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John Steinbeck’s former Upper East Side home, complete with his original writing desk, asks $5M
April 6, 2018

John Steinbeck’s former Upper East Side home, complete with his original writing desk, asks $5M

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On the 34th floor at the Tower East on 72nd and 3rd Avenue is the former home of Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck. "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men" author lived here with his third wife, Elaine Anderson Steinbeck, until his death in 1968. She stayed in the apartment until her death in 2003, after which time it was completely renovated with new windows, floors, plumbing, electric and an expanded entrance with the addition of an adjacent three-bedroom apartment. But the new owners left a few nods to the literary great, including keeping his study intact, complete with his original wooden desk, notes on the wall, and posters, according to the Post.
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Adrian Grenier put a $10,000 toilet in his mom’s Clinton Hill townhouse renovation

Adrian Grenier image via Wikimedia Commons

April 5, 2018

Adrian Grenier put a $10,000 toilet in his mom’s Clinton Hill townhouse renovation

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In 2015, 6sqft reported that "Entourage" star, filmmaker and local green renovator had just purchased an impressive five story home in the heart of the Clinton Hill historic district. Nosy neighbors and friendly observers have noted steady progress in the massive renovation effort that has followed at 112 Gates Avenue. Now the New York Post tells us that the home, which the actor adorably bought for his Brown Harris Stevens broker mom, will not only retain its Landmarks-mandated charm but will be positively flush with modern conveniences–starting with $10,200 Toto Neorest 750H high tech toilets courtesy of a sponsorship by the Japanese manufacturer.
'before' photos a-head
Sting is reportedly renting at Zaha Hadid’s High Line-hugging condo

Photo © Hufton+Crow; Sting photo via Wiki Commons

April 4, 2018

Sting is reportedly renting at Zaha Hadid’s High Line-hugging condo

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Just six months after selling his huge Central Park West penthouse for $50 million, Sting has reportedly moved on to an equally swanky residence. According to Page Six, he and wife Trudie Styler are "renting a large terraced apartment on a high floor" in Zaha Hadid's recently-completed, curvy, High Line-hugging condo at 520 West 28th Street in Chelsea. Though his former home was in a classic Robert A.M. Stern-designed building (he must really have a thing for starchitects), it was decked out in an uber-contemporary style, so it makes sense that he'd want to move over to one of the city's most futuristic buildings.
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Matt Lauer attempts to shed Upper East Side co-op for $7M
April 3, 2018

Matt Lauer attempts to shed Upper East Side co-op for $7M

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After all, there's no need to worry about having a place near work. In addition to the disgraced anchorman's Sag Harbor home (one of his three Hamptons properties) Lauer's Upper East Side co-op at 133 East 64th Street is now for sale, asking $7.35 million. The four-bedroom, 11-room pad is also, as the Post points out, where the former "Today" anchor was holed up last November when he was informed of his dismissal by NBC News head Andy Lack.
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Owners of Donald Trump’s former Connecticut mansion try to unload it again for $45M
April 2, 2018

Owners of Donald Trump’s former Connecticut mansion try to unload it again for $45M

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It looks like it's not just owners within Trump-branded condo buildings who are struggling to sell their homes, but the owners of individual homes with connections to the President, too. In 1998, financier Robert Steinberg and his wife Suzanne paid $15 million for this 5.8-acre Greenwich, Connecticut estate on its own peninsula. It was previously owned by a then-Democratic Donald Trump and his wife Ivana, but when they divorced in 1991, she kept the mansion. Likely not realizing what was yet to come, the Steinbergs first listed the home in early January 2016 for $54 million, dropping the price to $45 million in May. But according to the Wall Street Journal, when Trump's campaign "started heating up," they took the listing down. Although the fire has only grown, they've now decided to try again.
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Heidi Klum buys a raw Soho penthouse loft in need of a complete reno for $5M
April 2, 2018

Heidi Klum buys a raw Soho penthouse loft in need of a complete reno for $5M

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Though Heidi Klum has spent summers renting a New York City pad and even checked out Bon Jovi's pricey penthouse, the supermodel and TV personality was LA-based until recently. The Post reports that Klum just closed on a 4,772-square-foot Soho penthouse loft at 515 Broadway for $5.1 million. Purchased under the name “HK East Coast LLC,” the loft, in a 19th century Queen Anne-style building also known as 84 Mercer Street, is a former artist's studio, though it's exempt from Artist Certification requirements. The totally raw space is in need of just about everything.
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San Remo co-op that was Diane Keaton’s first NYC apartment lists for $17.5M
March 29, 2018

