A deal for a four-bedroom apartment at 15 Central Park West has closed for $32.5 million, a 92 percent mark up over its last sales price, The Real Deal has learned.

The unit, owned by former Lehman Brothers executives Arthur and Evelyne Estey, was listed by Kyle Blackmon of Brown Harris Stevens for $36 million.

Tamir Shemesh of the Corcoran Group represented the buyer in the deal, a source said.

Neither Blackmon nor Shemesh immediately responded to a request for comment. An email to Arthur Estey went unreturned.

As The Real Deal previously reported, the unit, which is one of the largest non-penthouse residences in the building, totals 4,584 square feet and is on the seventh floor.

It was listed in June by Blackmon, who also lives in the Zeckendorf-developed tower. The couple bought the unit for $16.9 million in 2007, public records show.

The Esteys have moved on since their Lehman days. Arthur Estey established his maiden hedge fund in 2009; Evelyn recently took a position as chief financial officer and chief operating officer of a French-language school, Lycée Français de New York, on the Upper East Side.

The identity of the buyer was not immediately clear.

SEE ALSO: Meet The Big Shots Who Live At 15 Central Park West

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Manhattan’s once-fabled co-op addresses no longer command the biggest sales prices in the city, and have been upended by newer destination condominium addresses, real estate author Michael Gross writes in the Daily Beast.

Co-ops, which often require the buyer to go through a rigorous board approval process, are losing ground to condo buildings that offer an unmatched range of amenities, such as concierges, in-house restaurants, room service and swimming pools.

Beginning in 2003, with the Mexican financier David Martinez’s $54.7 million purchase of a penthouse at the Time Warner Center, condos have held the record for highest sale prices. And condos command a higher price per square foot than comparatively-sized co-ops.

In the past, 740 Park Avenue, where the city’s financial elite rubbed shoulders with the crème-de-la-crème of international buyers, was the richest building in New York. But it was overtaken by 15 Central Park West, the Robert A.M. Stern-designed luxury condominium developed by the Zeckendorfs—the most profitable building in the city’s history.

Gross, who penned a book on the owners of 740 Park, is in the process of writing a follow up that focuses on 15 Central Park West.

Last week, a four-bedroom unit at the building closed at $32.5 million, representing a whopping 92 percent markup over its last sales price.  [DailyBeast]

SEE ALSO: The Most Expensive Homes Sold In NYC In 2012

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Massage parlor — the phrase conjures up images of the seediest days of Times Square in the late 1970s, when dozens of locations offered sexual services.

Even today, with that concentration thinned out, the words elicit knowing smirks from brokers, aware that such businesses continue to operate throughout the city in the nooks and crannies of commercial and residential properties.

These massage parlors thrive in part because the law adopted by the city’s Board of Estimate in 1978 banning sexual massage businesses and providing a strict review process for legal ones has become one of the biggest paradoxes in code enforcement.

Instead of cracking down on the massage parlors, thought to be hotbeds of prostitution, the statute today is used mainly to regulate gyms and health clubs, which are not.

The Real Deal has identified more than three-dozen massage spas in Midtown and Midtown South (see map below), and only six of those are in compliance with the 35-year-old statute that requires “physical culture establishments,” such as gyms, aerobics studios, martial arts and yoga studios — as well as massage parlors — to undergo a rigorous review process. That process generally includes an application for a change to the building’s certificate of occupancy with the Department of Buildings, a review by the Board of Standards and Appeals and an interview process with the city’s Department of Investigation.

View Midtown and Midtown South massage parlors in a full screen map

While most of the Midtown and Midtown South parlors are in small, Class C buildings owned by little-known landlords, some of the biggest property owners in the city, including the Estate of Sol Goldman, Lloyd Goldman’s BLDG Management, the Feil Organization and Vornado Realty Trust, own buildings with massage services but without the proper certificate of occupancy, the review revealed.

And a sizable number of the spas identified by The Real Deal offer precisely the kinds of illegal erotic services that the law was enacted to curb, according to online reviews, advertisements and conversations this TRD reporter had with parlor workers.

Many spas offered a basic massage for about $40 to $80 for an hour, with sexual services ranging from manual stimulation to sex for an additional $40 to $120. Several of the spa providers —including those at Galaxy Spa at 202 West 40th Street, Spa Valley at 1162 Broadway and Beach Spa at 312 Fifth Avenue — confirmed to this reporter that they would perform sex acts. Providing those services would be illegal, although one of those businesses, Beach Spa, was operating with the required physical culture certificate of occupancy; the other two were not.

Visits to several Midtown and Midtown South massage parlors TRD identified found them generally to be tidy, with low lighting and four or more small rooms with massage tables. While the majority of the massage spots included in this analysis are staffed with Asian workers, the Village Voice’s Backpage.com listings reveal a substantial number of Russian masseuses, but they typically advertise that they operate out of residential apartments.

One attorney who has represented health clubs – but not massage parlors – through the review process, said the city did not focus on illegal sex acts during their review. “The amazing thing is that [officials] are generally not asking you questions about prostitution or massage parlors, but are asking questions about noise and soundproofing,” real estate attorney Joshua Price, a principal with the Price Law Firm, said.

A group of yoga studios, subject to the law but attempting to avoid it due to a lengthy and expensive process because of it, have banded together to fight the law through a group called Yoga for New York. Calls to representative of Yoga for New York were not immediately returned.

As a result of complaints about the statute’s application, the city is reviewing the regulation for possible changes, Rachaele Raynoff, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of City Planning, said. “The city is working with the health club industry to explore ways to make it easier for health clubs to open,” she wrote, in an email to The Real Deal.“There’s no specific proposal [to revise the law] at this time.”

Raynoff declined to comment on the low percentage of massage parlors passing through the review process. The executive director of the Board of Standards and Appeals, Jeffrey Mulligan, also would not comment on the low level of review for massage parlors. He did note that “physical culture” businesses are required to file an application with the board only after the Department of Buildings determines that a special permit is needed. The DOB did not respond to a request for comment.

One landlord-representative broker active in Midtown South, who asked not to be identified in a story about massage parlors, said spa tenants were not taking a substantial amount of space in the area, which is popular with tech tenants. “In my experience, they are not competing with our typical office tenants for space, at all,” he said, noting that he represents mostly Class B buildings, and rarely gets calls from spas.

“If you are operating a facility like that, you would probably want to be in a building as inconspicuous as possible,” he added.

There does not appear to be a concentration in ownership of the buildings in which the parlors are located. The Estate of Sol Goldman owns two buildings with massage parlors, one at 211 East 43rd Street, between Second and Third avenues and another at 23 West 56th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues. But the 56th Street building has a certificate of occupancy that allows for a spa, DOB records show. The other property,  like most of the buildings reviewed, does not.

BLDG Management owns 36 West 34th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, which is home to Dokyo Spa, where one provider recently offered sexual services to this reporter. The building does not have the necessary certificate of occupancy for a massage facility.

Meanwhile, the giant real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust owns the three-story commercial building 488 Sixth Avenue between 34th and 35th streets, which houses a massage parlor, and lacks a proper certificate of occupancy.

Walter & Samuels owns 30 East 40th Street, where a spa located in room 501 occupies a space that has a plaque identifying the office’s occupant as a dentist. The spa does not have the proper certificate of occupancy.

