Central Park

If you’re strolling through Rumsey Playfield in Central Park between Oct. 20 and Nov. 9, and you stumble across a grounded UFO, don’t panic. It was sent by Chanel (not the Sci-fi Channel) as a nomadic exhibition of artistic interpretations on its classic 2.55 quilted-style handbag, named not for its price but for its debut month of February 1955. Coming off stops in Hong Kong and Tokyo, the 7,500-square-foot space donut will round up its voyage in London, Moscow and Paris.

The pieces inside the mobile museum come from origins as international as the trip’s itinerary. The Russian arts collective Blue Noses submitted a collection of boxes with a series of satirical handbag videos called “Fifty Years After Our Common Era or Handbags Revolt.  read more »

As the Politicker's Azi Paybarah reported this morning, all New Jersey cheese-rock fans will descend upon Central Park on July 12 for the Jon Bon Jovi concert. It's free but you'll need tickets. Where can you get 'em? We're half way there!

According to a press release posted by Brooklyn Vegan, beginning tomorrow, July 2, tickets will be distributed at baseball parks and events throughout New York City. The bulk of tickets distributed at the ballparks will be found at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, with others made available at Shea Stadium in Queens, KeySpan Park in Brooklyn, and at the home of the Staten Island Yankees at 9 a.m. In addition, tickets also will be available in Manhattan at DHL All-Star FanFest at the Jacob K. Javits Center on Friday, July 11. MLB.com also will be conducting a random drawing for tickets.  read more »

It’s a rainy day, but hopefully the 150th anniversary of the day Central Park’s design was selected won’t be a total washout. In honor of America’s first major public park, the city has christened the 72nd Street Cross Drive "The Olmsted & Vaux Way" after the park's two architects, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.  read more »

The New York Post is reporting [via Eater] that venerable Central Park eatery San Domenico is shutting its doors this summer.

Owner Tony May told the Post's Steve Cuozzo that the nearly 20-year-old Italian institution couldn't reach a new deal with its landlord, who wanted $1 million in annual rent. (The eatery currently pays around $200,000.)

May said the landlord’s latest offer would cost him $600,000 - "but if we stay here at the rent they want, we’re not going to generate a sufficient amount of income."

May said he hopes to move San Domenico to a new Midtown address he won’t disclose. He said that to survive in today’s environment of high rents and tougher city regulations, he needs a location that will generate more volume - at least $8 million a year, compared to $4 million on Central Park South.

The best place to come from, if you want a fair crack at buying really immense Manhattan condos, is either the United Arab Emirates or the Internet.

City records filed this week show that Sultan Ahmed Al-Qassimi, who apparently belongs to the ruling family of Sharjah--Dubai's neighboring emirate--spent $4.95 million late last month on a low-floor apartment at the Robert A.M. Stern-designed Fifteen Central Park West. (Tune into this week's Manhattan Transfers column to read about a haute broker who bought a place one flight up.)

But across the park, that was overshadowed by a mystery buyer named CPW EXODUS REALTY, LLC, whose October deed for a $16.6 million apartment purchase was filed in city records four minutes later than Mr. Al-Qassimi's.  read more »

We just got an email invite to the "World Premiere Party" for 111 Central Park North, the luxury condo going up on what you know better as 110th Street. It's on Nov. 15, by invite only, and hosted by developer the Athena Group.

In an era of condo-as-neigbhorhood-changer, 111 Central Park North represents the pinnacle, though it may be a while before we know for sure. Not only does it have to change in New Yorkers' collective mind the name of 110th to Central Park North, it has to convince people to pay luxury rates to live in an area that's, as they say (for better or worse), still emerging. Along 110th above the park, the condo juts out like a very sore thumb.

It's a gutsy gamble and, if it works, no area of the city may again be off-limits to luxury development. Every market-rate home developer hence will be able to toss off the line, "Well, Athena made it work with 111 Central Park North."

The Observer donned a hardhat in June and took some snapshots of the views from the still-under-construction condo.

More on that Crain's report about sexual and racial harrassment charges levied against iconic Central Park eatery Tavern On The Green.

