Ex-wife of killer landlord buys Al Hirschfeld’s former UES mansion for $8M

From Luxury Listings NYC: Al Hirschfeld will no longer be the most colorful owner of 122 East 95th Street. The cheerful pink townhouse, which was formerly owned by Hirschfeld and features a strip of wallpaper with one of his works, sold back in January for $8.25 million. And now we know the buyer, Phyllis Battista, thanks to public records.

Battista is the ex-wife of Ben Odierno, the landlord who made headlines back in 2005 when he killed his second wife, Christine. Odierno was acquitted of murder charges in 2007 on a self-defense plea. Before Odierno was married to Christine, he and Battista lived in 312 East 86th Street, which they bought together in 1966. Battista has lived in the house ever since, and has attracted anger from neighbors for her alleged hoarding and neglect of the building. [more]