There’s yet another massage spa on the 11th floor of 200 West 57th Street, the tony stretch between Seventh Avenue and Broadway; that building is owned by the Feil Organization, and does not have the required certificate of occupancy.

The Estate of Sol Goldman did not return calls seeking comment; neither did BLDG, Vornado, Walter & Samuels or Feil.

TRD attempted to contact each owner of a building identified on the map, and was successful in speaking with several of them. A management representative for the owner of 11 West 36th  Street, who would not give her name, said the tenant was working with the city to get the proper certificate of occupancy. A representative of the management at 1162 Broadway said the building did not need a physical culture certificate of occupancy. Several other landlords declined to comment.

Long-time zoning attorney Sheldon Lobel, founder of the law firm of the same name, said the physical culture law was overly broad in its reach. He has represented many gyms and health clubs as they navigated the legal process. “[Representing those clients] helped put my kids through college, but it is another [example] of over-regulation. Maybe they have to refine it,” he said.

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In recent years, a new niche industry has exploded within the real estate industry: listing photography. With the advent of digital photography and growing international interest in New York City real estate, more and more brokers have turned to professionals to shoot their listings rather than taking the photos themselves.

Photographer Michael Weinstein, who has shot real estate listings for 16 years, recalled being worried that digital photos would ruin his business. Instead, he said, they’ve benefitted him in ways he never could have foreseen: Now that digital images can easily be viewed on the web, buyers come from Russia and China to purchase homes in New York based solely on his photographs.

“Photography has become more important in terms of the international market,” Weinstein said. “I feel my work now has become more valuable than ever.”

Whether it’s a Park Avenue penthouse or a Downtown studio, brokers said, listing photographs can make — or break — a deal.

Most brokers “are visual people,” said Emily Beare, managing director and associate broker at the brokerage Core. “We’ll look at the pictures, then look at the floor plan and then look at the description. So the photography has to be enticing.”

Beare said she usually tries to get photographers Richard Caplan or Nico Arellano to shoot her higher-end listings, believing that their work helps generate sales.

Agents said they will pay a premium — often out of their own pockets — for the right photographer. Most city real estate brokerages maintain a list of approved photographers, and a marketing budget that agents can tap into when hiring from that list. But many brokers said they will often seek out their favorites, even if they’re not on the list or cost extra money.

Here’s a look at some of the most sought-after real estate photographers in New York.

Evan Joseph

Many top brokers said when they have a seven- or eight-figure listing, they seek out Evan Joseph.

Joseph, who is one of around 10 approved photographers at Douglas Elliman,  did the photography for the CitySpire penthouse currently listed by Elliman’s Raphael De Niro for $100 million; in fact, Joseph said he does all of De Niro’s listings priced above $10 million. He also shot the photos for Elliman broker Dolly Lenz’s $95 million listing at the Sherry-Netherland, a $75 million duplex at Trump Place at 240 Riverside Boulevard and a $65 million mansion in Alpine, N.J., listed by Elliman’s Oren Alexander.

Joseph said he also frequently works with Carrie Chiang of the Corcoran Group, and recently shot her listing for Derek Jeter’s penthouse, which sold for $15.5 million in October.

“Evan is the best. He’s amazing,” said Camilla Papale, Elliman’s chief marketing officer. “The quality is so high.”

That’s important, she noted, because “the better the image, the better the space is represented.”

Joseph began shooting real estate listings during the Dot-com era of the 1990s, when he began taking photos for some early real estate websites. He quickly mastered the craft of interior photography for marketing purposes, he said.

When shooting a listing, he said, “I want people to feel like, ‘Wow, I have got to live there,’ not just, ‘Oh, that’s a nice space.’”

In recent years, though, Joseph has expanded into lifestyle photography for artsy magazines. He has also co-authored the photography books “New York City at Night” and “New York Then and Now.”

Listings now comprise about a quarter of Joseph’s overall business, and he has a business partner, Travis Dubreuil, who helps him maintain his crowded schedule.

He declined to discuss his pricing, but said he’s proud that so many leaders in the industry keep coming back to him.

“I work hard to cultivate these relationships,” he said.

Nico Arellano 

Photographer Nico Arellano has earned a reputation among brokers for his unique photo-processing style: He shoots an interior space with a variety of exposures and then blends the different shades of light into the final image, giving it a warm and inviting feel. Most photographers merge images with a computer program, but Arellano said he prefers to do it manually, even though it takes much longer.

“The difference is enormous,” said Arellano, who is originally from Miami and has also worked in fashion photography. “The photos are so much more beautiful. You want to walk into the room and sit down.”

Arellano’s photos “can direct your eye to a certain point in the room,” Beare said. “He hits it every time.”

Arellano typically charges about $150 for the first photo, and then reduced amounts for each subsequent image. He charges less for bulk deals with firms like Halstead Property, Elliman and Core, he said, because he benefits from the consistent work a large brokerage can provide.

Once he’s on a firm’s list of approved photographers, it acts “like my agent, in a way,” he said. “If a company has 1,000 brokers and 25 photographers on the list, they’ll call regularly.”

John Porcheddu

Unlike the many independent real estate photographers in the city, John Porcheddu doesn’t have to worry about finding work.

As one of the go-to guys on staff at Gotham Photo Company, a leading New York City real estate photography provider, Porcheddu is guaranteed a steady flow of clients.

Gotham — which specializes in doing listing photos, headshots, video and floor plans for real estate brokers — was founded in 2005. Porcheddu is one of its most-requested photographers, according to Gotham president Vince Collura.

“Clients request their favorite photographers, and John gets a lot of calls,” Collura said. “Many of our guys have specialties that could make them a good fit for a particular [listing], but John does it all.”

Porcheddu, who started taking photos as a hobby in high school, said working for Gotham allows him to focus on shooting rather than logistics.

“Instead of spending half of my time on advertising and stuff, I can just go and take pictures,” he said.

Through Gotham, Porcheddu charges $175 for a six-photo standard shoot, while larger, time-consuming packages can run over $300.

Michael Weinstein

When Town Residential broker Ginger Brokaw has an important listing, she said, she’s willing to wait for veteran photographer Michael Weinstein, one of several photographers on Town’s list of approved vendors.

“I would wait a week for Michael … especially if it was something unique or challenging,” Brokaw said. “I return to him time and time again.”

Weinstein was working in fashion about 16 years ago when he approached one of the marketing executives at Halstead about taking headshots of the firm’s brokers. The executive responded by asking if he’d ever shot properties.

“I said, ‘I never got paid for it, but I’ll certainly try,’” Weinstein recalled.

He discovered he had a knack for it, and his business took off. “I got busy really quickly,” he said.

Weinstein said he usually charges a flat rate, but sometimes negotiates prices with individual brokers, depending on the number of photos needed for a listing.  He recently did the photos for a co-op at 828 Fifth Avenue listed for $72 million.

Dennis Cusack, director of sales at Town, said Weinstein’s photographs helped draw a huge buyer turnout for a listing at 225 West 95th Street.

“The first open house I think there were 45 people, and the second one was in the high 30s,” Cusack said. “Probably one of the most important things about the listing is the photography, and that’s why we go to Michael.”

