Democratic activist sells Gramercy townhouse

 
A longtime Democratic activist and his wife have sold a Gramercy townhouse for $13.2 million.

William Samuels, a businessman and founder and chairman of the Blue Tiger Democrats, and his wife Marie sold 139 East 19th Street.

The 8,000-square-foot building was the first New York City project for Frederick Sterner, one of the city’s most groundbreaking architects. In 1908, he redesigned what was a brownstone, removing the stoop, adding a cream-colored stucco to the exterior and transforming the interior.

More recently, after years of renovations, most of the house’s interior isn’t original.

Samuels raised money for John Kerry’s Vietnam Veterans Against the War march in 1971 and in 2004 was an executive producer of the documentary “Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry.” Governor David Paterson credited Samuels’ grassroots Blue Tiger movement with helping Democrats win several State Senate races in 2006.

The building, between Irving Place and Third Avenue, was bought by Aaron Hsu and Sasha Cutter, according to public records posted today. It was listed by Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Leslie Mason. TRD