From left: images from 444 West 162nd Street and 351 East 51st Street

When Pedro Noguera moved into a Washington Heights townhouse seven years ago, his children were thrilled to discover an oversized basketball hoop in the backyard. “They were very excited,” recalled Allyson Pimental, Noguera’s wife. That is, until the family discovered that the over-sized hoop — decorated with multi-colored bottle caps — wasn’t actually meant for playing basketball. Rather, it was a sculpture by famed conceptual artist David Hammons. The sculpture is now for sale along with the house at 444 West 162nd Street near Jumel Terrace. Tracie Hamersley, a senior vice president at Citi Habitats, listed the 3,400-square-foot townhouse this week for $1.5 million, or $6,000 per month for rent. Meanwhile, deep-pocketed renters now have even more options to choose from. A $50,000-per-month rental at the Beekman Regent in Turtle Bay hit the market yesterday, according to listing broker Dennis Hughes of the Corcoran Group. Click here for more.

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From left, Corcoran’s Pamela Liebman and EVP of sales Tresa Hall gave out the annual company awards to Robby Browne, Leighton Candler, Dennis Hughes, among others

The Corcoran Group held its annual Manhattan and Brooklyn awards ceremony Tuesday, with Robby Browne, a senior vice president and associate broker, taking top honors as Salesperson of the Year. The event was held at the Nokia Theater in Times Square with guest speakers Real Estate Board of New York Chairwoman Mary Ann Tighe and New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer. Corcoran CEO Pamela Liebman and Executive Vice President of Sales Tresa Hall presented the awards. In addition to Browne, winners included Carrie Chiang, who was named East Side Salesperson of the Year, Sherry Matays, who was recognized as West Side Salesperson of the Year, Fabienne Lecole as Carnegie Hill Salesperson of the Year, and Julie Pham as Chelsea Salesperson of the Year. Lisa Fitzig was named Manhattan Rookie of the Year and Dennis Hughes was rental agent of the year for Manhattan. Leighton Candler received the Deal of the Year award, though as of press time the company remained mum on the deal in question. For a picture from the ceremony, click here. This week, Corcoran also released its 2009 annual list of the top performing agents on the East End. TRD
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Through Tyra Bank’s (left) ‘Top Model’ show, finalist Laura Sioux Kirkpatrick (middle) scored a free six-month lease at 240 Central Park South

New York City landlord James Korein has never seen the hit CW television show “America’s Next Top Model.” So when he was asked to donate an apartment as a prize for one of the
contestants, he had to ask his 20-something-year-old daughters what
they thought of the idea. The women were excited about the idea and advised him to do it, Korein told The Real Deal. “People seem to be very tuned in to this show,” said Korein, whose
family owns a number of properties in Manhattan. “We thought it sounded
like an interesting promotional opportunity.” Sure enough, ‘Top Model’ contestant Laura Sioux Kirkpatrick will be moving
into a studio at Korein’s prewar building, 240 Central Park South,
sometime in the next few months, and living there rent-free under a
six-month lease.
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