Richard Caplan

Former Wall Street trader Richard Caplan became a professional photographer only five years ago, but has already shot over $2 billion worth of real estate, including a penthouse asking $48 million at 145 Hudson Street.

Caplan said he decided to move into photography so he could spend more time with his family. The career change made sense, he said, since “I’ve had a camera in my hands since I was seven years old.”

High-profile Elliman agent Fredrik Eklund said he’s worked with Caplan for years, and has even paid to fly Caplan to Sweden (where Eklund runs a brokerage) for real estate shoots.

“I’ve grown to trust him,” Eklund said. “I don’t even go to the shoots anymore.”

Eklund said Caplan instinctively shoots details within an apartment that convey a desirable way of life.

“We not only sell property, we sell a lifestyle,” Eklund said. “The photos need to be perfect.”

“Whether it’s a beautiful flight of stairs or an open floor plan, I’m looking for that sweet spot in the room,” said Caplan, who has an assistant and an editing team.

But he noted that there isn’t a lot of room for ego in real estate photography.

“As much as I like to see myself as an artist, I am here to help a salesperson,” he said. “The job is going to be what they want it to be.”

This story originally appeared at The Real Deal.

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A Russian lawmaker and billionaire mogul is suing the Manhattan contractor he alleges overbilled him for work done to his Time Warner Center apartment.

Vitaly Malkin is also contending that the firm, Katselnik & Katselnik Group, tried to extort a multimillion-dollar contract to build out the space after the Russian senator decided to go with another contractor for subsequent work.

The $600,000 suit, filed Jan. 25 in New York State Supreme Court, states that Malkin hired the contractor to serve as his pre-construction manager — overseeing the initial demolition at the 3,200-square-foot duplex on the building’s 74th and 75th floors.

K&K, a boutique firm specializing in interior construction, has done work at venues such as Harry Cipriani restaurant, Barclays Bank and Aspen Fitness Center.

The complaint alleges that the firm put a $170,000 lien on Malkin’s apartment after performing unauthorized work and overbilling at the site, but offered a deal to make the lien ‘go away’ if Malkin granted K&K the lucrative renovation contract.

“They were acting as our New York rep in connection with this project,” said Joshua Bernstein, a partner at Pryor Cashman and attorney for Malkin. “What we allege in that K&K, seeking an opportunity to make money off a wealthy foreign investor, took advantage of the confidence that had been reposed of him.”

Jeffrey Rea, attorney for K&K said he does not comment on civil litigation. K&K officials were not immediately available for comment.

Malkin originally acquired the property in August 2010, with records filed with the city Department of Finance showing the purchase price at more than $15.6 million. Malkin hired K&K in March 2011 to   handle demolition work and by May 2011, and retained the firm as its pre-construction manager.

In October 2011, K&K hired CCS Architecture to design the new interior; however by March 2012, K&K offered to become the general contractor on the renovation. Malkin and K&K were unable to come to an agreement on the terms of the contract, according to court filings. “Their prices were out of whack and they had demands that we were not willing to meet,” Bernstein told The Real Deal.

The complaint states that among its demands, K&K asked Malkin to deposit the entire construction amount into a domestic escrow account. A new invoice was sent on May 30 for $170,000 for a range of construction services, including electrical, carpentry, HVAC, dry-walling and other services that the complaint says were never authorized. The complaint said Malkin contacted one contractor, New York Cooling Towers, and was told an invoice for $27,500 was actually for $10,500 worth of work and that K&K was overbilling. K&K then filed the $170,000 lien in August 2012, which is being litigated in a separate case.

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Having recently forked out $20 million for a second floor-unit at 640 Park Avenue, billionaire private equity mogul J. Christopher Flowers may be trying to balance his books.

Flowers, who founded J.C. Flowers & Co., has listed his six-bedroom, seven-bathroom spread at 66 East 79th Street for $18 million, according to Streeteasy.com.

The price is $1 million less than what Flowers paid for the property in 2006. The unit is listed by Sami Hassoumi of Brown Harris Stevens, who was not immediately available for comment.

This is the first time that the duplex apartment, located on the 14th and 15th floors of the building, has been publicly offered for sale. The home, which was originally designed as the largest in the building, has traded only through privately marketed transactions in the past, according to the listing. It has a 30-foot drawing room, a formal dining room and a wood-paneled library.

Flowers bought the unit in 2006 from old school ad man Martin Puris, who penned BMW’s signature tag line “the ultimate driving machine.” That was the same year he made records for paying out $53 million for the Harkness Mansion at 4 East 75th Street. The Harkness property later sold to art world powerhouse Larry Gagosian for a loss in 2011. Gagosian paid just $36.5 million for the property, which he may turn into an art gallery.

Flowers’ new digs on Park Avenue reportedly have six bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms as well as a gym and staff facilities.

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Two new hotels are slated to open this spring in Union Square, though they come as delayed debuts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Crain’s reported.

One of them is the 113-room, 18-story Jade Hotel, which was preparing for its peak-season opening when Sandy made landfall; the other is the 178-room, 11-story Hyatt Union Square. They will open in March and April, respectively.

With the addition of nearly 300 hotel rooms to Union Square — once called a small dead zone for hotels — the neighborhood now will have almost double the supply. And competition is now evident, as the W New York-Union Square undergoes its first gut renovation in 12 years, set to cost $15 million.

“The universities are excited about hotel capacity increasing,” Jennifer Falk, the executive director of the Union Square Partnership, a business improvement district, told Crain’s. “Large institutions like Beth Israel are excited about the increase in hotel space. The different price points that will be available make Union Square a competitive place to stay.”

Rates at the Jade span from $269 nightly in the off-season and will rise to a $599 high at peak season. Hyatt rates in the off-season start at $315 per night. [Crain's]

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Actress Tatum O’Neal has sold her condominium unit inside the converted Jewish Daily Forward building at 173 East Broadway for $1.72 million, according to public records filed with the city today. Tim Cass of the Corcoran Group had the listing for the 1,435-square-foot home.

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home has spent some time as a rental, first in 2011 with a $6,000 per month asking rent, Streeteasy.com shows. Last June, the home was listed again as a rental—this time for $7,000 per month—but was no longer available as of Sept. 13, Streeteasy shows. The following day the home went on sale with a $1.65 million ask.

Reached by phone, Cass confirmed that he had the listing for the mezzanine-level home, adding that it prompted a bidding war, though he declined to comment on how many offers he received for the unit.

“It got a lot of attention,” he said. “It’s a very unique property.”

The unit has a domed ceiling, which was originally part of the lobby of the Forward building. It is the only unit inside the 45,000-square-foot, 29-unit building that has direct elevator access from the street.

Built in 1912, the property was converted to condos in 2006 by a developer named Ron Castellano, who preserved original details, as the property is landmarked, Cass said. For example, stained-glass windows inside O’Neal’s unit were updated with a double pane so that they can open. The bathrooms also have coffered ceilings, he said.

“They maintained the original integrity of the building,” he said.

