But you still sell an apartment for them, or help them buy one, right?
Ms. Powers: It all depends. Like you were saying, there’s maybe a moral approach to real estate, or a business approach. From a moral point of view, yes, it is questionable; but from the business point of view, it isn’t questionable, it’s business.
You have the most expensive listing in the history of New York City, the financier Martin Zweig’s triplex penthouse at the Pierre. It’s been on the market for years for $70 million.
Ms. Sample: We sold it to him in 1998, to Martin … for significantly less than we’re asking.
How much longer will he give you the co-op listing for?
Ms. Powers: As long as it takes.
Ms. Sample: If it was a condominium, I’d probably have it priced at two or three hundred million dollars, and I’d probably get it. … Co-ops like to have [buyers’] assets in the United States. For the most part, if their assets are not here, it’s very difficult to get them into a co-op.
Have you tried to get Martin to lower the price?
Ms. Sample: We’ve had offers way over the asking price. Eighty-five million! … The offers were real; it was, ‘Is it an appropriate person type of person for that building?’
What would ‘inappropriate’ mean?
Ms. Powers: A bachelor.
Ms. Sample: No, be careful, we can get into trouble. Someone who’s going to get into wild parties … someone that’s going to bring a lot of paparazzi.
Have either of you seen any homophobia in co-op boards?
Ms. Powers: I’ve never seen it.
Ms. Sample: I think there’s more of a phobia against movie stars.
When co-op boards would say they didn’t want ‘entertainers,’ it was code for Jews.
Ms. Sample: Yeah, but that’s not the case today. You have all different kinds of celebrities; they’re not all Jewish, for God sakes!
Have you seen homophobia or any racism among fellow brokers?
Ms. Sample: Homophobia? I would say no. They’re barking up the wrong tree with someone like Brenda or I. Racism? Comments are tossed around, more so when I began 20 years ago. I think people are really …
Ms. Powers: Open now.
Ms. Sample: … Well, and I think much more careful now with the litigation that takes place.
Brenda, on your Web site, you describe Elizabeth as your mentor. What’s that part of your decade-plus relationship like?
Ms. Powers: I hooked up with Elizabeth and started talking real estate. I was working for Ian Schrager at the Royalton … and she said, ‘Why don’t you work with me—for me?’ She had a brilliant way of making me fall in love with real estate, she had me read all the publications.
Ms. Sample: I had her reading Crain’s back in the day.
Now you no longer work for her, you work with. Since when do you split commissions?
Ms. Sample: Six
months into working with me. She was very good.
Brenda, you speak five languages, so are you the one that deals with the foreign buyers?
Ms. Powers: It depends.
Ms. Sample: I do pretty well with Russians. I don’t know why.
Ms. Powers: Because you’re blond and blue-eyed!
You’re both blond.
Ms. Powers: Elizabeth has a way and a style that’s very appealing to businessmen or men, because you have five or 10 minutes with someone, to sell the asset.
