By Max Abelson 9:36pm

$8.5 M. Drop and All That Jazz; East 78th Street Mansion Moves

There are worse things in the world than getting $15 million instead of $23.5 million for your parents’ ancient, scruffy Upper East Side mansion after a juicier deal falls through. (Take, for example, the penthouse triplex at 895 Park Avenue, which was once listed for $29.5 million, but went to contract this summer for around Read More

By Max Abelson 3/17/09 11:01pm

Goodbye, East 78th Mansion; Goodbye, $2.35 M. Deposit

Last month, when The Times reported that the Manhattan real estate market had become “so unnerving to buyers that some are forfeiting six-figure deposits rather than close on deals,” Joan Raines must have giggled.

Before last year’s Lehman collapse, Ms. Raines, the daughter of the Pat Nixon–endorsed postwar fashion designer Adele Read More