Robert De Niro and 14 Saint Luke’s Place

Actor and real estate investor Robert De Niro is looking to unload the 19th century townhouse at 14 Saint Luke’s Place that he’s owned for the past three decades.

The five-story, 22-foot-wide property, which was home to poet Marianne Moore during the 1920s, is on one of the West Village’s most storied and coveted blocks, between Hudson Street and Seventh Avenue.

On the southern side of the street is James J. Walker Park, incidentally the setting for the “Raging Bull” scene where De Niro’s character, Jake LaMotta, first speaks to his future wife, played by Cathy Moriarty. Opposite the park is a line of townhouses that have housed a series of famous figures: former New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker, painters Paul Cadmus and Jared French and journalist Linda Ellerbee, among them. [more]

Clockwise from left: the apartment at the Time Warner Center, Jay-Z and buyer Taek Jho Low

The buyer of Time Warner Center pad previously rented by Jay-Z has been revealed as an entity linked to Malaysian party boy Taek Jho Low, according to the New York Post. At $31 million, or more than $6,400 per square foot, Low paid more than anyone else has ever paid at the luxury site.

This is not an unusual purchase for Low, who has partied regularly with Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox and Paris Hilton. He has owned various trophy properties, including a $33 million penthouse, formerly owned by Donald Trump, on Central Park West, which he sold at a $3 million loss last year.

Insiders told the Post that a “bevy of beautiful Asian women trailed by American men in suits” toured the glamorous 76th-floor condo several times during the negotiations. [more]

From left: Elliman’s Fredrik Eklund and Raphael De Niro, Prodigy Network’s Rodrigo Nino and Trump Soho

After months of speculation, Prudential Douglas Elliman officially got in on the marketing act at Trump Soho, according to Real Estate Weekly. The Real Deal previously reported the hotel-condominium’s developers and lenders were considering replacing the current Prodigy Network-led team with Elliman brokers. According to Real Estate Weekly, Elliman’s Raphael De Niro and Fredrik Eklund will “spearhead” the domestic sales effort for the unaccounted for apartments in the 346-unit tower, while keeping Prodigy in tow. According to Prodigy President Rodrigo Nino, 21 units have entered contract and 19 units have closed since the team unveiled lower prices in the Sapir Organization and Bayrock Group-developed building in late February. [more]

The 4,825-square-foot Time Warner Center penthouse once rented by Jay-Z has gone into contract for $31 million, according to the Post. At over $6,400 per square foot, the deal would be the priciest ever at the Related Companies-developed condominium tower. The 76th-floor spread has tried for building records before; in 2010, current owner Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban’s co-founder of Broadcast.com, put it on the market with the penthouse upstairs as a potential $73.5 million combination — the most expensive listing in Manhattan. On its own, Wagner’s apartment, which he bought from investor Michael Hirtenstein for $27 million in 2007, was last asking $38 million. [more]

Mark Ronson’s apartment at 69 Washington Place

Celebrity musician and DJ Mark Ronson has listed his two-bedroom one-bathroom Greenwich Village apartment for $1.995 million, according to Curbed. Ronson bought the apartment, at 69 Washington Place, between Sixth Avenue and MacDougal Street, for $1.8 million in 2006, according to public records. The 1840s townhouse property contains only four apartments. The Landmarks Preservation Commission recently approved an application for a one-story addition at the back of the building’s third floor, Curbed said. Raphael De Niro, Erica Glassen Losen and Sara Dai of Prudential Douglas Elliman have the listing.

While warm weather still feels far away, with the temperature hovering around 40 degrees, a 4,600-square-foot Soho townhouse — complete with a private outdoor pool, has just hit the market for $5.79 million, according to Curbed. The home, located at 54 King Street between Varick Street and Sixth Avenue, is being marketed by Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Raphael De Niro, Lauren De Niro Pipher and Linda De Niro.  [more]

From left: Howard Lorber, Leonard Steinberg, Herve Senequier, Dolly Lenz, Raphael De Niro and 41 W. 74th Street

A six-story Upper West Side townhouse has just sold for $12.5 million, according to the New York Observer, after a tumultuous past as a would-be condominium development. The townhouse, at 41 West 74th Street, which contains two 3,800-square-foot triplex units, was purchased by Prudential Douglas Elliman honcho Howard Lorber’s Vector Group this past August and was marketed by Elliman top dogs Leonard Steinberg, Herve Senequier, Dolly Lenz and Raphael De Niro. [more]

From left: Tom Brady, the Time Warner Center, Raphael De Niro (building photo source: PropertyShark)

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sold his Time Warner Center condominium unit, for $17.5 million, according to the Observer, not quite the $18.29 million he wanted for it back in 2008. Brady paid $14 million for it in 2006.

Robert Stiller, who founded E-Z Wider rolling papers in 1971 and later took over Green Mountain Roasters coffee, purchased the 3,000-square-foot home. The unit sits on the 74th floor of 10 Columbus Circle and has three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.

Raphael De Niro of Prudential Douglas Elliman brokered the deal. [NYO]
[more]

From left: Dolly Lenz, Raphael De Niro, Joyce Kafati-Batarse and Leonard Steinberg

Superbroker Dolly Lenz and the De Niro Group, led by Raphael De Niro, took home the top prizes at this year’s Prudential Douglas Elliman company awards last night. Lenz won the award for top individual based on both gross commission income and transactions, while the De Niro Group took home the prize for top team based on commission income. The Joyce Kafati-Batarse Team took home the top team prize for number of transactions. The Leonard Steinberg-Luxury Loft Group was the second-place team, based on gross commission income. TRD [more]

From left: Raphael De Niro and his father, Robert De Niro

It’s been only six years since Raphael De Niro got his broker’s license, and he’s already got $600 million worth of property sales and a roster of high-profile clients under his belt. This weekend, the precocious celebrity spawn added a profile in the New York Times to his tally of coveted real estate prizes. But for the son of an Academy Award-winning actor, critics are quick to raise the question of nepotism: how much of Raphael’s success comes from the doors his father, Robert, has helped open for him? [more]