Jonathan Leitersdorf

Morning Memo: Whitney Port's Already Working for DVF; Pirates Attack a Real Estate Investor's Yacht; Samantha Ronson's New Book

Whitney Port at a US Open <br>party last Friday.
Getty Images.
Whitney Port at a US Open
party last Friday.

The Hills' Whitney Port may have already started her new job working as in-house PR for Diane von Furstenberg. [NY Daily News]

Gotham magazine editor and socialite Cristina Greeven Cuomo is reportedly next in line to make an appearance on Gossip Girl. [P6]  

Jonathan Leitersdorf--real-estate investor and former owner of Noho's Sky Studios, an 11,000 square foot event space where the Seinfelds got married and several episodes of Sex and the City were shot--owns a 178-foot yacht that was just attacked by pirates off the coast of Corsica. The men were carrying "rifles and guns" and made off with $200,000 in cash, jewelry, and art work.  read more »

Where the Air Is Rarefied

Broker Adam Modlin, who counts Yankee Alex Rodriguez as a client, mounts the triplex
James Hamilton
Broker Adam Modlin, who counts Yankee Alex Rodriguez as a client, mounts the triplex

Look, you can see Britney Spears’ former penthouse,” said real-estate agent Adam Modlin,  read more »

Luxury Roundup: Geffen, Pinault, and Burkle

  • Billionaire Ron Burkle is preparing to spend "up to $50 million" on a new Manhattan residence. And Jonathan Leitersdorf's Broadway penthouse (and Sex and the City party pad) is finally taking a breather from the luxury market.(New York Post)
  • David Geffen may be selling off millions of dollars in art (not to mention Dreamworks), but he still closed on the duplex penthouse at 810 Fifth Avenue. Also, The Observer reported last month that French billionaire Francois Pinault sold his duplex at 515 Park Avenue. According to William Neuman, the mogul is having a problem with Ian Schrager over at 50 Gramercy. (New York Times)
- Michael Calderone

Corcoran Gets Into Yacht Business

Housing boom or not, Manhattan is still just and island. Today's luxury brokers lack the sprawl of Florida or Southern California, where new McMansions extend for miles. So the Corcoran Group has a new solution for wealthy buyers in need space: buy a yacht.

They are the first New York City brokerage company to dive headfirst into the boating trade, teaming up with Monte Carlo-based Edmiston and Company.

"Corcoran has a wide-ranging, high-end clientele," said broker Wendy Maitland. "We both thought it would be mutually beneficial."

Before today, Ms. Maitland had only two yacht listings on the Corcoran site, including one $35 million vessel belonging to Israeli investor Jonathan Leitersdorf (it's called the Tiara). Incidentally, for all your landlubbers, Ms. Maitland still has the listing for Mr. Leitersdorf's $20 million Greenwich Village loft (which made a notable cameo on Sex and the City).  read more »

Corcoran has the co-exclusive listing on about thirty yachts, ranging in price from approximately $800,000 to $60,000,000.

- Michael Calderone

Meet the $20 M. Loft

The most expensive loft apartment in Manhattan history is close to trading hands.  read more »