By Stephen Jacob Smith 5/08 4:57pm

Disappointments

We love you, No. 54, but you're bringing us down.

The Nay-Sayers Were Right: Observer Manse Sells at a Loss

Last week, when we wrote up the contract signing on The Observer’s old Upper East Side home, the brokers we spoke with were skeptical that the house would fetch its ambitious $28 million ask.

“I have a feeling it’s going to be low,” one veteran townhouse broker of 54 East 64th Street told us. Another concurred, throwing in a dig at Douglas Elliman super broker Dolly Lenz, whom the source claimed “tends to kind of dump her stuff.” Read More

By Stephen Jacob Smith 4/29 4:16pm

Manhattan Transfers

The hallowed halls in which The Observer was born.

Salmon Sells: New York Observer’s Old Upper East Side Home Finds a Buyer

The most expensive home in the five boroughs to go into contract last week (according to the Olshan report), is an address quite familiar to The Observer: 54 East 64th Street, this salmon-colored paper’s Upper East Side home before Arthur Carter sold the paper to Jared Kushner.

“Four floors, a giant alimentary center-hall staircase, caked moldings, brass chandeliers, glass-fronted oak cupboards, The New York Observer sometimes felt like a Henry James society home or a 70′s swinger pad, with reporters stacked and stuffed in its confines like Hong Kong tailors,” longtime editor Peter Kaplan described the mansion. “Our legal reporter set up his computer in the fourth-floor closet, near the tuxedo that was used by whomever had to go out to a formal evening.” Read More

By Kim Velsey 6/27/12 3:36pm

Of Lawsuits and Living Rooms

Not so perfect after all?

Not So Happily At Home In the Hamptons: Buyers of Dolly Lenz’s Spread Sue

Doesn’t a 6,459-square-foot Hamptons manse with seven bedrooms, an outdoor pool, tennis court, carriage house and four-car garage sound like the perfect place to spend the holiday weekend?

But alas, apparently the former home of power broker Dolly Lenz is not perfect, as the new buyers are suing Ms. Lenz and her broker for breach of contract, reports The Real Deal. Read More

By Elise Knutsen 2/21/12 5:00pm

Manhattan Transfers

7 Photos

Acutely desirable property.

Hedgie Cashes Out of Time Warner Center for $19 M.

It seems that Michael Murphy tries very hard not to live his life in superlatives. His company, Rosecliff Capital, does not have a website open to the public and he can’t be found frolicking in any party pictures, flaunting his Wall Street wealth. The hedgefunder and Hofstra grad does, however, have a “superlative residence,” according to a recent listing, which has just fetched a superlative price. Mr. Murphy and his wife, Tracy, have sold their home on the 68th floor of the Time Warner Center for $19.45 million, city records show. Read More

By Elise Knutsen 12/20/11 4:56pm

Tower of Babillionaires

6 Photos

The nanny's room, complete with kitchenette so she doesn't have to use the family cookware to make her own meals.

Overpriced or Right-Priced? Drunk on Weill Sale, Lower Floor 15 CPW Spread Wants $35 M.

In the wake of the 15 CPW penthouse saga, a not so small listing in the same building has hit the market and gone relatively unnoticed. Unit 15B just hit the market for a whopping $34 million, and while the price is significantly less than the record $88 million Mr. Rybolovlev paid for the penthouse, the listing could set a record of its own, assuming, like the Weill penthouse.

The three-bedroom, three-bath place spans just 3,368-square feet, making the asking price add up to $10,391 per square foot, which would set a new city record and be the first to break five-figures.

Something seems rotten in the the limestone palace. Read More

By Elise Knutsen 10/31/11 5:40pm

Manhattan Transfers

Tony Carbonetti

Giuliani's Right Hand Man and Dorrian's Daughter Sell UES Digs

For decades, Dorrian’s has stood sentry on the Upper East Side, the quintessential prepster hangout and high schoolers’ mecca. Carol Dorrian Carbonetti, daughter of the bar’s proprietor Jack Dorrian, has lived not so very far away with her politico husband, Tony Carbonetti. But unlike the bar that has watched over many a debauched youth, the Carbonettis are on the move. The couple has sold their uptown digs at 52 East 72nd Street. Read More

By Elise Knutsen 9/09/11 5:37pm

Super Brokers

John_Burger

What Recession! Brown Harris Steven's John Burger Sold $280 M. in Homes Last Year, Topping the U.S.

Who’s the best broker in the land? Brown Harris Stevens’ John Burger, according to the Wall Street Journal‘s annual list of the nation’s top real estate agents. The New York based broker is a heavy hitter in the industry, selling $279,841,487 in New York property last year. Figuring that 3% commission, Mr. Burger did well for himself last year, pocketing approximately $8,395,244 before Uncle Sam.

According to his personal website, Mr. Burger splits his time between his homes on the Upper East Side and in Watermill (naturally), and is fluent in Spanish and German. And English, we presume. Read More

By Julian Niccolini 5/31/11 11:57pm

The Lunch CROWD

A Very Fashionable Week At The Grill: Photographers, Actors and Style Icons Storm the Four Seasons

We had a beautiful event last weekend for Todd Eberle, the photographer, celebrating his new book, Empire of Space–which features the Four Seasons 50th anniversary portrait Mr. Eberle took two years ago, with lots of regulars including Michael Ovitz, Peggy Siegal, Dolly Lenz, Aby Rosen, Ed Koch and, of course, me! Larry Gagosian, Vanity Fair Read More

By Julian Niccolini 4/05/11 11:50pm

The Lunch CROWD

Condé Nast Bonanza! A Manic Monday For Mag Moguls at the Grill

Monday was extremely busy–but don’t worry, everyone was safe; Commissioner Kelly presided at one of the central tables in the Grill! Across the room, Governor Paterson was eating fruit salad with Bill White.

Peter Brandt was also here, looking very sharp in a gray pinstriped double-breasted suit–no wonder he’s back with his gorgeous wife! The Read More