–Arty duo photog Paul Costello and his wife, Sara Ruffin, the former style director of Domino magazine, are abandoning their beloved townhouse at 88 Bedford Street. The Observer has already drooled over the 1850 home that once belonged to long-passed real estate maven James Phalen. It was reno’ed by the same firm that did Oscar de la Renta’s offices. The home was listed for $12.95 million, but the couple got a comparatively meager $9.6 million. Perhaps they should have thrown in the four-poster beds, which were featured in a New York Times article as some of the nicest around.
–Niles Citrin, one of the founding partners in major accounting firm Citrin Cooperman, has helped his daughter and son-in-law finesse a deal on a $1.55 million condo at 360 East 72nd Street. The deed first lists Mr. Citrin’s daughter, dietician Jodi Greebel, and her lawyer husband, Evan. The couple are both in their 30s. The seller, Patricia Lewis, is a government PR person.
–Manhattan toddlers have been getting a bad rep lately, but at least one power couple that very publicly declared their commitment to urban child-rearing is staying put. Musician Jessica Lustig and her husband Bill Rosenblatt, a digital management consultant, complained to The Times in 2007 about the problems of finding sufficient space to raise a family. “We’re grappling with what we do in a few years when the kids are no longer able to share a bedroom,” Mr. Rosenblatt said at the time. Well, folks, here’s your answer. They and their now-in-grade-school kids have decided to stick with their beloved borough with the purchase of a $1.395 million apartment on West End Avenue.
–Renee Zellweger has listed her two Upper East Side apartments (which could be combined into one) for $6.975 and $1.975 million. That’s slightly more than the $8.2 million the star paid for three units in 2007 and 2008.
The tabloids are atwitter that the girl-next-door may have recently been engaged to long-time beau Bradley Cooper. (But then aren’t they always?) Even the Grey Lady can’t resist some idol speculation:
“Does she want to spend more time with her man in Los Angeles? Is she snubbing New York? Does this mean the two are going to get a love shack together in California?”
Presumably the answer could be all or none of the above.
–Perhaps Ms. Zellweger (and the recently mocked Tina Fey) can get some tips from hunky Irish actor Gabriel Byrne. The Usual Suspects and In Treatment star has sold his Brooklyn Heights townhouse for $5.24 million — well above the $4.7 million he was asking. The buyer is an LLC, who Curbed says has some connection to auction house Christie’s. But, again, that leaves us with more questions than answers.