Court papers assign blame to the famous restaurant's former operations director, Leon Drogy, who allegedly made "frequent sexual comments" to female employees, such as "wanting to 'fuck black pussy' and wanting to know whether 'black pussy' was 'smooth'."

The suit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, further accuses Mr. Drogy of repeatedly playing grab ass with one female employee, in particular, and also making many derogatory remarks toward "fucking bitches," "fucking niggers," and "fucking immigrants."

Certainly not the kind polite dinner conversation we've come to expect from the late Warner LeRoy and company, especially since his young daughter, Jennifer Oz LeRoy, now runs the place.

In a statement, the restaurant told Crain's that management learned of the allegations about two years ago and an internal investigation determined the claims to be baseless. (Criminal charges were also dropped.)

Nonetheless, the restaurant suspended Mr. Drogy. He later resigned.

You waited too long, and now even the top edge of Central Park is ridiculously expensive.

The fancy condo 111 Central Park North opens this fall, and The Observer on Wednesday went inside and up to snap these glorious shots of Manhattan spreading south, courtesy of recent buyer George Hirsch. Will other luxury high-rises join the condo soon?

Under trolling clouds, some 1,200 ladies sashayed through Vanderbilt Gate on Wed., May 2 to the 25th annual “Hat Luncheon.” Hosted by the Women’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy, the list of upper-class attendees included Grace Hightower DeNiro, Malaak Compton-Rock, Amy Fine Collins, Blaine Trump, Muffie Potter Aston, and Harper’s Bazaar editor Glenda Bailey.  read more »

You know the drill: The Prospect Park Audubon Center offers the kids some  “interactive exhibits” (let’s hope that doesn’t include that baboon family) with music, crafts and general whoop-de-do.  read more »

Patricia Volk’s new novel—clever, funny, light—celebrates a precious urban resourc  read more »

The mission of the High Line, the future park that will rest on an elevated train platform slicing a  read more »

$196,000 in free meals were given away by a restaurant under franchise with the city in Central Park, and there's no record of who actually got them, according to an audit from City Comptroller Bill Thompson.

An attorney for the restaurant, the Central Park Boathouse, said the meals "are not only common in the restaurant industry, but are integral to the restaurant's business development and financial growth," according to the audit.

-- Azi Paybarah

Red, White and Kosher    read more »

Red, White and Kosher    read more »

Central Park is at its most perfect--its greenest, sunniest, its coolest--when the Summerstage concert series rolls around. This July, the Decemberists (a band made famous by a song named "July, July!") will be headlining a big show with the big Brooklyn act Grizzly Bear.

The Fifth Avenue doyennes will love it. Indie rock ahoy!

Brief email from Capitol Records after the jump...  read more »

- Max Abelson

Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd may not be able to brag about hosting any massive, sold-out McFundraisers like his competitors Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But that's no reason to feel sorry for him -- at least not tonight. According to a source, the four-term senator will be dropping by singer-songwriter Paul Simon's Central Park West pad for a fund-raiser this evening. No word yet on whether Simon plans to break out his guitar. -- Lizzy Ratner

• The greatest thing ever in fake-billionaire furniture will debut by the end of the month. Behold: "Westchester" and "Central Park," two groups of affordable-luxe furniture. Both have been "personally signed off on" by Mr. Donald Trump. [Luxist]
• It seems that the Department of Transportation's quiet plans to narrow Fourth Avenue (and make Park Slope arteries Sixth and Seventh avenues into one-way streets) has something to do with Atlantic Yards. Frank Gehry probably just wants to take some space away from hip stroller-pushing dads. [Streetsblog]
• More in Forbes' billionaires: They have expensive houses! They like New York! Apparently many "maintain secondary homes on New York's East Side," like #19 Paul Allen and #86 Sumner Redstone. Michael Gross knows all the rich guys at 740 Park. [Forbes Life]
• Is Scarlett Johansson moving to 79 Laight Street? She's looked at Chelsea and Tribeca penthouses: neighborhood brokers think she's quite "delightful." [NY Mag] - Max Abelson
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Billionaire Karen Pritzker, heiress to the Hyatt hotel fortune, has expensive lodging tastes.  read more »

