While Colorado police were apprehending the Planned Parenthood shooting suspect Friday night, Fox News was busy ensuring its level of discourse met our most base expectations. Which, of course, amounts to little more than: Thanks, Obama.
Here's a story. On the afternoon of Friday, November 21, 2008, an email bearing the subject header "confidential information" turned up in Gawker's tips inbox. The sender's email address was "harveydent701@yahoo.com," a dummy account. The only text in the email itself was "please consider the attached information." Attached was a Microsoft Word document with the filename "MediaMogul.doc."
• Actress Kristen Johnston has closed on the sale of her duplex at 296 West 10th Street. The two-bedroom apartment with a solarium and terrace, which Johnston listed for $1.795 million in June and went into contract to sell in August, sold for $1.7 million to costume designers John Orberg and Janet Kuhl. [Cityfile]
• Jamie Drake, the interior designer who counts Mayor Bloomberg as one of his clients, has put his 6,200-square-foot home in East Hampton on the market for $2.9 million. [Newsday, Mercedes/Berk]
• Armon Bar-Tur, a managing director at SafeHarbor Capital Partners, and his wife Rebecca, have found a buyer for their townhouse at 92 Charles Street. The four-bedroom home, which the couple bought for $6 million in 2006 and listed for $14.95 million in October, has gone into contract after less than a month on the market. [Curbed, Corcoran]
• Private eye Bo Dietl has gone into contract to sell his Manhasset home. The five-bedroom home, which the former cop and occasional TV commentator bought for $2.3 million in 2004 and listed for $3.295 million in August, is reportedly selling for "just over $3 million." [Newsday, PDE]
• Albert Hammond Jr. has finally managed to close on the sale of his East Village apartment. The 1,200-square-foot pad located at 141 East 3rd Street, which first came on the market for $1.199 million in August 2008 and had been listed for $899,000 when Hammond went into contract back in June, sold for $976,500. [NYP]
• LendingTree founder Douglas Lebda has taken a hefty loss on the sale of his penthouse at the Legacy on East 84th Street. The 5,175-square-foot apartment, which Lebda bought for $8.6 million in 2007 and was listed for $7.5 million when it went into contract earlier this month, sold for $6.65 million to trader Garrett Bauer. [Cityfile]
• Private eye Bo Dietl is putting his Manhasset home on the market. The former cop picked up five-bedroom house with koi pond and three waterfalls for $2.3 million in 2004. It can now be yours for $3.295 million. [Newsday, PDE]
There's probably been a time or two when you've been tempted to check out a restaurant or bar simply because some celebrity supposedly "owns" it. Maybe I'll see Justin Timberlake devouring a plate of ribs at Southern Hospitality! Or I'll spot Robert De Niro slurping on some pasta at Ago! Restaurateurs know this, too, of course, which is why they're all so eager to attach a celebrity name—any one will do!—to their ill-conceived bistro, brasserie, speakeasy, lounge, or barbecue shack. We don't want to be the ones to crush your dreams and tell you that there's no chance you'll see these famous faces at these venues. Just in case you're the more optimistic type—or just curious who has a stake in what—we happily introduce the Cityfile celebrity-owned restaurant/bar map!
In his just-released book, The Man Who Ate the World, restaurant critic Jay Rayner explores the oft-overblown luxury dining of the world. In a scene from New York, the man behind the Zagat Survey—Mr. Tim Zagat himself—takes him on a whirlwind tour. It's fun to watch brash American Zagat embarrass Rayner, a Brit with a sense of propriety. Who do they run into at Meatpacking District monstrosity Buddakan other than America's favorite "One Tough Cop," private investigator Bo Dietl—who tells them that he came for the food, but stayed for the "pussy":
Bo Dietl
