Week in Review
1. APARTMENT IN THE DAKOTA AVAILABLE FOR $24 MILLION
Richard Drew/AP
** FILE ** In this Dec. 8, 2005, file photo, barricades are set up in front of the Dakota apartments near New York's Central Park where John Lennon was shot on Dec. 8, 1980. A basement storage room in the famed building fetched $801,000 (euro507,959) in a recent sale. (AP Photo
A broker for Brown Harris Stevens, John Burger, has listed a four-bedroom apartment for about $5,000 a square foot, or $24 million, in the Dakota, a 19th-century building at West 72nd Street facing Central Park, the New York Times reported. The largest sale in the building, a $20.5 million apartment bought by Phillip and Cheryl Milstein, took place in January. It was brokered by Dolly Lenz of Prudential Douglas Elliman.
2. CRANE INSPECTOR IS SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY
A Buildings Department crane inspector, Michael Carbone, has been suspended without pay for 30 days for neglecting to act on complaints about corruption in crane licensing last year, the New York Daily News reported. The city's top crane inspector, James Delayo, was arrested and charged with taking bribes to falsify inspection reports last month. Nine people have died in two construction crane collapses this year.
3. ACTOR FIENNES BUYS IN GANSEVOORT BUILDING
Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes paid $2 million for a condo unit in the Gansevoort building in Greenwich Village, the Real Deal reported. The 1,220-square-foot unit is at 321 W. 13th St. The former tenant was interior designer Joseph Lembo.
4. CARLYLE GROUP BUYS INTEREST IN 666 FIFTH AVE.
The Carlyle Group, in partnership with Stanley Chera's Crown Acquisitions, closed on an interest in a retail condo at 666 Fifth Ave. on Tuesday, the New York Observer reported. The 49% stake the Carlyle Group bought is valued at $525 million. The deal was brokered by Carlton Group's chairman, Howard Michaels, and financed by Barclays and SL Green. The tower was bought last year for $1.8 billion by Kushner Cos., which will continue to own fully the office tower where the retail condo is located and will retain a 51% interest in the condo. The Carlyle Group also recently bought 650 Madison Ave. for $680 million with Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp.
5. CEMENT TRUCKER STRIKE SLOWS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Cement truckers from Local 282 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters went on strike Tuesday, demanding better wages and working conditions, the New York Times reported. The 400-employee walkout is having an impact on construction projects such as the Freedom Tower, the Second Avenue subway, and various condominiums. Concrete companies predicted the strike would last a week or longer.
