1) A year after Merryl Streep unloaded her West 12th Street townhouse (right) to Johnson & Johnson heiress Elizabeth "Libet" Johnson for $9.1 million, it appears Johnson has put the townhouse back on the market for $15.9 million. We'll parrot what our tipster said: Libet Johnson has got serious balls.
2) Over on Canal Street, verging on Tribeca, R.E.M. singer and general curiosity Michael Stipe has shelled out $5.75 million for a three-bedroom penthouse loft with Hudson River views. We would've researched what building it is, but he bought the place from Casey Affleck, and we just Google image searched him and got completely lost in his eyes. [Braden Keil/Gimme Shelter]
3) More problems for Jason Giambi and the Empire. A pipe burst in the Yankee's condo, flooding the apartment below. Luckily, the neighbor caught him in between 'roid rage episodes, and Giambi's been "more than a gentleman" about it. [Page 6]
4) That boutique South Beach hotel that Nicky Hilton was working on developing, called Nicky-O, might be in jeopardy because of a video making the rounds that shows Paris Hilton making racist comments. Nicky's role was that she was the one holding the camera. Yeesh?don't shoot the messenger! [Miami Herald]