1) According to the Villager's Scoopy's Notebook column(!), Bono has indeed taken the penthouse duplex at Julian Schnabel's West 11th Street, confirming all those rumors. As for the meaning of "Palazzo Chupi," a SchnabelFriend writes in to the Villager to say it's a "term of endearment, something he calls his wife and sometimes his kids." [Scoopy's Notebook]
2) In August we told you that Lenny Kravitz's 30 Crosby penthouse was back on the market for the billionth time, this time at a staggering $19.5 million after a lengthy renovation. Our plea for interior photos went unheeded, but now Josh Barbanel reports that a deal for the place fell through, so the broker is ramping up the marketing. Translation: pictures, soon. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]
3) OMG Jessica Simpson is looking for a New York City apartment! She was spotted checking out the penthouse at 246 West 17th Street (the same space fellow hottie Jessica Alba saw), and we saw on the TMZ TV show that she also checked out One York. [NYM/S. Jhoanna Robledo]
4) Speaking of female celebrities looking at the same apartments, supposedly Halle Berry and Tyra Banks visitied the same $8.5 million three-bedroom 40 Mercer unit on different days last week. They were probably just drawn to the building by Andre Balazs' Axe body spray. [Braden Keil/Gimme Shelter]
5) While Alex Rodriguez ponders his baseball future, his residential one is also getting some play in the papers. Braden Keil reports that A-Rod is looking at a seven-bedroom townhouse on 80th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues. The rumored price: $39-$41 million. But will that be a check cut with Yankees money? [Keil]
6) Speaking of Yankees and real estate transactions, A-Rod's teammate Johnny Damon sold his One Beacon Court apartment for $8 million, after scooping it up for $5.555 million 18 months ago. [Manhattan Transfers/Max Abelson]