From the South Florida website: Andrew Carmellini, owner of hip New York restaurant the Dutch, is opening a Miami Beach branch of the eatery, he told the New York Times. He called the decision a sort of “homecoming,” as his father is from Miami. “[Miami's] always been my second home,” he said. “My grandfather ran clubs and hotels and my grandmother still lives there.” Carmellini and business partners Josh Pickard and Luke Ostrom will operate the restaurant, which is slated to open inside the W Hotel on Collins Avenue in November, replacing Solea.  [more]

Stanley Friedman, the former Bronx Democratic Party leader who was convicted of racketeering in 1986 and served four years behind bars, now wants to return to a position of power as a member of the board at a posh Miami Beach condominium, the Post reported. Friedman, 74, already serves as the acting general manager of the Alexander’s hotel operations and is up for election to the building’s five-member condo board, where he’d be charged with overseeing the building’s finances, later this month. The Alexander is located in the “Millionaire’s Row” section of Miami Beach’s Collins Avenue. A politician at heart, Friedman has already sent out a biography to his fellow residents, listing accomplishments including having served as Bronx County prosecutor, counsel to the majority leader of the New York City Council and deputy mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs. Of course, he left out the part where he was convicted of rigging city contracts in an effort to defraud the city Parking Violations Bureau and was disbarred as an attorney, though he told the Post that “everybody knows.” [Post]

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Ben Novack Jr., the 53-year-old son of the founder of Miami Beach’s
iconic Fontainebleau resort, was found dead in a Westchester County hotel Sunday, apparently beaten to death. Novack, a convention planner, was
at the Rye Town Hilton for a meeting of Amway representatives. Rye
Brook Police Chief Gregory Austin called it a targeted killing.
Novack’s father, Ben Novack Sr., built the Fontainebleau in the 1950s
and oversaw its heyday as one of the city’s most opulent resorts. He
lost ownership of the hotel in a bankruptcy filing in 1977. [Post] and [Miami Herald] [more]

From the South Florida Web site: Local brokers say former Miami Heat basketball star Shaquille O’Neal has finally sold his Miami Beach mansion, listed first in 2005 for $35 million. The buyer is Vladislav Doronin, Naomi Campbell’s boyfriend. Shaq’s 20,000-square-foot mansion has been an object of fascination and a high-end symbol of the housing crunch ever since. No details on the sale have been released, though it reportedly closed Wednesday. O’Neal had reportedly arranged a November 2007 sale to baseball star Alex Rodriguez for a price between $25 million and $27 million, but deflation took its toll in both sports and real estate and the deal fell through. A November 2008 report put the manse back on the market for $19 million. At the start of this year, another broker listed it for $25 million, and the listing price was dropped in March to $22.5 million. [more]

From the South Florida Web site: A triplex penthouse apartment in the South Tower at the Continuum in
Miami Beach recently sold for $9.9 million and took just 48 hours to
close after being on the market since 2007. The buyers were referred by
Wall Street-based brokerage firm Platinum Properties, who helped
expedite the successful negotiations. “Our buyer was looking for an
exclusive apartment at a luxurious destination along the water, and we
are proud to have helped him find his dream residence atop the
Continuum — a home he was so excited about, he actually closed and
relocated in just a matter of days,” said Khashy Eyn, Platinum’s CEO
and president. The oceanfront, 7,400-square-foot apartment has five
bedrooms, seven and a half baths, and boasts panoramic views of the
Atlantic Ocean, Fisher Island and Downtown Miami. The space also
features 26-foot floor-to-ceiling windows, more than 6,000 square feet
of outdoor terraces, and a private rooftop pool with an outdoor theater
system. TRD [more]