Madonna will have to go to court after a resident in her Central Park
West building at 1 West 64th Street has complained that she was being too loud, the New York
Post reported. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge is letting a complaint
by resident Karen George, who claims that Madonna would
play music and dance around so loudly downstairs that her apartment
above would shake, go to trial. [more]

Sandy Gallin and his “Serenity” estate

Talent manager Sandy Gallin has unloaded his 14-acre Bridgehampton estate for $17.5 million, or 45 percent off of its original, $32 million asking price in September 2009, according to Curbed. Gallin, whose celebrity client roster has included Michael Jackson and Barbara Streisand over the course of his career, had dubbed the property — the combination of three lots, including a pond, pool and 6,500-square-foot house — “Serenity.” Madonna was at one point rumored to be the buyer, but Bill Williams, vice president at Sotheby’s, now confirms that it was actually Matt Coffin, of lowermybills.com fame and fortune, and his wife, Los Angeles designer and one-time Wilhelmina Models president Natasha Esch, who were brought in by Sotheby’s broker Rylan Jacka and triumphed in a “bidding war.” [more]

BHS’ John Burger and San Remo

The San Remo, the legendary twin-towered co-op at 145 Central Park West, is primed to shatter its own sales records with one apartment in contract for upwards of $15 million and another on the market for $20 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The first, a 19th-floor apartment with a 2,500-square-foot terrace that was listed for $17.5 million with John Burger of Brown Harris Stevens, went into contract last week. If it closes, it would be the highest-priced sale ever in the iconic building, which has been home to celebrities like Rita Hayworth, Bono and Steven Spielberg, thanks to a notably lax co-op board that doesn’t tend to shy away from big names as much as its peers across the park. (Though, the San Remo’s board did notoriously reject Madonna in 1985). But a $15 million-plus record sale would likely not hold that title for long: the 11-room apartment four floors below has already set a record with its $20 million listing price, and brokers say the very top of the market in New York City is holding strong despite a bleak residential market elsewhere. The 4,250-square-foot apartment, which is also listed by Burger, has three bedrooms, including a master suite that boasts a 23-foot spa bath and dressing room. [WSJ]

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A private driveway and garage at East 94th Street between Lexington and Third avenues is a rarity in Manhattan with more than 1.5 million cars competing for a scarcity of spots, the New York Times reported. Parking is becoming an expensive and often controversial luxury in New York City, as The Real Deal columnist Michael Stoler noted. The owners of the Upper East Side garage sued the city for the right to build it, but since then, the City Council has been cracking down on regulations meant to tighten restrictions on curb cuts and zoning laws to prevent others from doing the same. At a West Chelsea building at 200 11th Avenue, apartments with private garages range from $5 million to more than $17 million, broker Leonard Steinberg told the Times. Madonna paid $32 million for a townhouse with a two-car garage, but even a one-car garage could add more than $500,000 to the value of a house, said Dexter Guerrieri, president of Manhattan brokerage Vandenburg, the Townhouse Experts. [NYT]

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After dropping $32 million on her townhouse at 152 East 81st Street last April, Madonna is making some major changes to her 12,000-square-foot pad, according to the New York Post. The celeb singer is adding a new, 1,614-square-foot floor to her home, which will be used as a gym, according to city records. But the $1.7 million renovation doesn’t stop there — Madonna also plans to gut renovate the property’s 10 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms, reports show. Also among the additions to her home are a hair salon, a luggage-only closet and an additional master bedroom. [Post]

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After dropping $32 million on her townhouse at 152 East 81st Street last April, Madonna is making some major changes to her 12,000-square-foot pad, according to the New York Post. The celeb singer is adding a new, 1,614-square-foot floor to her home, which will be used as a gym, according to city records. But the $1.7 million renovation doesn’t stop there — Madonna also plans to gut renovate the property’s 10 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms, reports show. Also among the additions to her home are a hair salon, a luggage-only closet and an additional master bedroom. [Post]

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The Lower East Side building that has housed the Eisner Brothers Store for the past 30 years is on the market for $18 million. The building at 75 Essex Street, listed by Lisa Bornstein of Bond New York, is being marketed as a potential condo conversion, “akin to Nolita’s Candle Building,” or for use as an office building, hotel, or museum. It will be delivered vacant with 19,300 square feet of air rights. Still, Eisner has some ideas of his own. In an interview with Bowery Boogie, he said the contract for whoever ends up taking the property off his hands will require the new owner to leave the exterior “as is.” He envisions the property as a “single-family home for a famous person… someone like Madonna.” Eisner also noted that it has the “potential for a swimming pool in the rear yard.” [Bowery Boogie]

From left: Natavia Lowery and Linda Stein

Jury selection continued today in the case of Natavia Lowery, the former personal assistant to Linda Stein who is charged with killing the celebrity real estate broker.

Twenty-eight potential jurors were brought into a courtroom on the 13th floor or Manhattan’s State Supreme Court before Justice Richard Carruthers.

Lowery, 28, dressed in a khaki top and dark brown pants, listened to her lawyer as the jurors were seated. Her mother, Lottie Lowery Walsh, sat in the back of the courtroom apparently praying.

Stein, 62, was found bludgeoned on the floor of her Fifth Avenue apartment Oct. 30, 2007. A week and half later, Lowery was arrested, and she allegedly confessed to killing Stein by hitting her multiple times with a yoga stick in a videotaped interview. She later recanted her statement. TRD [more]

Madonna is coming to the Hamptons and bringing her horses with her. The singer is reportedly buying Wild Ocean Farm, a 30-acre horse farm north of the highway at 450 Mitchells Lane in Bridgehampton. The land, which belongs to Kelly Klein, the ex-wife of Calvin Klein, was purchased for under $10 million without a broker. There’s no house on the farm, save maybe a groom’s apartment, brokers familiar with the property say, and although Madonna is also looking to buy an adjacent 24 acres on 1151 Millstone Road — the property also known as 10 Mitchells Lane is listed at $2.4 million — she probably wouldn’t be able to build a home on either plot. According to internal broker notes obtained by the Post, Suffolk County is angling to buy the development rights for the land, and may already own them. [Post]

Madonna is home hunting for her Brazillian model boyfriend, Jesus Luz, on the Upper East Side. The pop singer asked her real estate agent, whose identity was not immediately available, to find Luz an apartment in the $1.7 million range that will be within walking distance of her $25 million townhouse on East 81st Street. Although Madonna will be footing the apartment bill for her paramour, who has worked with Marc Jacobs and Dolce & Gabbana, the home will reportedly be in his name.