After Squabble, Landmark Apthorp Gets Ready to Condo

The ornate Upper West Side Apthorp building is finally moving ahead with its condo conversion. The Apthorp, which takes up an entire block between West 78th and 79th and Broadway and West End, was purchased in 2006 but things devolved into, as Curbed put it last week, "One owner is suing another, that owner is in turn suing one of the project's lenders, and that lender is threatening to foreclose as soon as tomorrow." The warring parties— purchaser Maurice Mann and Israeli billionaire/lender Lev Leviev, who threw various accusations at each other—were almost going to arbitrate by way of a rabbi, prompting the Post headline, "Trial by Jewry", but the Real Deal reports that Mann "will retain his stake... but will be replaced as manager of the condo conversion." It's unclear how excited residents are about the conversion, given the economy now, but you can see how fancy the building is via its website.