howard-gittis

Katie Lee Lists; Ackman and Whoopi Sell

cityfile · 01/28/10 09:27AM

• Katie Lee, the cookbook author and ex-wife of Billy Joel, is reportedly putting the 4,000-square-foot townhouse at 23 Perry Street that she and Joel once shared—and which she bought from Joel for $3 million after their split last year—on the market. The four-bedroom manse is set to be listed with Dolly Lenz for $12.9 million. [NYP, photos]
• Hedge fund mogul Bill Ackman has closed on the sale of his three-bedroom co-op at the Majestic on Central Park West. The 3,000-square-foot apartment, which Ackman first listed for $10 million last April and which went into contract in November, sold for $7.1 million to Douglas Libby and Marianne Johnson. [Cityfile]
• Seven months after she put her loft at 101 Wooster Street on the market for $3.99 million, Whoopi Goldberg has closed on the sale of the two-bedroom pad. The 3,600-square-foot apartment, which went into contract in October, sold for $2.985 million to Ben Lerer and his wife Emily. Lerer is the founder of Thrillist.com and the son of Ken Lerer, the new media investor and co-founder and chairman of the Huffington Post. [NYO]

Tory Burch Seals the Deal in Southampton

cityfile · 01/25/10 09:49AM

Tory Burch has a new place to call home in Southampton. The fashion designer/socialite has closed on the deal to buy the late Howard Gittis' 14-acre estate on Ox Pasture Lane. The 14-acre property, which Burch went into contract to buy in September, sold for $32.5 million. (Update: The Post has since corrected its story and now says Burch is "only" buying part of the property for $16 million; an "unnamed neighbor" is buying the rest for $16.5 million.) Meanwhile, Burch's former home on Meadow Lane is still on the market for $17.9 million, if you're interested. [NYP]
• Walter Cronkite's former apartment at the UN Plaza has gone into contract just a month after it went on the market. The two-bedroom co-op had been listed most recently for $2.995 million. [Curbed, FRG]

Tory Burch, Real Estate Mogul?

cityfile · 09/30/09 12:13PM

Designer Tory Burch received approval last month to tear down her $22.5 million home in Southampton so she could replace it with something more to her liking. But is she also involved in the purchase of the $45 million estate owned by the late Howard Gittis? RealLI seems to think so, although it admits the "details are sketchy," and the Post reported yesterday that the buyer was "unidentified, recession-proof financier." Then again, Burch's fashion business seems to be enduring the recession just fine and it's always possible she decided to start up a hedge fund on the side, so maybe they're all right. [RealLI via Curbed]

Kelly Klein Spreads Out, Gittis Estate Goes into Contract

cityfile · 09/29/09 07:22AM

• Kelly Klein, Calvin Klein's second ex-wife and a photographer, horse enthusiast, and social fixture, has paid $2.091 million for a two-bedroom co-op at 2 West 67th Street, the building that she's resided in for years. [Cityfile]
• The Southampton mansion once owned by Howard Gittis, the right-hand man to Ron Perelman who passed away in late 2007, has reportedly gone into contract for "about $45 million." The 14-acre estate, which Gittis picked up for $9 million in 1993, is being bought by an unidentified financier. [NYP, Corcoran]
Bjork and Matthew Barney have closed on the purchase of a condo at 160 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. The couple paid $4 million for the four-bedroom pad. Meanwhile, their former place at 180 West Houston Street is still on the market for $1.7 million. [Brownstoner via NYO, BCRE]
• Attorney Bruce Kaye and his wife Deborah have sold their two-bedroom condo at 15 CPW. The 32nd-floor apartment, which the Kayes bought for $7.8 million in July 2008 and put back on the market for $11.9 million in April, sold for $11.7 million to an unidentified buyer. [Cityfile]

Dick Fuld Flip-Flops, Bella Sapir Flips

cityfile · 05/22/09 07:35AM

• That was quick. On Tuesday, it was reported that former Lehman chief Dick Fuld and his wife Kathy had unofficially put their 6,200-square-foot pied-à-terre at 640 Park on the market for $32 million. But now it seems the Fulds have changed their minds and decided against selling it. Better luck in 2010? [WSJ]
• Bella Sapir, the ex-wife of billionaire (and endangered animal skin fan) Tamir Sapir has sold the penthouse at 250 East 53rd Street that she bought for $8.895 million in November 2008 and re-listed for $13.5 million a few days later. Sapir sold the 4,511-square-foot apartment for $10.5 million. [Cityfile]
• Columbia Law professor Hans Smit has lowered the price of his 12,000-square-foot townhouse at 351 Riverside Drive, which first went on the market for $31 million back in 2006. The mansion, which Smit bought for just $325,000 back in 1979, is now listed for $25 million. [Cityfile, BHS]

Kelly Bensimon: Renter Wanted

cityfile · 05/07/09 07:21AM

Kelly Killoren Bensimon isn't having much luck unloading her 2,800-square-foot home in East Hampton, which she put on the market for $14.5 million two years ago and was most recently offering for $10.9 million. The Further Lane estate has now been taken off the market, although Bensimon hasn't given up hope on finding someone willing to pay $295,000 to rent it for the summer season. [NYP, DM]
• Raef LaFrentz, a power forward for the Portland Trail Blazers, has picked up a New York pad. LaFrentz paid $1.7 million for a two-bedroom condo in the Liberty Lofts building on West 64th Street. [Cityfile]