As though he didn’t have it hard enough.
Major League Baseball star Aaron Judge, outfielder for the New York Yankees, has been having a slump on the field, with 37 consecutive strikeout games this season.
Now, he has to endure every New Yorker’s worst nightmare: a new landlord.
Spies tell The Real Deal that Judge recently rented a penthouse apartment at 237 East 34th Street in Murray Hill only to find that the building changed hands just a few months later. The Gilardian family, which runs Manhattan-based Gilar Group, is in contract to scoop up the newly constructed, glassy 23-story rental for $110 million, as TRD reported last month.
Meridian Capital Group’s Lipa Lieberman, the broker on the purchase, declined to confirm whether Judge was a tenant. A spokesperson for Judge did not respond to a request for comment.
While it wasn’t clear exactly which unit Judge bought, StreetEasy data shows that the most recent penthouse unit rented at the building was a duplex with two bedrooms, three bathrooms, two private terraces and a rooftop deck. It was asking $13,900 a month. The building has a fitness center and a “wellness studio.”
The change in ownership shouldn’t be too much of an issue for Judge, since Gilardian plans to maintain the building as a rental. But if the new owner converts the building into a condominium later on, Judge could get the boot.
The pad is still relatively modest for a Yankee. Derek Jeter, the team’s former shortstop, reportedly lived in a penthouse apartment at 845 U.N. Plaza during the height of his career. He sold it for $15.5 million in 2012.
Judge’s recent downswing is a stark contrast to his performance during the first half of the 2017 season, when he hit 30 home runs.
“I’m not getting the job done,” he said recently of his performance.