After three years, Mike Piazza has scored a buyer for his Tribeca triplex at 161 Hudson Street, though the price isn’t necessarily something to cheer at. According to the Observer, an LLC has closed on the 3,012-square-foot, two-bedroom unit for $4.58 million, just $360,000 more than what the Mets’ former star catcher bought it for seven years ago. Piazza originally wanted $6.8 million for the home, when it hit the market in July 2008. He later slashed the price to $6.5 million before pulling it out of the game altogether in February 2009. The listing never officially came back online after that, but someone must have brought in a pinch-hitter. [NYO]

Sterling American Property, the real estate investment management fund controlled by Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz’s Sterling Equities, is letting go of a struggling Long Island office complex in a deed in lieu of foreclosure, according to the Wall Street Journal. The 127,000-square-foot Hauppauge property, Woodlands Office Park, had a loan balance of $12.7 million as of last summer, which was being overseen by special servicer ORIX Capital Markets. [more]

The New York Mets’ Citi Field Stadium in Queens has, as yet, failed to receive a final certificate of occupancy and sign-off from the city, because a number of its retail spaces remain vacant, according to the Wall Street Journal. Sources state the heavily industrial neighborhood as a reason for difficulty in filling the spaces.

It’s a similar story for the Yankees who have failed to gain approval from the Public Design Commission, a body that views permanent works of art, architecture and landscape architecture proposed for city-owned property, for the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. They haven’t even filed for approval, but a spokesperson was keen to clarify that the team has not been bypassing regulations; a spokesperson told the WSJ that they’d be filing shortly. [more]

R.A. Dickey

From the April issue: Florida’s youngest snowbirds — East Coast Major League Baseball players — make a pilgrimage each year to train among the royal palms. For the New York Mets, that means heading to Port St. Lucie, Fla., which is located beyond the northern tip of Palm Beach.

Most of these players live in New York City during the season, so finding a Florida pad for spring training can be a challenge. To find a comfortable roost, players use all the tools at their disposal, from staying with friends to — yes, that’s right — Craigslist.

“I found my place on Craigslist,” Mets knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey told The Real Deal last month at Digital Domain Park before the team’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals. “That’s how that worked out for me down here for the last two years.”

This year, Dickey said, he rented a three-bedroom home in Port St. Lucie with his family during spring training, which wrapped up late last month. [more]

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From the March issue: Developer and New York Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon has been building his real estate empire since the early 1970s. But, as has been widely reported, the fall of Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff has been wreaking havoc for him. Last month, Madoff said that Wilpon, who was invested in his funds, “knew nothing” about his scam. But Madoff’s victims are going after Wilpon and his partners for millions, and now he’s shopping for new Mets investors. Here’s a look at the trajectory of his career. [more]

Celebrities packed the Hammerstein Ballroom last night for Comedy Central’s roast of Donald Trump, the developer, presumed presidential candidate, “Celebrity Apprentice” overlord, prospective baseball mogul, hopeful Tavern on the Green rescuer, and all-around overexposed personality. Word is that the roast — slated to air March 15 at 10:30 p.m. — was pretty brutal (from comedian Jeff Ross: “Actually, Donald, Comedy Central wanted to roast someone more likable, but Bernie Madoff was busy!”), but at least it’s all for a good cause. TMZ reports that Trump was originally against the public humiliation, but agreed when he found out it came with a $2 million payday. Trump will be donating the entirety of his earnings last night to charity, he said, before declaring to the audience post-roast, “What a great honor it must be for you to honor me here tonight!” [TMZ] and [Fancast]

Mets principal owner Sterling Equities is considering selling part of the team to “strategic partners” due to the financial uncertainty created by the lawsuit filed against them by the trustee in the Bernie Madoff bankruptcy case, the Post reported. Fred Wilpon, the team’s CEO, and his son Jeff Wilpon, the COO, said in a statement that they have hired investment bank Allen & Co. to explore alternatives, including adding one or more strategic partners. While Sterling Equities is working to settle the suit, it wants to “address the air of uncertainty created by this lawsuit, and to provide additional assurance that the New York Mets will continue to have the necessary resources to fully compete and win,” the statement said. [more]

Real estate investor Fred Wilpon and his Sterling Equities were hit with a lawsuit today by the trustee overseeing the recovery of funds for victims of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, according to the Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit was filed under a seal, but Sterling Equities is among those Madoff investors that trustee Irving Picard has said emerged from the scandal with net gains. In a court filing last year, Picard had said that a partnership associated with Wilpon’s New York Mets deposited a total of $523 million with Madoff and ultimately came away with around $571 million. [more]

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With its opening day immenent, more details on legendary Mets player
Darryl Strawberry’s new Queens restaurant have been revealed, according
to the New York Post. When the eatery, fittingly called Strawberry’s
Sports Grill, opens next Thursday, it will feature his 1983 Mets jersey
and his Shea Stadium locker. The Douglaston restaurant will also have
baseball-themed food items, including the “Grand Slam appetizers.” And,
just in time for the restaurant’s opening, Strawberry will be inducted
into the Mets’ Hall of Fame this weekend. [Post]

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