After 20 months on the market, the labyrinthine and ornate parlor-floor apartment in the Berwind Man  read more »

He Wants You to Love Atlantic Yards "Laurie Olin, one of the most noted landscape architects in the country, was holding forth in his firm's library in central Philadelphia. He wants to help us get over our obsession with personal space. So Mr. Olin took on the task for designing the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn." Go to story by Matthew Schuerman. Macklowes Stomp Back Big with Buy "In the last week of January, shortly before Blackstone acquired Equity Office Properties for $39 billion, the developer Harry Macklowe decided to make a play for EOP's New York buildings." Go to story by John Koblin. When Alex Met Don... "In a decidedly unhip slice of Manhattan, two scions of New York real-estate tycoons, average age 27 and a half, plan to create a gleaming, 45-story condo-hotel, a rarity in city development." Go to story by Gillian Reagan. Doomed Hotel Penn Sends Other Lodges Scrambling for Doggie Style "To all the snowbound hounds that received a few extra hours of pampering at the all-too-pooch-friendly Hotel Pennsylvania last week: Lap it up, bitches. The landmark hotel, which every year reserves its best service strictly for four-legged guests, may be history even before next year's show." Go to story by Chris Shott. Moinian Nabs Two Fifth Avenue Addresses for $440 M. "The developer who is building the new downtown W Hotel is spreading his empire to Fifth Avenue. After buying four buildings on Fifth in the last two years, Joseph Moinian is buying two more for $440 million." Go to Commercial Breaks by John Koblin. Petitions, PR, Christine Quinn: What Can Save Le Madeleine? "After enduring back-to-back defeats in court, embattled restaurateur Toney Edwards remains 'determined as ever,' he said, to protect his hallowed Hell's Kitchen cookery, Le Madeleine, from a developer's wrecking ball." Go to Counter Espionage by Chris Shott. Columbia Kingpin Pays $3.48 M. on Central Park West "Bespectacled Ivy League administrators don't often get leafy uptown co-ops. But Columbia University senior executive vice president Robert Kasdin and his scholar wife have bought an eight-room apartment at 239 Central Park West. According to city records, they paid $3,485,000." Screenwriter, Actress Buy on Fifth for $1.26 M. "The Park Slope-born writer-director Noah Baumbach and his new starlet wife Jennifer Jason Leigh are expanding their current domain at 43 Fifth Avenue: According to city records, the couple paid $1.26 million for their next-door neighbor's co-op." Go to Manhattan Transfers by Max Abelson. The Sheriff of Landmarks "Robert Tierney, chairman of the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, talks about 980 Madison and the controversy that pit author Tom Wolfe against developer Aby Rosen." Go to The Sit-Down by Tom Acitelli. Mayor Trumpets Building Boom, But We're Still Bursting at the Seams "Pity popular New York City. Unlike many other American metropolises (Detroit, Philly, even Cleveland), the city's population keeps growing steadily, so much so that even record home-building can't nearly keep up with the influx." Go to The Lab by Tom Acitelli. Knobs for the Snobs "The private-equity trader had to have the pumpkin-shaped doorknob in every room. He'd just bought an 1856 townhouse in the West Village, and he and his architect came upon a distinctive period knob in the apartment of one of the rent-regulated tenants that came with the building. They wanted to replicate it--not just in brass, but in bronze. 'Call Erich!' said the head of the architecture firm, meaning Erich Theophile, the debonair doorknob king of New York." Go to Interiors by Toni Schlesinger. Deeds and Deals A Week in New York Real Estate

Steve Wiebe has been hearing the same question repeatedly: “Is the bar closing?”  read more »

Billionaire J.  read more »

Whenever an email comes our way with the title THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S TROJAN HORSE: JUST SAY "NO!", our interest is officially perked. Apparently, Landmark West is launching a letter-writting campaign to "save our skyline (SOS)" from the looming tower atop the NY Historical Society. Here's their alarmed message in full:

In our last email, we reported on the New-York Historical Society's weak attempt to hide the 280-foot elephant in the room at a so-called "Town Hall" meeting held on January 31. Despite an earlier email dispatch from the Historical Society claiming "that proceeds from the residential portion of our construction program would be used to help fund the Society's internal growth plans," they adamantly refused to discuss their plans for a luxury apartment building looming up over its Landmark building on Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets.

