1) A final twist in the saga of Andrei Vavilov, the mysterious Russian oligarch who sued to try and get out of buying $53.5 million worth of Plaza penthouses, before finally purchasing one unit and selling it for a loss. It turns out that Vavilov is the mystery buyer of the $37 million Time Warner Center penthouse, the biggest apartment deal of the year. Trading in class for glass? Those wacky Russians. And as for the view from the TWC penthouse, the Plaza's PR guy adds a bit of excellent trash talk: "If he is looking at the Plaza, he has one of the best views in town." [Big Deal/"Pooh to the Plaza"]
2) The harsh truth is that even with the recent declines in the New York City housing market, purchasing a piece of real estate is still out of the reach of most. So city dwellers are going country to take advantage of this market meltdown thing. In the Hudson River Valley, $300,000 can snag a three-bedroom home with plenty of land to stretch out. Greenpointers with weekend homes? Now we've seen everything. ["The New Country Squires"]
3) Once listed for $28.5 million, the Trump International penthouse owned by a troubled Italian film magnate is now in contract for $18 million, which Josh Barbanel reports is "possibly the largest residential foreclosure action ever in Manhattan." If a buyer makes a higher offer, there will be an auction on July 22, so hurry up and get those bids in! One caveat: the space is completely gutted. Two potential buyers brought in Charles Gwathmey (double dipper!) to look over the space. [Big Deal/"The $18 Million Fixer-Upper"]
4) Jackson Heights broker Michael Carfagna is still getting publicity for his "Jack Heights" ad campaign (costs have now climbed into the "low six figures"), this time for the makeover given to the creepy stick figure (right). The new-look Jack Heights appears in a promotional comic strip, in which he gouges out the eyes of Billy Burg and spits on its lifeless corpse. [Posting/"Take That, Billy Burg"]
5) A lot can be said about Staten Island, but not respecting its elders? That's a new one. A group of seniors were fined $25 for loitering in the common area of their condo's lobby and conducting endless chatter sessions, and now they're suing over their right to congregate in the space. This will soon be immortalized in the big screen sequel Grumpiest Old Men. ["Geezers' 'Gab' Suit"/NYP]
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