O’Neal, who listed a Beverly Hills residence, purchased the home in 2006 for $1.43 million, records show. O’Neal, who in 1974 became the youngest person to win an Academy Award, has appeared in such films as “Little Darlings” and “Basquiat,” the biopic of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

More recently, she has become tabloid fodder, reportedly being arrested near the Forward building for buying crack cocaine. She was released without bail and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, previous reports say.

The deed for the condo shows the sale entered contract on Nov. 13 and transferred on Jan. 17. Daniel and Abby Ziluca are listed as the purchasers. Cass said he also represented the buyers, but declined to comment further on them.

O’Neal could not immediately be reached, nor could the Zilucas.

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Tom Cruise is in contract to sell his condominium unit at the American Felt Building in the East Village for $3 million, a source familiar with the transaction told The Real Deal today.

The 41-unit building at 114 East 13th Street, between First and Second avenues, was constructed in 1984, when Cruise, fresh off his star-making turn in “Risky Business,” purchased the 2,200-square-foot apartment.

The two-bedroom unit features a state-of-the-art gym which could double as a third bedroom. Though the 12-story building is known for its loft-like ceilings, the ceilings in Cruise’s 10th-floor unit have been lowered to nine feet, thought it was unclear why.

Cruise signed the contract last week, the source said, and is in the market for a home with a garage to avoid the press and unwanted attention. In July, the 50-year-old actor reportedly began contacting New York City real estate agents, including Donna Senko of Sotheby’s International Realty, to find a secluded home in Westchester or Connecticut.

He and ex-wife Katie Holmes already own a small empire of real estate across the U.S., including a 10,286-square-foot Beverly Hills estate with a tennis court and an 8,100-square-foot brownstone at 42 West 12th Street in Manhattan. Holmes has been camping out at the Chelsea Mercantile at 252 Seventh Avenue during the divorce proceedings, although the source said she has lived at the Felt building apartment in the past.

Indeed, Cruise shared the residence with his trio of ex-wives — including Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman — and also lived there with former girlfriends Rebecca De Mornay (his Risky Business co-star) and Cher, who stayed in the apartment with her children, according to the source.

Named for its former occupant, a manufacturer that supplied felt for Steinway pianos, the American Felt Building is also home to author Brett Easton Ellis; Fabrizio Moretti, the drummer of rock band the Strokes; and the band’s manager, Ryan Gentles.

“The floor plans may seem small, but some creative engineering has turned the loft apartments into unique spaces tricked out with platforms, balconies, extra windows [and] interior walls,” a description of the building on Streeteasy.com said. “Truly, no two apartments are alike in this building.”

The apartment was not listed, nor were brokers involved in the private sale. The buyer was not immediately known.

Matthew Adam Properties manages the building. Ira Meister, the company’s founder and president, declined to comment.

A representative for Cruise could not immediately be reached.

SEE ALSO: Ethan Hawke Lists Colorful Chelsea Townhouse For $6.25 Million

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Brokers and landlords hoping to kickstart this season’s leasing activity in the Hamptons are seeing renters showing a preference for spots further east, the New York Post reported.

Ernie Cervi, executive managing director of the Corcoran Group’s Bridgehampton office, told the Post that renters were interested in places such as Amagansett and Montauk. “There is new life to those areas,” Cervi said, “so it’s attracting another group of people.”

Indeed, a slew of happening late-night venues have opened in Montauk over the last few years, including the Surf Lodge, Ruschmeyer’s and the Sloppy Tuna, which have attracted the young, rich and restless set. Amaganset’s proximity to Montauk’s nightlife, Jeff Steinhorst, vice president of Nest Seekers International, told the Post, was boosting its appeal. “We have three calls for Amagansett for every one for another area,” he said.

Houses on the beach and those located in the villages continue to carry serious cachet, Cornelia Dodge, a broker with Halstead Property, told the Post. All the stuff that’s in the village, people love. They can walk to town, walk to dinner. Anything within walking distance goes first,”

The rental season has already begun, brokers say, and has been helped by the fallout from Hurricane Sandy, which damaged many other beaches close to New York City but left the Hamptons in relatively good shape. Last week, a $30 million 4.3 acre estate, Southhampton’s first listing post-Sandy, went into contract. “We’re getting a lot more people because of Sandy,” Cervi said. “People from other beach communities, from Long Beach, from New Jersey, they’re out to test-drive the Hamptons.” [NYP]–Hiten Samtani

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Andrew Rosen, the founder of the Theory fashion label, sold his 4,266-square-foot duplex condominium at the Trump International Tower for $15.6 million, according to records filed with the city yesterday.

Kyle Blackmon, a Brown Harris Stevens senior vice president and managing director, had the listing for the home, located at 1 Central Park West. Blackmon declined to comment, but as The Real Deal reported last year, the duplex had an $18 million ask when it first hit the market in January 2012.

That July, the listing went offline and reemerged in mid-September for $16.4 million, Streeteasy.com shows.

Rosen’s home, which he purchased in March 2006 for $6.9 million, was profiled in Elle Décor in October 2011. In the article, Rosen said that he hated the unit’s staircase, which he told Elle was a traditional structure.

“When I realized that I could do something more interesting, I decided to buy the apartment,” he told Elle Décor. And over the course of nine months, he and his architect planned and finished a glass and steel-spiral staircase, which the magazine said serves as “a kind of sculptural centerpiece in the space.”

The apartment reportedly has gallery space on both floors, but no views of Central Park. According to the listing, the home has four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms, as well as a library, polished concrete flooring and a home cinema.

The purchaser of the home is listed as Huddygirl LLC — an entity linked to a Rachel Cole in state records and in mortgage documents, who could not immediately be further identified.

The sale entered contract on Nov. 29 and transferred on Jan. 16.

A message to Theory press representatives seeking comment from Rosen was not immediately returned by press time.

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On an historic, stately stretch of Fifth Avenue, a proposal by a Brazilian developer for a luxury high-rise is threatening to disrupt the peace.

Residents of two Central Park-facing buildings, at 812 and 817 Fifth Avenue, are gearing up to fight a structure planned for 815 Fifth Avenue that they described in a letter to fellow residents as “contemporary” and “incompatible” with the character of the neighborhood, The Real Deal has learned.

Paperwork filed with the Department of Buildings calls for a 15-story building with a dozen apartments as well as partial demolition of a six-story building, which records show is the oldest structure on Fifth Avenue between 59th and 110th streets.

JHSF Participacoes S.A., based in Brazil, is named on renderings of the project, although the official documents list the developer as Eight Hundred and Fifteen Fifth Avenue, a limited liability company. JHSF has developed more than 19 million square feet of real estate in Sao Paulo.

Brazilian banking magnate Sergio Millerman, the former CEO of Safra National Bank of New York and a consultant to the Safra Group, the Brazil-based international banking empire, is named in official documents as an adviser to the project.

A spokesperson for Millerman told The Real Deal that the owners of the project are “highly sensitive to the history of the area” and will proceed in a manner that is “consistent with that sensitivity.” While the spokesperson confirmed that Millerman is assisting the developer on the project, he declined to comment on the identity of the developer.

The board of managers for 817 Fifth Avenue sent the Feb. 13 letter opposing the project to both residents of both their building and 812 Fifth Avenue. The letter called for the residents to speak out against the development at a community board hearing last night.