On Thursday, February 8, at 7:00 PM (Fourth Universalist Society, Central Park West & 76th Street), the Historical Society will ask Community Board 7's Parks & Preservation Committee to consider (and possibly vote on) proposed facade alterations only. Your presence on Feb. 8 is ABSOLUTELY VITAL! The 400+ crowd at last week's meeting sent the clear message that the public is not fooled by the Historical Society's Trojan Horse. Approval of the facade changes would immediately set the stage for the luxury high-rise. Join your fellow New Yorkers in just saying "No!"

Email campaign: Do like Bill Moyers, and tell it like it is...

See after the jump for "it."  read more »

- Max Abelson

9:54 a.m. 7 pounds, 6 ounces New York Presbyterian    read more »

When Manhattan Transfers broke the story about Verna Harrah's sale at the Time Warner Center, the listing broker said her apartment "sold for close" to the $25 milion price tag.

But according to newly filed city records, the buyer (listed on the deed as the Armstrong Family Trust) got quite a discount. The closing price was $22.5 million--which bought

a nice living room on Central Park, a family room overlooking the Hudson, a foyer of "gold leaf with 17th century columns," six marble bathrooms and two powder rooms, too.

Don't fret for Ms. Harrah: she only paid $8,823,018 for the apartment three years ago. (Click above for a bigger picture of the posh domain.)

- Max Abelson

When the name of Alphonse "Buddy" Fletcher unexpectedly surfaced last week on the list of candidates for comptroller, it caused a ripple, with one lawmaker telling me he "will be hard to say no to."

He's a Harvard-educated, black millionaire philanthropist with plenty of financial experience. Just the sort of outside financial expert Eliot Spitzer's people were looking for.

But what about the political background of this man who could soon be the state's top financial official?

A quick call over the city's Board of Elections to verify Fletcher's voter registration information revealed some interesting history.

According to the board's spokesperson, Fletcher lived on Central Park West around 1992 and was a registered Republican at the time. In 1995, Fletcher moved to the Dakota, where he then registered as a member of the Independence Party.

Between 1992 and 2000, the BOE said, Fletcher voted only two times, in the federal elections in 1992 and 1996. After 2000, according to the spokesperson, the board downgraded his status to a "move" because of inactivity.

That sporadic history of voting and registering seems to indicate a certain indifference to politics. It also raises the interesting question of whether Fletcher ever lived outside of New York State or even registered to vote elsewhere, which might arguably run afoul of a requirement that statewide office holders live in New York for five years prior to taking office.

The spokesman for Fletcher, election lawyer extraordinaire Jerry Goldfeder, told me that his client does indeed live at the Dakota and is still registed to vote at that address.

As for his status as a continuous resident for the purposes of taking office, Goldfeder said, "Residency is where you live, where you put your head when you go to sleep, where you buy your groceries."

But not necessarily where you vote.

UPDATE: An on-the-ball reader pointed me towards some disclosure forms that have just been posted. Fletcher's form lists among his jobs a managing director director position at Cornwall Castle Farm, LLC in Connecticut. According to this phone directory, Fletcher (or someone who shares his name) has a residential address right down the street.

Which doesn't prove anything except perhaps that at least some of the time, Fletcher buys his groceries in Connecticut.

-- Azi Paybarah

To be born a Zeckendorf is to try to avoid the fate of your father.    read more »

To be born a Zeckendorf is to try to avoid the fate of your father.  read more »

Stop the tower, save the park.

So sayeth the Daily News in a stern editorial on Monday regarding developer Aby Rosen's plans to plunk a glass condo tower atop 980 Madison Avenue. The 355-foot, 18-unit tower would loom over Central Park, according to the Daily News, putting "the privilege of 18 multimillionaires over the interests of 25 million commoners who visit the park annually."

The Landmarks Preservation Commission is mulling a vote that could stop the tower, a vote wrapped in the sort of distinctly New York controversy reminiscent of that which swirled around 2 Columbus Circle last year. The public comment period ended on Tuesday, and a commission vote appears imminent.