San Remo co-op that was Diane Keaton’s first NYC apartment lists for $17.5M

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In the late '70s, after hitting it big in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall," a 30-year-old Diane Keaton celebrated her Hollywood success by buying a full-floor apartment at the storied Upper West Side co-op the San Remo. Looking back in more recent years, she said "It was one of those remarkable apartments. There was a window on every side. Everything was wide open. That was the beginning of my true interest in architecture." And now a lucky buyer will have the chance to re-live that dream, as Keaton's former home--in one of the landmark's coveted towers--has just hit the market for $17.5 million, reports the Post.
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Jennifer Lopez and A-Rod pick up $15M apartment at 432 Park Avenue

432 via DBOX; Alex Rodriguez via Wiki Commons; Jennifer Lopez via Wiki Commons

March 28, 2018

Jennifer Lopez and A-Rod pick up $15M apartment at 432 Park Avenue

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Update 4/2/18: The pair picked up a three-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom that takes up half of the 36th floor of 432 Park, according to Observer. The apartment measures just over 4,000 square feet and features its own elevator, oak floorings, a library and custom-designed eat-in kitchen. Power-couple Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, affectionately known as J-Rod, have purchased an apartment for $15.316 million at 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential building in the Western Hempishere. As Mansion Global reported, the duo picked up a 4,000-square-foot unit with three bedrooms and four and a half baths. The deal, which closed in February, turned out to be less expensive than expected, as the couple in October reportedly checked out a $40.5 million three-bedroom and an $82 million penthouse.
More details here
Mike Myers finally unloads $14M Soho penthouse

Photo of Mike Myers via Wikimedia

March 27, 2018

Mike Myers finally unloads $14M Soho penthouse

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After three years on the market, Mike Myers' Soho penthouse has gone into contract. The actor bought the duplex at 72 Mercer Street back in 2007 for just under $8 million and renovated to its current contemporary state. He first listed in 2015 for $17 million, shortly after adding another unit in the building to the sale, upping the combo price to $21.5 million. This past November, Myers tried yet again, relisting the original penthouse unit for the reduced price of $14 million, and it looks like that did the trick as it's now in contract.
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Brooklyn Heights wood-frame, once Truman Capote’s muse, still on the market a year later for $2M less
March 27, 2018

Brooklyn Heights wood-frame, once Truman Capote’s muse, still on the market a year later for $2M less

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The  wood-frame house at 13 Pineapple Street in Brooklyn Heights was previously noted by 6sqft for having inspired Truman Capote's words about the neighborhood in 1959: "Cheerfully austere, as elegant and other-era as formal calling cards, these houses bespeak an age of able servants and solid fireside ease; of horses in musical harness," wrote the author, referencing the 1830 Federal-era home around the corner from his own. The house, owned by the same couple for 26 years, hit the market in January of 2017 for $10.5 million. After a new price chop, the home's second in just over a year, the grey-shingled muse is asking $8.4 million.
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Rent Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis’ former Meatpacking love nest for $13.5K/month
March 22, 2018

Rent Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis’ former Meatpacking love nest for $13.5K/month

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Though the couple sold the Meatpacking pad at 66 Ninth Avenue for $3.8 million in 2015 and acquired a stately Clinton Hill mansion, this corner two-bedroom loft in the Porter House condominium is just as lovely at its new rental price of $13,500 a month, as the Post reports. The then-engaged couple (they're married now) sold the home in just five months.
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Amy Poehler and Will Arnett’s former West Village condo seeks new life as a $24K/month rental
March 21, 2018

Amy Poehler and Will Arnett’s former West Village condo seeks new life as a $24K/month rental

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One-half of this colorful condominium at 1 Morton Square was once home to former couple Amy Poehler and Will Arnett. In happier times, the celeb pair owned a portion of this condo before selling it for $2.2 million in 2007. After being combined, the condo listed for sale again for $10 million in May 2015. Though it's still for sale–at a reduced $7 million–the spacious four-bedroom pad is seeking yet another incarnation as a high-priced rental, asking $23,999 a month.
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More Banksy work pops up in Brooklyn, this time commenting on capitalism and real estate

Photo by Benjamin Sutton for Hyperallergic

March 20, 2018

More Banksy work pops up in Brooklyn, this time commenting on capitalism and real estate

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Banksy is at it again. Last Friday, we highlighted the 70-foot mural on the Houston Bowery Wall depicting the Turkish artist Zehra Dogan’s unjust prison sentence. Now the elusive street artist is taking credit for two murals on a derelict site slated for redevelopment in Midwood, Brooklyn, reports Hyperallergic. One of the murals depicts a man in a suit and hard hat (most likely a real estate developer), cracking a whip that looks like a stock market up arrow, over a group of children and adults desperate to get away. Coincidence or not, Trump has properties in nearby Coney Island. The mural is classic Banksy commentary on the evils and influence of capitalism.
Details on the second piece
Zayn Malik drops $10M on Soho penthouse after Gigi Hadid breakup
March 19, 2018

