From left: the Atelier at 635 West 42nd Street, Lindsay Lohan, Dane Cook, Dania Ramirez and Brendan Fraser

When new Manhattan condo the Atelier debuted in 2007, actress Lindsay Lohan was offered an apartment there (reportedly for free) to help give West 42nd Street building some star power. Though the ploy was widely reported as a publicity stunt, it seems to have helped get other celebrities’ attention. Sources say comedian Dane Cook recently checked out apartments in the Far West Side building. The funnyman will appear in Neil LaBute’s “Fat Pig” on Broadway this spring. Meanwhile, “Entourage” hottie Dania Ramirez has been renting an apartment at the Atelier for the past six months.  Brendan Fraser also scoped out the building this fall, when he did a short stint on Broadway in “Elling.” [more]

Clockwise from top left: Curtis Granderson signs autographs for fans, the indoor rock climbing wall at 515 East 72nd Street, outside 515 East 72nd Street, and (from left) Jim Sheehan, Curtis Granderson and Loretta Bradbury at the event

Yankees center-fielder Curtis Granderson headlined an event last night at the site of his current New York crash pad, 515 East 72nd Street, a new condominium which is revamping its image now that it has ended its association with the Arizona-based resort and spa, Miraval. Residents at the condo formerly known as Miraval Living, which started sales in 2007, have waited a long time for the building’s much-hyped spa facilities to open. The sponsor, River Terrace Apartments, has a new spa operator lined up and plans to announce it to residents within the next few weeks, the sales team told The Real Deal. In the meantime, Granderson appeared to provide a welcome distraction. [more]

Serena Boardman (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan)

From the December issue: It’s 2005, and golden-haired socialite
Serena Boardman is sunning herself on a yacht near the coast of
Sardinia in Italy. Nearby, her friend Dori Cooperman — now best known
for befriending actress Lindsay Lohan in rehab — is on the phone with
a reporter from W Magazine, chronicling the addictive qualities of
photo Web site PatrickMcMullan.com. Boardman interjects with her
opinion of the site, which documents the social lives of New York
City’s glitterati. “Tell him it captures a moment,” she shouts. Until
recently, the scene was typical for the 39-year-old Boardman, the
jet-setting heiress to a banking fortune whose stepmother is a European
princess. Along with society pals like Alexandra von Fürstenberg and Blaine Trump, Boardman spent her 20s being photographed in couture gowns at galas and benefits all over New York and Palm Beach, often with her equally glamorous sister, Samantha. Magazines chronicled her taste in clothes (Roberto Cavalli ruffled cocktail dresses) and jewelry (Verdura). She held jobs at the Web site Luxuryfinder.com and in the jewelry department at Sotheby’s. But to the media they were a postscript to Boardman’s glamorous social life. So it comes as a surprise to those who know Boardman that only a few years later, she’s morphed into one of the most successful real estate brokers in the business. [more]