The Richard Meier-designed Westbeth housing complex, located at 463 West Street in the West Village, has finally achieved landmark status, Curbed reported.

The 383 units, which were originally designed as live-work spaces for artists, are housed within 13 buildings, comprising an entire city block, bound on the north by Bethune Street; on the east by Washington Street; on the south by Bank Street; and on the west by West Street. They were designed by Meier in 1968, before he became famous.

Preservationists have been campaigning for the buildings to be landmarked since 2004, Curbed noted. They’re already on the state and national registers of historic places. The complex is reportedly in a state of disrepair, and requires plumbing and roof fixes. [more]

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]

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]

Condo-hotels, like the Plaza Hotel at 768 Fifth Avenue, and the new Trump Soho at 246 Spring Street, may soon become a thing of the past. The buildings allow condo buyers to access hotel services and restrict their occupancy so that units can be rented out while they are away. But they are now proving difficult to sell — not because of a lack of interest but because of a lack of financing. “There is no financing for condo-hotels, so people have to buy in cash,” said Rodrigo Niño, president of the Prodigy Network, which is marketing Trump Soho. “What we think is, out of the original sales, we’re going to lose 10 to 15 percent of the people who won’t be able to close because of lack of financing.” After their planned 205-unit Nobu Hotel and Residences fell through, Raphael and father Robert De Niro are now planning a new condo-hotel in Miami’s South Beach, but the model is slightly different: Buyers’ occupancy will not be restricted and the units will not be rented out part-time. Condo-hotels using the Trump Soho’s model “are proving to not be successful,” said Raphael De Niro, managing director at Prudential Douglas Elliman. At the Fannie Mae-approved 75 Wall Street, hotel services are being sold to buyers à la carte. “Fannie Mae will not approve a condo-hotel under their guidelines,” said Larry Kruysman of Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, who is directing sales at 75 Wall Street. [NYT]

Fairchild condo partners with Greenwich Hotel: The Fairchild condo in
Tribeca has partnered with Robert De Niro’s Greenwich Hotel. In the
partnership, Fairchild residents can access the hotel’s amenities,
including a 1,000-square-foot fitness center, spa and lounge. The
Fairchild has 21 units including two-, three- and four-bedroom
apartments, with prices ranging from $2 million to $9 million. TRD [more]

Left to right: Jack DeNiro, JC DeNiro’s Chelsea office, Christopher Mathieson

New details of JC DeNiro’s recent closure are emerging. Amidst an ugly legal battle between the two founders, the brokerage ran short of cash and was being evicted from its Chelsea office by the time the company’s closure was announced. JC DeNiro failed to pay March or April rent for its 1,100-square-foot office at 174-A Ninth Avenue at 21st Street, according to the building’s owner, Charles Coutinho, who said he began the process of evicting the six-year-old boutique real estate firm in late March. [more]