The Real Deal New York

Bill Murray and the Villager (Building photo via StreetEasy)

Comedian Bill Murray put his penthouse duplex at the Villager on the rental market only three weeks ago, but he has already dropped the rent by $2,000 — from $14,500 to $12,500, the New York Post reported. [more]

Judi Desiderio

From the May issue: 5:00 a.m. My eyes open at 5 and I get out of bed at 5:30. I’m a morning person and hit the ground at level 10. 5:45 a.m. I make some French-press coffee: half decaf and half regular, because I’m wired by nature. I drink three cups. While the coffee is steeping, I walk outside. I live on a bay in East Hampton. The other day, I walked to the garden to see what the deer didn’t get, but they had eaten part of my rhododendrons. They must have been really hungry this year. [more]

Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Fort Greene is slated for a five-story, 32-room hotel along Park Avenue, according to Department of Buildings permits seen by Brownstoner.

The hotel will rise over three vacant lots between Cumberland Street and Carlton Avenue, and will be part of the Choice Hotels group which includes Comfort Inn, Quality Inn and Clarion Hotels, the owner told Brownstoner. [more]

A rendering of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

The U.S. Tennis Association has only one more step to take before it can expand its complex in  Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, DNAinfo reported. The proposal, which has been criticized by preservationists, now goes before the City Council after the Planning Commission signed off on it Wednesday.

In its $500 million plan, the USTA is looking to overhaul its 42-acre Billie Jean King National Tennis Center; replace the aging Louis Armstrong Stadium; build a  Grandstand Stadium and two parking garages; and replace seven tennis courts. [more]

101 Central Park West and George Gershwin

A scion of the Gershwin family has sold his co-op apartment at 101 Central Park West for $5.37 million, the New York Observer reported.

Marc Gershwin, the son of George and Ira’s brother Arthur, lived in the 15th-floor classic seven apartment for three decades. In late 2012, brokers Lorraine Ding and Michele Gershwin of Akam Sales managed to find a buyer for the unit, which was listed for $5.75 million, but the buyer was ultimately rejected by the co-op board. They then found the current buyer, Eiko Adams, a resident of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. [more]

Alberto Vilar and the apartment at 860 United Nations Plaza

Half of the “golden” duplex at 860 United Nations Plaza that once belonged to notorious fraudster Alberto Vilar is back on the market with an asking price of $4.95 million, Curbed reported. [more]

East Village in the 1970s (Photo by Ann Sanfedele via Vanishing New York)

Developer lists China-inspired Bridgehampton home for $28 million. Trinity Prep School on Upper West Side looks to raise low-income tenant rents by 41 percent. Douglas Steiner’s planned apartment tower in the East Village could desecrate the dead, preservationists say. Brooklyn Navy Yard to host high-speed nighttime cycle racing. How eyewear store Warby Parker made the transition to brick-and-mortar. Read these stories and more after the jump.

Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal:
1. Ben Shaoul’s Magnum unloads FiDi rental building for $25M 
2. Shvo resurfaces as High Line developer
3. NYC players make $1.3B-plus bids for 650 Madison Ave. 

Tim Tompkins and the old New York Times building

Times Square may be experiencing a mini technology boom, with tech companies including Yahoo and Microsoft snapping up 633,000 square feet of space in the neighborhood over the last 18 months, according to data provided to The Real Deal by the Times Square Alliance, a business improvement district group. [more]

A rendering of 56 Leonard Street and a rendering of 432 Park Avenue

High demand for super-luxury homes has tilted the scales, if you will, in favor of tall, skinny residential developments, the Wall Street Journal reported.

With buyers shelling out $3,000 per square foot for apartments perched in the sky, it makes financial sense for the developers to build needle-like towers. Previously, builders acquired wide sites, since constructing tall properties on small sites was expensive, the Journal said. [more]