The developer presented the proposal Feb. 11 to Community Board 8′s Landmarks Committee, an advisory panel. The Landmarks Committee unanimously rejected the building, calling it “incompatible with the character of the block,” the letter said. The project can still move ahead, however, if the Landmarks Preservation Commission signs off on it.

The new building would be 200 feet tall, nearly triple the height of the existing 80-foot-tall structure, according to papers filed with the Department of Buildings. The architect, Timothy Greer of Connecticut-based TP Greer Architects, said he has been working closely with the landmarks commission over the last few months to create a building with will be “sensitive to and consistent with the established architectural character and scale of Fifth Avenue.”

While a spokesperson for the Landmarks Preservation Commission could not comment directly on the project, which is in an historic district, she said any new building within such a district should be “consistent with the height and shape of the other buildings in the district” in order to obtain necessary approvals from the LPC.

“Whether it is a contemporary design or a contextual, more traditional design, the façade composition, scale, materials and details should have some relationship to the buildings in this historic district which can be abstract or literal,” she said.

Residents on the upper floors of 812 and 817 Fifth Avenue are concerned the proposed development will block their views, bringing down their property values. At 817 Fifth Avenue, the views are to the south; residents of 812 Fifth Avenue look to the north.

Jewelry designer Janet Yaseen, a resident of 812 Fifth Avenue, said residents of her building stood “shoulder to shoulder” with residents of 817 Fifth Avenue in the dispute.

The building on the site, designed by Samuel A. Warner, went up in 1871. Once a single-family home owned by hotel owner James Stewart Cushman and wife Verna, the brownstone today houses 12 apartments and two offices.

Real estate investor Robert Haskell sold the building to JHSF last year for $32 million, public records show, $7 million over its asking price.

Both 812 and 817 Fifth Avenue have been home to celebrities and the city’s biggest power players. Actor Richard Gere, business magnate Steve Wynn and socialite Courtney Sale Ross have lived at 817 Fifth Avenue; New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and his wife, Mary “Tod” Rockefeller, had a home in 812 Fifth Avenue.

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In a nod to the area’s growing cachet as a shopping destination, trendy retailer Urban Outfitters and its sister company Anthropologie are in advanced talks to secure spaces in Williamsburg, Crain’s reported.

Anthropologie is working out the details of a 10,000-square-foot space at a 150,000-square-foot retail complex located at 242 Bedford Avenue between North Third and North Fourth Streets. The complex will be anchored by a Whole Foods, sources familiar with the property told Crain’s. The complex is also in leasing talks with Canadian retailer Joe Fresh, New York Sports Club, and Citibank. 

“We are in conversations with several retailers regarding the remaining retail spaces,” Jared Epstein, vice president of Aurora Capital Associates, told Crain’s. Aurora partnered with Midtown Equities and Alex Adjmi to buy the property last year for $23 million.

The deal would see Anthropologie – which has carved an enviable niche for itself as an upscale hipster retail destination – open its first Brooklyn location, following the recent opening of the company’s fifth Manhattan store on the Upper East Side, and another store opening on the Bowery later this year, as The Real Dealfirst reported.

Meanwhile, Urban Outfitters has landed a space at nearby 102 North Sixth Street, between Berry and Wythe Streets. The store will be located next door to American Apparel. Even J. Crew is a prospective tenant of a space that will come online in the neighborhood, as The Real Deal reported.

Rents in Williamsburg have been steadily climbing, and currently range from $185 to $225 a square foot on Bedford Avenue to $70 to $100 a foot for side streets such as North Sixth Street. [Crain’s]

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Real estate investors are complaining that distressed opportunities in Manhattan have become much harder to find in recent months.

Of the $29.9 billion in distressed assets identified in Manhattan after the financial crisis, 74 percent have been worked out, according to data from Real Capital Analytics. Just $3.3 billion in Manhattan assets went into distress in 2012, while $6.1 billion in distressed assets was worked out.

However, there is still debt to be found in Manhattan. The borough’s 10 most distressed properties account for more than $4 billion in debt, according to data provided to The Real Deal by analytics firm Trepp. Among those 10 properties are longtime distressed apartment complexes, such as Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village and Harlem’s Riverton Apartments. But the list also includes owners whose portfolios are usually associated with profit, such as Gary Barnett of Extell Development and SL Green. Read on for the full list.

Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village: $3B

A distressed first mortgage at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in the East Village accounts for a significant chunk of Manhattan’s distressed property debt all on its own. Holders of the senior mortgage at the rental complex, formerly owned by Tishman Speyer and now controlled by CWCapital Asset Management, are owed $3 billion, according to Trepp’s data, while another $1.4 billion is owed to the holders of the mezzanine debt. Tishman paid a record $5.4 billion to Metlife for the complex in 2007 and defaulted on the mortgage in 2010.

The mammoth affordable housing compound was reportedly valued at $3.2 billion late last year, a $400 million improvement over its last appraised valuation, but the property’s bondholders need to sell the property for a minimum of $3.4 billion to break even.

CWCapital may be getting closer to selling the property, thanks in part to the recent settlement of a lawsuit brought by tenants of the complex against Tishman and MetLife in 2007. Tenants claimed the owners improperly deregulated the rent-stabilized apartments while taking J-51 tax benefits. The deal is worth an estimated $147 million but must still be approved by a state judge.

The Belnord at 2360 Broadway: $375M

Extell Development’s 215-unit rental property, which spans the entire block from West 86th to West 87th streets between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, has been in financial trouble since the company stopped making loan payments on the building in May 2011. The $375 million loan on the property is currently more than 90 days delinquent, according to Trepp’s data.

The building’s problems stem from a decision made by Extell in 2006 to consolidate the property’s existing debt into a $375 million interest-only loan, which was then sold to investors as part of a package of commercial mortgage-backed securities, as previously reported. Extell’s debt service soon far outpaced the building’s revenue, which was held back by a 2009 state appeals court ruling forbidding landlords from raising rents above certain levels if they had participated in the city’s J-51 tax abatement program. The loan was transferred to a special servicer in 2011.

In response to an email from The Real Deal, Barnett said only that he was “hopeful that [the company] will have a mutually satisfactory conclusion with the lender.”

Riverton Apartments at 2171-2200 Madison Avenue: $225M

When a joint venture between Laurence Gluck’s Stellar Management and private equity giant the Rockpoint Group bought this Harlem apartment complex in 2005 for $132 million, they secured a $105 million mortgage. When they refinanced that mortgage with Deutsche Bank in 2006 — with an eye toward renovating the complex — they more than doubled the debt on the property to $250 million.

Despite converting more than half of the units from rent stabilized units to market rate rentals, the owners struggled to match their rental income to debt service payments, ultimately defaulting on the loan. Deutsche Bank then sold the loan as part of a CMBS package. CWCapital took over ownership of the complex in 2010. The delinquent loan currently totals $225 million, Trepp’s data show.

119 West 40th Street: $160M

This 340,000-square-foot Garment District office building — known as Mendelssohn Hall — has been in financial difficulties since December 2009, when CWCapital filed to foreclose on a $160 million senior mortgage on the property held by owner, billionaire Leon Charney.

