Cavallo, my sweet: A sunny island with a noirish past
My debut story for Departures magazine appears in its new, October issue and looks at the chiarosco history and bright present of the Isle de Cavallo, a tiny French island nestled between Corsica and Sardinia. It’s behind a firewall for now, available only to subscribers, but I’ll post a link once it’s unlocked. Until then, […]
At long last, 740’s Speight pad sells
The longtime home of 740 Park’s longtime co-op board head Randolph Speight (a compelling presence in my book 740 Park) and his widow June, on the market since her 2008 death, is reported sold today by Kim Velsey at the New York Observer. She IDs the buyers as Jonathan Sobel, a former Goldman Sachs partner, […]
Real Estate Mud Wrestling: 15CPW vs. One57
The New York Times Big Deal column is as obsessed with Extell’s upraised starchitect digit on 57th Street, One57, as I am with 15CPW, and in his latest installment of Gary Barnett Eats Midtown, reporter Alexei Barrionuevo talks about the push and pull of providing the billionaires Barnett says are flocking to buy apartments there […]
One57 Mystery Buyer: A (Not So) Big Reveal
Our local newspapers are lately locked into a top-this battle to hype uber-luxe apartments for the uber-wealthy. Extell’s Gary Barnett, now feverishly flogging his West 57th Street development One57, is the current master of highrise hype. But though his fan dance is all about obfuscation, the real estate gossips are all atwitter as he pours […]
If it’s September, this must be 834 Fifth
When I started researching the book that became 740 Park, I began with a list of fascinating buildings, and eventually settled on one. But the others retain their fascination and thanks to Avenue, which gave me a column in the spring named after my current book, Unreal Estate, I now get to write about them, […]
Meet the Met
An exclusive story in today’s New York Post alleges that there is a secret deal between the Metropolitan Musem of Art and neighboring co-ops to “scale down big plans for the institution’s iconic plaza.” It apppears, however, that some of those neighbors are not going to lie down and acquiesce to any plan to turn […]
Oscar de la Renta: A Thin-Skinned Weiner?
In today’s WWD, Oscar de la Renta (formerly Oscar Renta), the fashion designer and husband of Metropolitan Museum of Art Vice Chairman Annette de la Renta (formerly Anne France Mannheimer, Annette Engelhard, and Annette Reed) sticks a pin into New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn. The question is, Huh? Oscar was apparently offended by […]
Museum Piece: Vintage Miuccia Prada
In 1993, I interviewed Miuccia Prada in Milan for a story (never written) on the revival of venerated labels like Prada and Gucci. The tape popped out of a box in storage not long ago, and the conversation is published here for the first time.
Dona Quixote: The Model Edition
The New York Observer’s crack observer Drew Grant looks at what goes on behind the scenes at Fashion Week in a cover story today–and it isn’t a pretty picture. Readers of Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women already knew that, but this regular reminder was inspired by a new documentary, Girl Model, and Sara […]