- Tom Acitelli

Conan O’Brien has signed a contract for a corner penthouse at the Majestic, according to a sou  read more »

Conan O’Brien has signed a contract for a corner penthouse at the Majestic, according to a source  read more »

Though Grace Hightower and her godly husband Robert De Niro just paid $20.9 million for a 15-room Ce  read more »

We celebrate the holiday shopping season slightly differently at our house.  read more »

P eople magazine executive editor Jeannie Park has bought a 166-year-old Washington Square Park brow  read more »

We celebrate the holiday shopping season slightly differently at our house.  read more »

On Saturday, the Veterans Day parade travels up Fifth Avenue, beginning at 23rd Street at 11am.

The World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program holds a conference on the health effects and available services for WTC responders and families at DC 37 Headquarters.

A gala to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research will be held at the Waldorf.

Nassau County honors six Tuskegee Airmen at their Veteran's Day celebration at the American Air Power Museum in Farmingdale.

Yonkers hosts their annual Veterans Day Ceremony at the Washington Park Veterans Memorial.

The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor opens in New Windsor.

On Sunday, a tribute to Andrew H. Green, a city planner who supervised the construction of Central Park, will be held at the Green Memorial Bench in Central Park.

On Monday, Hillary Clinton addresses the crowd at the Association for a Better New York breakfast at the Grand Hyatt.

And the House and Senate are expected to return to work.

—Nicole Brydson

Spitzer got up early today.

He was jogging out of Central Park and onto Madison Avenue at six in the morning when he ran into some journalists. He joked to a CBS reporter that the closer he came to being governor, the more people told him what to do.

He showed up at the school on 81st and Madison at 7:00 to shake hands and vote with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Then he attended to some last-minute campaigning.

At a subway station on 72nd and Broadway, Spitzer joined Andrew Cuomo around 8:00 to pass out palm cards and shake hands. Soon after, more local politicians, like City Councilwoman Gail Brewer and Assembly candidate Linda Rosenthal, showed up and slipped into line behind the two men.There were so many photographers opposite the candidates, eventually including Congressman Jerry Nadler, that reporters and candidates formed a narrow sidewalk gauntlet which most of the morning commuters opted to avoid on their way to the station.

Most of the people who did walk the line went right for Spitzer, who wore a dark suit and a pilling red-striped tie.

"I'm a taxi driver and I'm going to cast my vote for you," said one man.

"We are all with you brother," said another.

One woman, Erin Oates, a 48-year-old who works in communications for a medial research center, told Mr. Sptizer that she voted for him despite being a Republican.

"He takes action -- he's not a talker like the others, and I'm tired of politicians who just talk," said Oates. "I'm sure he is ambitious and wants to be president, but he's doing s a great job in the meantime. So why vote for the Republican?"

--Jason Horowitz

• A Google founder is headed to a $30 million apartment at 15 Central Park West. Sadly, New York isn't sure if it's Larry Page or Sergey Brin. Plus, Arnold Rothstein's Franconia is selling its roof. (New York Magazine)
• Eliot Spitzer happens to have a dad who's built up $500 million-worth of real estate. (That's half a billion dollars.) Among his jewels are 1050 and 800 Fifth Avenue, the Corinthian on East 38th, and the curvy 200 Central Park South--which Eliot once owned a part of. (NY Daily News)
• The duplex penthouse at 823 Park sold for $30 million, which is a record for the modest little avenue. Tragically, the apartment and its rooftop garden will belong to a hedge fund kid, who had been "prowling the market for trophy properties." (NY Times)
• In Crain's this week: wonderful Tower Records is gone, which means West 66th and East 4th will soon be much less cooler. Also, Duane Reade "gets kinky" by hawking a high-end line of erotic goods. (Crain's premium)
• Last week Forbes reported that hip-shaker Shakira and Pink Floyd's elderly frontman Roger Waters are buying (and developing) a 700-acre island in the Bahamas. It takes time for news like that to really sink in. (Forbes)
- Max Abelson  read more »
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Earlier this month, The Post reported that Ms. Eve Weinstein (ex-wife to mogul Harvey) had sold her renovated 15-room apartment at 88 Central Park West.