Zayn Malik drops $10M on Soho penthouse after Gigi Hadid breakup

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After supermodel Gigi Hadid bought a condo at Noho's trendy new building 10 Bond Street in July 2016, she was often seen leaving the building with then-new flame Zayn Malik. But the couple, dubbed ZiGi. Malik by their swarms of fans, announced their breakup last week, and it looks like the pop star was well prepared to begin his bachelor lifestyle, as the Post reports that just days after the news went public, Malik closed on a $10.69 million Soho penthouse at 63 Greene Street.
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Wunderbroker Ryan Serhant bought Jonathan Safran Foer’s perfect Brooklyn brownstone–at a discount
March 19, 2018

Wunderbroker Ryan Serhant bought Jonathan Safran Foer’s perfect Brooklyn brownstone–at a discount

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“Million Dollar Listing New York" star Ryan Serhant had recently taken over the listing for novelist Jonathan Safran Foer's gorgeous five-story Boerum Hill home, asking $8.995 million; the award-winning scribe first listed the home with Compass for $10.5 million last May. Now, according to The Real Deal, Serhant is the new owner of the 8,000-square-foot townhouse. Safran Foer bought the 1899 Greek Revival home at 374 Pacific Street for $5.4 million in 2014, so while the sale price represents a price chop, he didn't do too badly on the deal.
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Banksy unveils mural at historic Houston Bowery Wall protesting Turkish artist’s imprisonment

Photos courtesy of Goldman Properties

March 16, 2018

Banksy unveils mural at historic Houston Bowery Wall protesting Turkish artist’s imprisonment

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The provocative and still anonymous artist Banksy has come back to New York after a five-year hiatus (he was last seen in New York selling his work for $60 a piece in Central Park). After a tease yesterday, his 70-foot mural on the Houston Bowery Wall, made famous by Keith Haring in 1982, depicts 365 hash marks and an image of the Turkish artist Zehra Dogan behind prison bars and the final prison bar transforms into a pencil. The image represents the amount of time Dogan has spent in jail for painting a picture of a war-torn town in Turkey.
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Restaurateur Keith McNally gets $10M for his French-country Greenwich Village townhouse
March 16, 2018

Restaurateur Keith McNally gets $10M for his French-country Greenwich Village townhouse

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After a long run on the market--renting at $25,000/month, $19,000/month, then listed for $13.95 million--restaurateur Keith McNally‘s 4,600 square-foot Greek Revival townhouse has sold. According to The Real Deal, an unknown buyer paid $10.3 million. McNally, behind buzzy establishments like Balthazar, Cherche Midi, Odeon, Café Luxembourg, Schiller’s and Minetta Tavern, bought the 1842 townhouse at 105 West 11th Street in 2000. The design is fit for a restaurateur, with a stunning kitchen, walk-in wine cellar and rustic French-country interiors.
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Former writing studio of poet Robert Lowell asks $1.2M in Lincoln Square
March 16, 2018

Former writing studio of poet Robert Lowell asks $1.2M in Lincoln Square

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It doesn't get much more romantic than living in an apartment off Central Park once used by a famous poet as his writing studio. That's the case here at 15 West 67th Street, the historic Lincoln Square cooperative that poet Robert Lowell once used as his writing atelier. Lowell worked in here during his time in New York, prior to his 1972 move to England. As the years passed, of course, the one bedroom was mostly renovated, selling in 2012 for $712,000 and hitting the market again for $1.185 million. According to the listing, the current owner "fondly brought back the luster of the woodwork," while adding wine storage and other modern amenities.
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Hotel Chelsea doors from the rooms of Andy Warhol, Jimi Hendrix, and more coming to auction

Screenshot of Iconic Chelsea Doors via Guernsey’s 

March 13, 2018

Hotel Chelsea doors from the rooms of Andy Warhol, Jimi Hendrix, and more coming to auction

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Up until its first controversial sale to developers in 2011, drama at the Chelsea Hotel was reserved to its longtime list of celebrity occupants. From being the site where Sid Vicious reportedly stabbed his girlfriend to death to where Dylan Thomas went into a coma just before dying to the home of Madonna in the '80s, the landmark is more associated with NYC characters and culture than perhaps anywhere else. And now average New Yorkers will have the rare opportunity to own a piece of this history. amNY reports that Guernsey's auction house will be selling 55 original doors from the hotel, which, after "exhaustive research," can be traced "to the iconic individuals who lived behind them," including Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, Jack Kerouac, Humphrey Bogart, Thomas Wolfe, Jim Morrison, and Jackson Pollack.
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Matt Lauer finds no buyers for 22-acre Hamptons estate, chops $5M off asking price
March 9, 2018

