Jack Dreyfus

Jack Dreyfus was a man of manifold talents. Credited with single handedly inventing the concept of mutual funds, he ran the Dreyfus Fund and later started one of the first socially responsible investment groups. He was a champion bridge player, and even better at gin rummy. He also owned winning race horses and real estate, managing his greatly diversified portfolio until his death in 2009 at the ripe age of 95. It seems his estate is still working to manage all his holdings: his apartment at 14 East 75th Street has just sold.

While mutual funds were his professional occupation, horses were in Dreyfus' heart. As the owner of Hobeau farm in Florida, the Alabama native bred horses who would go on to defeat legends like Secretariat and Buckpasser. And while his New York co-op was no sunshine state homestead, it was a capacious abode in its own right. According to a listing from Corcoran agents Donna Renna and Joanne Douglas the two-bedroom, three-bath duplex features "old world details," among them "two wood burning fireplaces, double height windows and an extraordinary wrap terrace." No stables, sadly.

It seems Mr. Dreyfus' estate is not quite as adept as he: the home was originally put on the market in September 2010 with a $6 million asking price. The buyers, newlyweds Todd and Rebecca Hessel Cohen, paid just $3.45 million according to city records. They beat this deal like a rented mule.

Mrs. Cohen is the senior fashion and beauty editor at Cosmopolitan while Mr. Cohen comes from a wealthy real estate family and currently runs Icon Realty Management with his friend Terrence Lowenberg. The Post said he has a "Trump-sized ego," reportedly declaring: "I have an amazing building going up, I have amazing chemistry with my girlfriend and my company is about to blow the fuck up."

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The 3,326-square-foot condo is located at the Laureate, a luxury condo at 2150 Broadway. According to the listing, the five-bedroom, 4.5-bath home features a giant master bedroom with his-and-hers walk-in closets, a private balcony, and a huge five-fixture master bath with heated floors. Que Bueno!

With walnut floors, a washer and dryer, a library and so-called "great room," Mr. Weiner and Ms. Vogelstein will certainly have room for their backpacks. And monkeys.

The highlight of the home is the 519-square-foot great room. Located "at the prow of the building," according to listing agent Shlomi Reuveni of Brown Harris Stevens, the giant space connects to a separate dining room and library. Mr. Reuveni could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to StreetEasy, the home was originally listed for $8.8 million.

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960 Fifth Avenue (Photo from StreetEasy)

The estate of prominent horse breeder and philanthropist Edward "Ned"  Evans has sold his Fifth Avenue apartment. According to an obituary by the New York Racing Association, Evans ranked seventh among the most successful American racehorse owners the year he died, 2010, raking in over $3 million in prize money. (At one time the C.E.O. of Macmillan publishers as well, Evans recently donated $50 million to the Yale School of Management. Boola Boola, indeed.) 

Evans' apartment at 960 Fifth Avenue, however, sold for more than double that prize money. Although the two-bedroom, two-bath was put on the market in May for $9 million, city records show that the buyers, textile magnates Loic and Rebecca de Kertanguy, paid just $6.8 million for the apartment.

The de Kertanguys have much to look forward to in their new home. With 12-foot ceilings and 9-foot windows, the apartment features enviable views of the Central Park tree line and city beyond, according to a listing by Sotheby's mega-agent Serena Boardman. "This truly unique and glamorous residence is the embodiment of refined elegance and sophistication," the listing brags.

The de Kartanguys are no strangers to the neighborhood, however. In 2008, the couple sold their apartment at 1040 Fifth Avenue to Edgar Bronfman Jr., who famously put it back on the market a week after coughing up $19.5 million for the place. It appears that Mr. and Ms. de Kertanguy have been slumming it in an apartment at 3 East 77th Street since they left the palatial spread at 1040. City records show they just sold the interim home for a cool $4.85 million.

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The Piven family, newest residents of 161 Hudson Street.

Remember earlier in the summer when we told you that Mike Piazza sold his Tribeca condo? It turns out the buyer, who purchased the home through "Judson Payton, LLC," is none other than Jeremy Piven, The New York Post reports.

City records show that Mr. Piven took out a $250,000 mortgage after paying $4.58 million. Mr. Piven's new digs at 161 Hudson Street are located just a block from famed sushi eatery Nobu. Wonder if he will be stopping by, or is Mr. Piven still suffering from the "extreme mercury poisoning" that caused the actor to abruptly exit his stint in Broadway play Speed-the-Plow.

eknutsen@observer.com

We think that's Mr. LeGros under the Reagan mask.

Surf's up for Point Break actor James LeGros and his wife Kristina Loggia LeGros . City records show that the couple just purchased a new home at 5 East Third Street. Mr. LeGros, who plays Roach in the epic surf film, paid $1.7 million for the apartment, which was originally listed for $1.89 million.

Perhaps the new two-bedroom, one-bath will remind Mr. LeGros of frolicking in the summer sun with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze when Point Break was filmed back in the early 1990s. "Sparkling light fills the space from north, south and west all day," according to a listing from Brown Harris Stevens broker Brahna Yassky. Ms. Yassky declined to comment.

The 1,900-square-f0ot home was previously owned by Carol Yoshimura.

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Gina Diez Barroso de Franklin, president of Mexican design firm Grupo Diarq, spent $10.4 million on a new place with a marble entrance of Romanesque columnes resembling more closely the entrance to an Italian palazzo than the foyer of a New York apartment.

According to a listing by Corcoran agents Wendy Sarasohn and Jamie Joseph, the 14-room home includes a 653-square-foot living room and a library paneled in dark wood. Did we mention the private screening room in the east wing? Or the 108-square-foot "breakfast room" listed in the floor plan?

