"Dave Bruno" (credit: Rentboy.com) and the Sheffield

Residents of the Sheffield may not have seen the last of Stephan Greving, the admitted prostitute who allegedly hosted clients at his luxury sublet and was caught in a police sting operation.

He and the condominium board recently settled an eviction suit, as previously reported, but The Real Deal has learned that the deal gives Greving another month to vacate the apartment, when his lease ends, while the unit owners, an Italian couple named Bruno Cova and Bettina Beck, must pay the board $10,000 in legal fees and in exchange for settling the claims. [more]

From left: "Dave Bruno" on Rentboy.com and the Sheffield

An alleged male prostitute has been evicted from his residence in a settlement reached yesterday between the Sheffield condominium board and the owners of the unit, Habitat reported.

Since May 2011 Stephan Greving, an alleged male prostitute called “Dave Bruno,” has been renting a 33rd floor apartment at the Midtown building, at 322 West 57th Street, from an Italian couple who purchased it back in 2008 for over $1.3 million, as The Real Deal first reported. [more]

From left: the Sheffield, Rentboy.com escort "Dave Bruno" and Bruno Cova, co-chair of Paul Hastings in Milan

The Sheffield condominium board has gone to court to force the eviction of an alleged male escort who serviced clients from his rental unit at the luxury Midtown West condo tower.

Stephan Greving, who pleaded guilty to one prostitution-related count this past October, was renting the apartment from an Italian couple, who purchased the 33rd floor unit in 2008. [more]

The Sheffield sales team (click image for slide show)

January is barely half over and already those New Year’s resolutions seem like a distant memory. But for the marketing team behind the Sheffield condominium tower, an event last night was a chance to combine self-betterment (or at least self-indulgence) with a tour of newly opened amenity spaces (click the image above or here for the slide show).

Brokers trickled into the “New Year New You” gathering, which took place in a three-bedroom pad on the 56th floor, which is priced at a sliver under $4.7 million, for organic juices, chair massages and a chance to win a gourmet meal. [more]

A penthouse unit in the Sheffield and Marketing Directors President Jacqueline Urgo

Three weeks ago, the Marketing Directors unveiled the 10 penthouses on the 56th and 57th floors of the Sheffield, and The Real Deal got a sneak peek at the units and their impressive views — just as the overcast weather cleared — today (see photos above). Asking prices for the two- and three-bedroom penthouses at the condominium conversion at 322 West 57th Street range from $2.55 million to $5.25 million for a unit overlooking Central Park, and apparently buyers won’t have much room for negotiation.

“We’re hardly open to any negotiations on those units — being that they are the crown jewels of the building,” Jacqueline Urgo, president of the Marketing Directors, said. “We’re going to hold out for the best prices.”
[more]

From left: Yair Levy, Rector Square (source: PropertyShark) and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman

A state Supreme Court judge has ordered developer Yair Levy to pay $7.4 million in restitution to the Rector Square condominium and permanently banned him from selling real estate in New York state.

Judge Joan Lobis found last month that Levy defrauded the Battery Park City condo conversion, spending millions of dollars in reserve fund money on illegal personal and general business expenses, including charge card accounts, mobile phone bills and writing checks to family members.

The judgment permanently bans Levy from selling condos or co-op projects in New York state, virtually ending a career lasting more than 30 years in the U.S. [more]

The Sheffield

Newly relaunched condo conversion the Sheffield, which is revamping its image after several years of bad PR during Kent Swig’s tenure, has announced a partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue that confers privileges on the building’s residents.

According to the Marketing Directors, the building’s exclusive sales agent, Sheffield owners now have access to special events at the department store, including a “match-making event” at the end of February in which residents will be paired with their own “personal styling consultant.” TRD [more]

Kent Swig

Employees at Kent Swig’s real estate investment firm Swig Equities and commercial brokerage Helmsley Spears are reportedly feeling jittery and even looking for other jobs as their boss’ debt woes threaten to encroach on their own financial wellbeing. Swig has missed his staff’s payroll multiple times this year, one source told the Observer. While he has always made up the difference within a few days, staffers have hardly been encouraged by the incidents. Swig has also been served with an eviction notice on the two floors at 770 Lexington Avenue he leases from jeans retailer Diesel for the offices of Swig Equities and Helmsley Spears. And after this year’s auction of his failed condo conversion project at the Sheffield on 57th Street, Swig’s 140 Williams Street, which he bought for $24 million has been put into special servicing by lender Capital One. “I’m meeting with all his creditors and trying to come up with a global restructuring,” said Y. David Scharf, Swig’s attorney. Scharf said he hopes Swig “can live to fight another day, like many real estate developers have in the past and will in the future.” [NYO] [more]