L.H. Charney Associates acquired the property for $182 million in 2007 in partnership with George Comfort & Sons and Fortis Property Group, angling to renovate the building and sign on new tenants at higher rates, as previously reported. But plans went awry in 2008 when the company failed to make payments towards an unpaid mechanic’s lien, and construction work on the building stalled.

Malkin Holdings, which held the $22 million mezzanine loan on the property, called in a default in 2009. Under a deal reached later that year, Charney agreed to sell the loan to Malkin for $7 million, but he reneged after he fell ill in 2010, it was previously reported.

The $160 million loan on the property is currently more than 90 days delinquent, according to Trepp’s data.

90 Fifth Avenue: $62.34M

Aby Rosen’s RFR Holdings, the owner of 90 Fifth Avenue, reportedly lost out on a $115 million deal to sell this distressed building last year after it was revealed that the building’s main tenant, Forbes, had ceased to pay rent at the property. Jamestown Properties, the reported buyer of the building, walked away as a result of Forbes’ missed payments, it was previously reported. Forbes leases 110,000 square feet of the building’s total 140,000 square feet.

Meanwhile, RFR is more than 90 days late on making its own loan payments, according to Trepp’s data for the month of February. Lender Wells Fargo appears to be owed a principal balance of $62.34 million secured by the property, made up of a $33.29 million gap note and a $33.7 million original mortgage. The loan was 60 days delinquent in January, according to Trepp. A spokesperson for RFR was not immediately available for comment.

369 Lexington Avenue: $59.19M

A foreclosure action is pending on the $59.19 million loan secured by the 28-story tower at 369 Lexington Avenue, on the corner of East 41st Street, according to Trepp’s data, but the total unpaid balance owed by the property’s owners actually amounts to $76.7 million, including interest and accrued charges.

The building, which includes 108,000 square feet of office space as well as 20,000 square feet of retail, is subject to the same action as a building lower on our list, at 2 West 46th Street. Both buildings are owned by Joseph Stavrach’s Manhattan-based Triangle Assets and Freddy Srour of Atlas Ventures. A person who answered the phone at Srour’s office said he would not be available to speak this week. Stavrach was not immediately reachable for comment.

The loan was reportedly cross-collateralized with another loan at the building at 2 West 46th Street. When the borrower failed to make payments on the loan for 2 West 46th Street, the loan for the Lexington Property was also thrown into default. An attorney for the borrower said the owners are working to have portions of the complaint against both properties dismissed. He disputed the fact that the borrower had failed to make the necessary payments.

The Time Hotel at 224 West 49th Street: $53.9 million

Vikram Chatwal’s 192-unit Time Hotel is still battling a foreclosure suit from special servicer LNR Partners after his company, London-based Hampshire Hotels, failed to make any interest payments on $55 million in loans from January 2012 onwards. The suit followed the end of the two-year forbearance agreement between the owner and the lender. The loan was sold to LNR in May 2012.

The hotel owner reportedly took out a $43.1 million mortgage loan on the property from Lehman Brothers in 2005 and an $11.9 million gap mortgage loan; the loans were then combined into one $55 million loan. The loan is currently classed as 90 or more days delinquent, according to Trepp.

The hotel has become known as a hotspot for celebrities, such as supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss.

At the Dream Hotel at 210 West 55th Street, Chatwal has refinanced a loan which until last month had an outstanding principal balance of $97.25 million, a spokesperson told The Real Deal. He declined to provide details on the refinancing by press time.

17 Battery Place North: $53M

Moinian Group President Joseph Moinian is currently negotiating a refinancing of 17 Battery Place North, a Financial District office property where the debt is currently classified as non-performing beyond maturity, a spokesperson for the developer told The Real Deal. The loan, which has an outstanding balance of around $53 million, matured in 2009, Trepp’s data show.

Moinian informed lenders in 2009 that he expected to default on the loan, after the credit crunch made it more difficult to refinance debt. His office towers 17 Battery Place North and South have an estimated combined annual pretax net operating income of $13 million, The Real Deal previously reported. Moinian bought 17 Battery Place North from SL Green in 2004 for $70 million.

At another of the buildings in Moinian’s portfolio, 245 Fifth Avenue, the deadline for payment of a formerly distressed loan has been extended, the spokesperson said. A $140 million loan on the property, which Moinian owns with Thor Equities’ Joseph Sitt, was transferred into special servicing because of default concerns last year.

2 West 46th Street: $46M

As previously noted, Triangle Assets, the owner of the office tower at 369 Lexington Avenue, is also facing a foreclosure action against 2 West 46th Street, where their principal outstanding balance is $46 million. The total balance of the loan is $51.9 million, including default interest and accrued charges, The Real Deal previously reported.

The mortgage on the property appears to have been granted to the owners by Deutsche Bank at the end of 2006, records show. LNR is the special servicer on the loan. The building was listed for sale by Eastern Consolidated in 2011, asking $80 million.

Mitchell Haddad of the law firm Sills Cummis & Gross, who is representing the owners in the foreclosure suit, told The Real Deal they are working to have a portion of the lender’s claims dismissed and to reach a settlement. In the meantime, the litigation is ongoing.

1604 Broadway: $25.69M

As reported by The Real Deal yesterday, the ground lease holders on this large Times Square retail building, formerly home to the Spotlight Live Club, are currently falling behind on the $27 million dollar loan attached to the property. The loan, granted to the operators SL Green and Onyx Equities in 2007 by Deutsche Bank, was transferred to special servicer LNR in 2009, according to Trepp’s data, and is secured by the partnership’s leasehold interest in the 29,875-square-foot property. The loan is currently being monitored by LNR while discussions with the borrower continue, according to a servicer’s report provided to The Real Deal by Trepp.

Meanwhile, the SL Green partnership has filed suit against lender U.S. Bank, claiming that the bank declined to provide a necessary stamp of approval for a new tenant to move into the building in 2009, in an alleged effort to keep the building in a distressed state as fodder for a separate legal action against Deutsche Bank.

The retail property, best known as the site of a murder at rapper Lil’ Kim’s birthday party in 2008, is currently only about 25 percent occupied and has been listed for lease by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank since Spring 2012, The Real Deal previously reported. The land beneath is owned by Farmore Realty, who has also filed to evict the leaseholder from the site.

Correction: In a previous version of this story, The Real Deal incorrectly stated that a judgment of foreclosure had been issued at 369 Lexington Avenue. The foreclosure action is actually still pending.

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A full-floor apartment at the Rosario Candela-designed 778 Park Avenue has hit the market for the first time in 70 years with an asking price of $22.5 million, according to listings website Streeteasy.com.

The 10-room apartment, on the 17th floor, has three bedrooms and three bathrooms; other features include five terraces, a library with a wood-burning fireplace, a breakfast room and a double staff room.

Voting records indicate that the apartment belongs to the estate of noted philanthropist Celeste Bartos, who passed away in January.

The building is located at East 73rd Street and neighbors 720 Park Avenue and 784 Park Avenue on a stretch that is dubbed “Candela Alley.” Sotheby’s International Realty’s Roger Erickson had the listing. “It’s one of the all-time greatest apartments on Park Avenue,” Erickson said.

In 2011, legendary socialite Brooke Astor’s 14-room duplex at the building, once listed for $46 million, sold for about $21 million, after the famously stodgy co-op board rejected an earlier $19.9 million offer from a Swiss investment banker.

