleek lines as well. It helps that the sleek lines that span a width of more than 45-feet, stretching out over a double lot. City records show that the O’Kelleys paid $7.3 million for the 6,500-square-foot house, apparently undeterred by the taxes they’ll be paying on the property’s assessed market value of $6.35 million (the Capote house, in contrast, has an assessed market value of only $5.14 million, according to Property Shark). The couple’s love affair with clean lines seems to have started some time ago—they list their current address as an equally stylish but much smaller penthouse in the West Village. Read More

By Kim Velsey 6/21/12 2:42pm

Manhattan Transfers

9 Photos

John Patrick Shanley: From Gramercy Park to Williamsburg

Playwright John Patrick Shanley Gives Brooklyn the Finger in Move to Williamsburg

John Patrick Shanley must have been Moonstruck when he saw the eleventh-floor condo in Williamsburg’s brand new Finger Building.

At least, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright was taken enough with the three-bedroom pad at 144 North 8th Street to pay $1.85 million for the privilege of being its first inhabitant, according to city records. Mr. Shanley paid a little more than the $1.82 million ask set by developer Gabriel Realty. Read More