Fortunately, for her, Ms. de Franklin won't have to move very far. The property deed lists her current address as 480 Park Avenue. (She must really love those park views!)

The apartment was sold by Mark and Jean Cohen. We are finding more info on the sellers. Ms. Diez Barroso de Franklin could not be reached for comment.

eknutsen@observer.com

The view from 2 Sutton Place South (Photo from StreetEasy)

The estate of showbiz oldie Jerome Pickman has sold his apartment at 2 Sutton Place South. Pickman was a fixture in the film industry for decades, and worked on moves from Psycho to The Ten Commandments. He was a publicity manager at 20th Century Fox and was sales director at Paramount.

"It is a gem!," boasts Sloane Square agent Susan Kane of Pickman's former apartment in her listing. Hopefully the buyers, businessman and philanthropist Charles Crane and wife Leisa,  like throwing dinner parties, as the apartment's "center foyer...creates a great flow for entertaining," Ms. Kane's listing notes. Pair that with the sprawling views of the East River, and the apartment will surely be the envy of the Cranes' friends.

According to a write-up of the building by architecture critic Carter Horsley, the building features a lobby garden and has a communal roof terrace available for all residents.

The two-bedroom, three-bath home was  originally listed in February for $2.3 million, according to StreetEasy, but the price was increased to $2.35 million in April. The Cranes ended up paying $2.24 million for the home.

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Don't you come around here! (Photo from StreetEasy)

The director of Michael Jackson's 1980s touchstone "Beat It" video has sold his West Village condo for $7.35 million. Bob Giraldi, who also directed the infamous Pepsi commercial in which MJ's hair caught fire, has since moved on to different things, co-founding online mag StarChefs.com with co-producer and co-signer on the Perry Street deed, Patti Greaney.

Mr. Giraldi and Ms. Greaney's home is located one of Richard Meier's glassy buildings on the Hudson at 176 Perry Street. Hugh Jackman once rented in the building, and Nicole Kidman owns a place just six floors up, although the actress was reportedly shopping for renters last year.

Mr. Giraldi and Ms. Greaney's former three-bed, two-bath spans 3,785 square feet, with"EXTRAORDINARY VIEWS of the Hudson River, Hudson River Park and downtown," according to a Corcoran listing. New residents Andrew and Barbara Leigh, however, are used to a quite different shoreline: according to the property deed, the couple hail from Los Angeles. Mr. Leigh is the president of Jerry Leigh of California, a clothing manufacturing company.

The Observer called Bill Kowalczuk, formerly of Corcoran, who listed the property with Brendan Coleman, but Mr. Kowalczuk cited numerous confidentiality agreements that had been signed throughout the course of the deal.

Slow post-hurricane Monday? Watch Mr. Giraldi's video here.

eknutsen@observer.com

Bastion!

The estate of Gregoire C.R.B MacArthur has sold his apartment in the El Dorado at 300 Central Park West. MacArthur, who passed away in 2001, was a director at the MacArthur Foundation, where he oversaw the allocation of those snazzy “genius grants.”

According to a listing by Stribling’s Cathy Taub, the three-bedroom, three-bath’s layout is “amongst the best on Central Park West,” with a large gallery and a separate bedroom wing. MacArthur, a perennial social and civic activist, was instrumental in supporting Ralph Nader in 2000. Perhaps his sprawling views of the reservoir inspired his political leanings? Ms. Taub’s listing concludes with the cheery invitation to “Bring your architect!”

The buyers, Renee and Richard Barasch, have done just that. According to StreetEasy, the couple not only purchased MacArthur’s former residence at 7G, but also neighboring unit 7F. A source familiar with the deal confirms that a combination is in the works. The Baraschs paid $6.35 million for unit 7F, slightly above the $6.2 asking price—maybe they were concerned they wouldn’t get that second apartment. The couple paid $6.9 million for McArthur's apartment, according to city records.

Getting the co-op board to approve a combination deal before the Baraschs were approved as resident shareholders, however, proved a difficult task, said Douglas Elliman's Oren Alexander, who sold unit 7F. "It was really a long long process," Mr. Alexander said. Needless to say, the Baraschs didn't want to invest $13 million into a pair of apartments they couldn't combine. "So, basically, we had a clause in the contract stating that unless a combination was granted they had an easy way out," Mr. Alexander explained. After careful negotiations between both sellers and a final appeal to the co-op board,  the plan was granted.

While we couldn't find the square-footage for MacArthur’s former apartment, the less-expensive unit 7F spans a full 2,700 square feet. Mr. Barasch, who could not immediately be reached, is the president and CEO of the Universal American Corporation, a public healthcare company that provides services to people using Medicare.

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“The client had searched for a very long time and settled on what I thought was the right apartment for them,” said Reba Miller of RP Miller and Associates, who represented the Moelises on the deal.

The developer paid $4.5 million for the home, which was originally listed in 2009 for $5.9 million and then chopped repeatedly. It doesn’t look like the Moelises will be able to take advantage of the roof deck and barbecue before the cold weather comes, however, as they have decided to renovate the property.

For the previous owners, however, the apartment was a luxurious and very livable home.

“It's very, very, very French,” said Lauren Arpel of Town Residential, who represented the seller, listed on the deed as Adrianne Newman. Ms. Arpel noted the “magnificent art, from Matisse to Picasso,” in the home. Unfortunately for the Moelises, the art was “obviously not sold with the apartment.”

eknutsen@observer.com