Other current and former residents of the white-glove building include fashion magnate Estée Lauder, the late legendary broadcaster Roone Arledge and the late Peter Sharp, former owner of the Carlyle Hotel.

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Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and her husband have purchased an apartment at The Whitman across from Madison Square Park for $10.5 million, the New York Post reported.

The deal for the 5,000-square-foot apartment, located at 21 East 26th St, closed last month, sources told the Post.

The apartment has four bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms, and the living room boasts sweeping views of the park. Elliman’s Melanie Lazenby – who was profiled last year in "The Real Deal"– and Dina Lewis had the listing. 

The five-story Whitman has one apartment per floor and a key-locked elevator.

“It’s great for them, because it is in a hot neighborhood and it is very private,” a source told the Post. “There aren’t hundreds of neighbors, and there is great security.”

President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton toured the apartment last week, posing for photographs with construction workers at the building.

Lazenby and Dina Lewis declined to comment to the Post. [NYP]

A couple of photos of the condo, in a new luxury development, below (Douglas Elliman via Streeteasy):

Now Watch: Real Estate Legend Barbara Corcoran Shows Us Around Her NYC Apartment

SEE ALSO: Meet The Billionaires Who Live In The World's Most Expensive Building

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The wealthy have flocked back to the Manhattan luxury market, spending even more than they did in the pre-crisis highs, but are doing so more discreetly, a new report seen by the Wall Street Journal shows. 

The report, by Stribling & Associates, found that Manhattan co-op and townhouse sales in the high-end $5 million-or-more market hit record levels in 2012, exceeding even the levels seen in 2008, which was the peak year for the borough.

“While there is no law of nature requiring that what comes down must go back up, the luxury residential $5 million plus market in Manhattan certainly has done just that,” Kirk Henckels, an executive at Stribling who prepared the report, told the Journal.

Condominium sales did not enjoy the same levels, but brokers said this was partially due to a rush of signings for still under-construction new luxury condo developments.

Henckels added that after the Lehman Brothers Holdings collapse in 2008, wealthy buyers were apprehensive of making big-ticket purchases and only swooped in at the sight of a real bargain. Now, however, though buyers want to maintain a low profile, they are willing to splash out money for the right homes, “even at full asking price,” he said.

Pamela Liebman, the president of Corcoran Group, told the Journal that wealthy foreign buyers were increasingly looking at New York not only as an investment, but also as a desirable city for a pied a terre.

“Many of them are not just looking at this as a place to dump their cash,” Liebman said. “They want a place they can use and enjoy when they come to New York.”

Indeed, some of the biggest sales in the luxury market have come from foreign buyers, including the record-shattering $88 million purchase of the penthouse at the Zeckendorf’s 15 Central Park West, as The Real Dealpreviously reported.

The pre-construction sales market is also very robust, and is targeting very wealthy buyers. Roughly $2.5 billion worth of deals in this market may be in contract,according to reports from developers, but it could be several months or years before they close.

Alexico Group, the developer of the 57-story white-glove condo tower at 56 Leonard, said the building is already half sold, with contracts worth over $450 million.

“I’ve never witnessed so much pent up demand,” Kelly Mack, president of Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, which is marketing the building, told the Journal. [WSJ]

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Two Trees Management’s Jed Walentas is temporarily turning over the Domino Sugar development site in Williamsburg for use as an urban farm, yoga studio, reading room and bicycle course, the Brooklyn Paper reported.

The developer will not charge rent for the football field-sized plot, but the operators will need to pay utilities.

On the western side of the parcel, North Brooklyn Farms will operate a farm, and there will be a green space for public events and fitness classes. On the other side, a practice cycling course will cater to beginner and intermediate riders.

The initial agreement for these operators is a one-year deal. But that can change based on the design and approval processes for the mixed-use project. It was not clear when the new facilities will be ready.

“For us, it’s silly to have this site fenced off from the community,” Dave Lombino, Two Trees’ director of special projects, told the paper. “We want to signal to the community that we are creative and ambitious.”

The features came from two separate proposals for use of the site that Two Trees merged together.

The area in question is the Kent Avenue lot located between South 3rd and South 4th streets.

Two Trees solicited proposals for use of this 55,000-square-foot swath in early January, as previously reported.

Walentas has indicated that he wants to break ground on this Kent Street lot first. Lombino told the paper that ground will not break until at least late 2014. 

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Kathryn Korte, the president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty, and Ellie Johnson, the manager of the firm’s Upper East Side office, may also face disciplinary action as the result of a state probe into allegations that top-producing broker Roger Erickson acted as an undisclosed dual agent, The Real Deal has learned.

The New York State Department of State opened the investigation last year, after the seller of an apartment at 812 Fifth Avenue lodged a complaint. He alleged that Erickson had breached their exclusive sale contract by clandestinely working with a prospective purchaser, effectively lowering the sale value of the home.

While brokers are permitted to represent both parties in a condominium or co-op sale, they must disclose their work as a “dual agent” and sign disclosure forms to that effect.

Last week, state officials wrapped up the investigation into Erickson and referred the materials to the DOS’ litigation unit, which will determine if the broker will face a penalty or not. (It is not clear when the DOS will issue a decision.)

At the same time, the DOS revealed that it had widened the inquiry, naming Johnson — Erickson’s manager at the time of the sale — as well as Korte, who oversees the New York City franchise, as subjects of the probe. Both brokers could face disciplinary action, though it was not clear what specific allegations they are facing.

Indeed, naming Korte, the firm’s broker of record, and Johnson, Erickson’s manager, may not be an indication of their direct culpability so much as an assumption that the duo was responsible for supervising Erickson, an industry source noted.

“A broker of record is responsible for the behavior of agents whose license they hold,” said the source, who does not work at Sotheby’s and requested anonymity in commenting on the case. “There’s the presumption of supervision and that they’ve given the broker sufficient training that they’re not going to do anything that [constitutes misconduct].”

Erickson, Korte, Johnson and Sotheby’s declined to comment on the case via a spokesperson for the firm. In a statement released after the DOS opened the investigation, Erickson and Sotheby’s asserted that the allegations had no merit. A spokesperson for the DOS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In this case, a man named Harvey Schuyler retained Erickson in December 2008 to sell his Fifth Avenue co-op, originally listed for $3.65 million. Several months later, Erickson allegedly recommended Schuyler accept a $3 million offer from another one of his clients, Turkish businesswoman Demet Sabanci Cetindogan, whom he represented in contract negotiations. However, he allegedly did not reveal that she was his client, nor obtain Schuyler’s consent to act as a dual agent.

The two-bedroom apartment ultimately sold to another buyer for $3 million in 2010.

Separately, Schuyler sued Erickson early last year, claiming that he used “aggressive tactics, deception and sheer dishonesty” to convince him to accept Cetindogan’s offer, which allegedly caused him to take a hit on the eventual sale of the apartment.

“Having set the apartment’s purchase price below the fair market value, created a false market,” the complaint said. “[Schuyler] thereafter was unable to realize a higher market value for the apartment as the false market price was widely known.”

A New York State Supreme Court judge has not yet ruled on the allegations.