Matt Lauer finds no buyers for 22-acre Hamptons estate, chops $5M off asking price

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Former NBC anchor Matt Lauer seems to be having trouble selling his "spare" Sag Harbor house–one of three Hamptons homes he owns with his likely soon-to-be ex-wife Annette Roque–which the disgraced ex-"Today Show" co-host is currently listing at $12.75 million, according to the Observer. Lauer first listed the 25-acre estate at 2301 Deerfield Road for $18 million in July of 2016. The asking price was shaved by $1 million that September, and then again in June 2017 to $14.9 million. The 8,000-square-foot, six-bedroom shingle-style house comes with a huge gunite pool and pool house, tennis court and gorgeous landscaped grounds and was designed by architect Daniel Romualdez with interiors by Muriel Brandolini; but the answer still seems to be no, thanks.
Would you want to give this guy 12.75 million?
Taylor Swift says broker lawsuit in $18M townhouse buy is unfounded

Google Street View of 153 Franklin Street; Taylor Swift via Wiki Commons

March 8, 2018

Taylor Swift says broker lawsuit in $18M townhouse buy is unfounded

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As 6sqft previously reported, downtown Manhattan real estate investor Taylor Swift was recently sued by Douglas Elliman for allegedly stiffing a broker on the commission for an $18 million Tribeca townhouse  at 153 Franklin Street that she bought this past fall. Now, according to The Real Deal, the pop star's management company Firefly Entertainment filed a motion to have the brokerage’s $1 million suit dismissed. Firefly claims the lawsuit is “the latest in a long line of lawsuits” by Elliman and that the real estate agency had little if any involvement in the townhouse deal.
What's the story here?
CNN anchor Jason Carroll is selling his chic Chelsea pad for $1.75M
March 8, 2018

CNN anchor Jason Carroll is selling his chic Chelsea pad for $1.75M

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CNN correspondent and former “Ahead of the Curve” co-anchor Jason Carroll just listed this stylish, sparkly one-bedroom home in the rakishly-named Lion’s Head condominium at 121 West 19th Street in Chelsea for $1.75 million. The super-social location near Nomad and the Village makes this one-bedroom unit a great bet if you like being surrounded by tons of shopping, food and fun. Carroll bought the place for just $785,000 back in 2006, so he's looking to make a nice $1 million profit.
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‘This American Life’ host Ira Glass gets $1.65M for chic Chelsea condo
March 6, 2018

‘This American Life’ host Ira Glass gets $1.65M for chic Chelsea condo

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Rodents be damned--despite being sued by their condo board for an alleged bedbug and rat infestation last year, “This American Life” host Ira Glass and his wife Anaheed Alani have sold their renovated Chelsea apartment at 159 West 24th Street for $1.65 million. They bought the apartment in 2012 for $1,265,000 and put it on the market this past November for $1.75 million, with the listing stating that the home was "unoccupied."
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Justin Timberlake wants to offload his sleek Soho Mews penthouse for $8M
March 5, 2018

Justin Timberlake wants to offload his sleek Soho Mews penthouse for $8M

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A year ago, Justin Timberlake, his wife Jessica Biel, and their young son Silas decided to call Tribeca home with a $20 million penthouse buy at 443 Greenwich Street. That left Timberlake with an unwanted penthouse at the Soho Mews, which the singer/actor/all-around celeb paid just over $6.5 million for in 2010. Curbed now reports that he's listed the sleek spread on the market for $7.995 million with Stribling broker-to-the-stars Jared Seligman. Any interested party will be buying into a celebrity-friendly condo that Meg Ryan and Jake Gyllenhaal have also called home.
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Nina Dobrev tours $2M condo on the Lower East Side

Photo of Nina Dobrev via Wikimedia

March 1, 2018

Nina Dobrev tours $2M condo on the Lower East Side

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Nina Dobrev, best known for her role in "The Vampire Diaries," appears to be making the move to Manhattan. The actress recently toured a two-bedroom pad at Blue, a Lower East Side condominium at 105 Norfolk Street, according to the New York Post.  The roughly 1,400-square-foot condo boasts lots of natural light, state-of-the-art appliances and a private outdoor space. Originally listed for $2.31 million in 2016, the condo is currently asking $1.88 million.
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