[It] had an asking price of $25 million since it was first listed last February. But sources tell us it went to contract for somewhere closer to $23 million.

According to city records filed this morning, though, Mr. DeNiro did even better--his purchase price was actually $20,900,000.

Ms. Weinstein, meanwhile, is happily ensconced in her new full-floor co-op at 1133 Fifth Avenue. And she only paid $10.4 million!

Bargains for everyone.  read more »

- Max Abelson

• The Times says that New York children "now know what is prized and what is not" when it comes to real estate. Isn't that excellent news? Enter Bellmarc's Julie Freeman, who caters to the kind of client that is "looking for a splendid apartment on Central Park West so that her children will be comfortable entertaining." (New York Times)
• Some more early-morning vulgarity: Donald Trump takes credit for starting the hot trend of nine-digit "super luxury properties." How many SLPs are on the market? Three: Mr. Trump's $120 million Palm Beach estate (the bathrooms have 24-karat gold fixtures), plus a $135m Aspen palace and a $100m home in Lake Tahoe. Capitalism never fails. (AP)
• The superb Coliseum Books is filing for bankruptcy, which isn't good news for the flagship at 11 West 42nd. (A few blocks down, Gotham Book Mart is facing eviction too). For book lovers, the bright side is that there's a very big library in the neighborhood. And, you know, also a Barnes & Noble. (The Sun)
- Max Abelson  read more »
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Indie-darling filmmaker Spike Jonze just bought an apartment at the Forward Building—the new Lower  read more »

Indie-darling filmmaker Spike Jonze just bought an apartment at the Forward Building—the new L  read more »

Another green world? [Metrop.]

• Few New York neighborhoods have suffered so distinctly--and so quietly--as Chinatown. Has lower Manhattan's most densely populated locale dealt with the "social, environmental and psychological problems" that arose after 9/11? CUNY has chronicled first-person accounts of local pollution, the "crippled" restaurant business, and a widespread identity crisis.(City Limits)
• Remember Silvercup Studios? Among other things, it's the billion-dollar development in Long Island City, a place Metropolis calls "one of those up-and-coming neighborhoods for more than a quarter-century." It also has 26 million square feet for "green-roof technology," so 20 years from now there will be a pseudo-Central Park streched over Queens. (Metropolis)
• It's horrifying that there's a sub-1% vacancy rate throughout the entire island of Manhattan (except for those unliked wastelands called Midtown East and the Upper West Side). And it's horrifying that a sub-1% vacancy rate is barely newsworthy anymore. (The Real Deal)
• How do we know East New York is gentrifying? Because Apollo Real Estate and Taconic Investment Partners have paid $90 million for about 1,000 residential condos in the Brooklyn neighborhood, and is pumping nearly half that number into improvements--but mostly because a Taconic prinpal says: "We do not envision this as a gentrification project, but rather as the revitalization of a community." Of course. (Crain's, via R.D.)
• Though Mr. Bloomberg's office swears he's never heard Jerusalem of Gold, the tastefully-titled luxury condo development in Israel boasts that "the Jewish mayor" is about to sign a contract for a penthouse apartment. Is there a contract? Not so much. Is there worldwide love for Mayor Mike? Yessir. (NY Sun)
- Max Abelson  read more »
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COLLEEN: It's a beautiful evening: blue sky, six o'clock sun slanting golden against the stone colored buildings, green grass and a little music in the air. I'm sitting on a rock in Central Park, Cedar Hill to be exact, Danny next to me.

"Tilt your head to the left. Now show me that beautiful smile," said our photographer, Perry Heller. "Beautiful, Colleen!"

Danny and I are posing for our engagement photo.

We wander around the park, jumping over barriers to shoot some pictures in the middle of lush undergrowth. We spend a long time on the rocks leading down to Turtle Pond. In between our most natural smiles, we see ducks paddling by, fish popping up to the surface of the water to feed.

Around seven thirty the light's dipping past the buildings and the grass is getting cold against my bare legs. We say goodbye to Perry and leave for dinner.