In a statement to The Real Deal, Schuyler’s attorney Evan Schieber, a partner at the law firm of Rivkin Radler, called the DOS investigation “a positive step towards curbing abuses by real estate brokers.”

Erickson, who reportedly drives a platinum Ferrari F430, is noted for his flashy lifestyle and has worked with celebrity clients such as Steve Jobs, Bono and Madonna. He was named the No. 1 broker at Sotheby’s in 2010 and has closed sales in excess of $1 billion during his 20-year real estate career, according to his agent’s page.

Erickson spent the early part of his career working as a music executive at CBS records and reportedly left his music publicist ex-wife Susan Blond after 13 years of marriage for Russian tango instructor, Irina Shpeckt.

Erickson recently listed a full-floor apartment at the Rosario Candela-designed 778 Park Avenue for $22.5 million. The apartment belongs to the estate of noted philanthropist Celeste Bartos, who passed away in January, The Real Deal previously reported.

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It’s conventional wisdom that “blue chip” apartments surrounding Central Park command the highest prices in New York City, beating out trendier Downtown towers on a price per square foot basis.

For the first time in a decade, however, the asking prices for luxury Downtown apartments have outpaced those in Midtown and Uptown, new data show, as developments in Tribeca, Soho and Chelsea demand in excess of $7,000 per square foot.

The average asking price for a Downtown luxury apartment rose to $2,777 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2012, surpassing comparable units in Midtown and Uptown, where the collective average price was $2,685 per square foot, according to data from Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group provided to The Real Deal.

The data, which the new development marketing firm has been tracking for 10 years, is based on a survey of 140 Manhattan luxury condominium and co-op buildings that have asking prices averaging more than $1,700 per square foot. The collective Uptown and Midtown neighborhood is defined by the firm as north of 34th Street and south of 110th Street, while the Downtown neighborhood is defined as south of 34th Street not including the Financial District or Battery Park City.

The growth in the market is the result of a bevy of new luxury towers hitting the market Downtown in recent years, as well as buyers’ willingness — and even preference — to seek out homes far afield of Central Park. And while this trend has been on the rise for years, the pace has escalated in the last 12 months.

In fact, prices for Downtown units have risen a dramatic 28 percent compared to the same period in 2011, marking a 30 percent jump over the previous peak in the fourth quarter of 2007, the data show. Uptown prices have not seen the same dramatic uptick, despite the introduction of luxury towers such as Extell Development’s One57.

“Uptown is tried and true — if you list something pre-war Uptown, you’re going to sell — but Downtown really has the buzz right now,” said Michele Kleier, a luxury broker whose brokerage Kleier Residential is based on the Upper East Side. “People are much more open about location now in general. It used to be they would have a 10-block radius in which they wanted to live [on the Upper East Side]. Now, it’s a lot more about the apartment for a lot of people. They’re flexible on location. That fabulous apartment with a terrace and a view is worth moving for.”

The evolution of the Downtown market has been in the making since the mid-1990s, said Jonathan Miller, an appraiser at Miller Samuel, as neighborhoods such as Soho and Tribeca became popular with celebrities and Wall Streeters. The influx of moneyed buyers began with the rise of the dot com boom, he said, when Park Avenue-qualified buyers started looking at similarly sized spaces in raw, Tribeca loft buildings.

More recently, the debut of several luxury Downtown skyscrapers — which have pushed the envelope in the last 18 months with asking prices in excess of $6,000 and $7,000 per square foot — are shifting the market even further. Recent examples include 56 Leonard, a 60-story condominium tower in Tribeca developed by the Alexico Group, Dune Real Estate Partners, Goldman Sachs and Hines, and the Witkoff Group’s 150 Charles Street in the West Village.

Last year, sales also launched at pricey new developments such as Chelsea’s Walker Tower, a condominium project by JDS Development and Property Markets Group, and 18 Gramercy Park South, the new project from the Zeckendorf brothers, who developed 15 Central Park West.

While sales at these developments have not yet closed, the eye-popping asking prices and rapidity of contract signings have reinforced the desirability of Downtown homes.

At the same time, while Corcoran Sunshine’s data provides an insight into the luxury market through the lens of particular buildings, it may not be conclusive for the luxury market as a whole, said Kirk Henckels, chairman and director of private brokerage at Stribling & Associates.

For one thing, there are many fewer new luxury residential developments on Fifth Avenue and Central Park West than Downtown, Henckels noted. (New developments tend to command higher prices than resales, and condos are often pricier than co-ops.)

For another, the Upper East Side and Upper West Side can still command top dollar—literally. Last year, the city’s priciest home sales all took place in Midtown and Uptown, including the largest co-op deal (the $54 million sale of media mogul David Geffen’s apartment at 785 Fifth Avenue), the largest townhouse deal (the $49 million sale of the Stanford White Mansion at 973 Fifth Avenue), and the largest condo deal (the $88 million sale of a penthouse at 15 Central Park West), according to a market report prepared by Henckels.

But buyers are also seeking trophy homes Downtown, and increasingly finding towers that come heaped with amenities, including swimming pools, gyms, roof decks and screening rooms. Properties with access to those facilities have not historically been available in Downtown neighborhoods.

“The Uptown people tend to want these newer buildings with views. Downtown properties historically haven’t offered that,” said Mara Flash Blum, a luxury Downtown broker at Sotheby’s International Realty. “Most areas are landmarked so you can’t build these huge tall towers there.”

The building under construction at 56 Leonard, which stalled for several years during the financial crisis, was permitted to rise to 830 feet thanks to its location between the Tribeca East and Tribeca West Historic Districts. A penthouse there is asking $6,400 a square foot, while at 150 Charles Street, one of the priciest units has a price tag topping $7,592 per square foot.

Kelly Kennedy Mack, head of Corcoran Sunshine, which is marketing 56 Leonard, told The Real Deal that the property is commanding interest from a range of different kinds of buyers, including some who previously may have opted to live in a trophy tower Uptown. If it hadn’t been for the introduction of properties such as 56 Leonard, many buyers would never have considered looking southward, said Mack, who noted that the building has been hit so far with local buyers more so than international purchasers.

“We had always suspected that 56 Leonard would compete with luxury high-end properties in the Midtown market, particularly for the international buying community and for the penthouses,” she said. “This is the first time that a product is being introduced to the Downtown market that has ticked all of the boxes historically only checked in prime Midtown.”

And it’s not just condos that are seeing price hikes.

“I’m seeing record numbers in co-ops Downtown,” Blum said. “The average price in the co-op market Downtown has been somewhere between $1,200 and $1,300 a square foot. When you start to see $1,500 to $1,900 a square foot, as we’re seeing now, that’s pretty outrageous.”

These are not the first Downtown properties to achieve record numbers. Last year, for instance, a pair of penthouses at Superior Ink on West 12th Street sold separately for $16.9 million and $10.5 million. Several years ago, a penthouse co-op at 40 Fifth Avenue sold for $11 million.

“If that came on the market right now, would it come on at $25 million?” Blum wondered.

To that end, brokers who have traditionally stuck to selling pre-war Upper East Side co-ops to well-heeled Manhattanites may need to learn mobility as demand for properties further south ramps up, Kleier said.

“We need to be in a car or on roller skates [to keep up],” she joked.

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