It's not a deal of Stuy Town proportions, but the sale of the Apthorp building on Broadway between West 78th and 79ths Streets on the Upper West Side is still a big deal. According to the NY Times, Maurice Mann agreed to pay more than $425 million for the building that takes up the entire block (Broadway to West End, 78th to 79th). Mann called it "the greatest trophy building on the Upper West Side." What about the Ansonia? Or all the buildings on Central Park West? Anyway, Mann intends to keep it as a "very high-end rental and to keep it exactly the way it is." The building currently has monthly rental prices of $8,000-$20,000. With prices like that, it's no wonder celebrities and media executives are popular tenants.
Earlier this year, Nora Ephron wrote a New Yorker essay about her love for the five-bedroom apartment at the Apthorp that she paid $1,500 a month for - and the agony of paying more rent. (Boo hoo!) Curbed pointed out NY Times Op-Ed columnist John Tierney's response, "No matter how much you love your rent-stabilized apartment, no matter how smug you feel bragging to your friends about your deal, in your heart you know it's not fair you're paying so little."
Back in 1997, the NY Times's Frank Bruni (best known as the current restaurant critic) wrote about "rumors of shady deals" at the Apthorp. Last year, Cyndi Lauper sued an Apthorp resident she was renting an apartment from for charging her too much. While most apartments rent for many thousands, Lauper was paying $3,250 but was outraged that the previous owner had paid $508.
More about the Apthorp from The Upper West Side Book.
