Leases
Startup moving headquarters to Refinery at Domino
Address: 300 Kent Ave., Brooklyn
Landlord: Two Trees Management Co.
Tenant: Whop
Lease size: 9,554 square feet
Asset type: Office
Children’s book publisher inks Midtown South lease
Address: 381 Park Ave. South, Manhattan
Landlord: ATCO Properties & Management
Tenant: Lee & Low Books
Lease size: 5,844 square feet
Lease length: Three years
Asking rent: $62 per square foot
Asset type: Office
Brokers: Colliers’ Robert Tunis, Kyle Berlinsky and Joseph Mangiacotti represented the landlord.
Durst lands another 675 Third Ave. tenant
Address: 675 Third Ave., Manhattan
Landlord: The Durst Organization
Tenant: Treo Asset Management
Lease size: 2,246 square feet
Asset type: Office
Brokers: Prime Manhattan Realty’s Jonathan Anapol and Todd Abrams represented the tenant. Tom Bow, Ashlea Aaron and Bailey Caliban represented the landlord in-house.
Sales
Developer and Russian food importer swap sites next to large new FedEx center
Address: 73 20th St., Brooklyn
Seller: Bridge Industrial
Buyer: Galina Gendelman
Sale price: $13.5 million
Asset type: Industrial
Address: 60 20th St., Brooklyn
Seller: Galina Gendelman
Buyer: Bridge Industrial
Sale price: $11.5 million
Asset type: Industrial
Financings
Senior housing complex in Two Bridges lands loan
Address: 80 Rutgers Slip, Manhattan
Owner: Ditashiah Kohn
Lender: Merchants Capital
Loan amount: $29.6 million
Asset type: Apartments
Developer finances new building at former health center in Sunset Park
Address: 6025 Sixth Ave., Brooklyn
Owner: Xiao Jun Chen
Lender: East West Bank
Loan amount: $10.2 million
Asset type: Mixed use
In neighborhoods across the city, retail closures are often a cause for mourning. But a wave of shutdowns expected in the coming months instead merits a round of applause.
At long last, state policymakers are moving decisively to facilitate the shutdown of thousands of illegal cannabis shops that have spread across New York City, undercutting the state’s legal weed market and contributing to an air of lawlessness.
The state’s new $237 billion budget allows municipalities to seek emergency court orders to shutter the shops and — critically — empowers state and local authorities to seize cannabis and padlock businesses immediately after an inspection if they are found to be selling illicit products or serving minors. The state also plans to go after suppliers who are stocking the illegal shops. And landlords in the city that fail to start eviction proceedings against an illicit shop within five days of being notified could be fined $50,000.
Meantime, conscientious landlords have a new tool to evict tenants in violation of the law: They will now only have to prove that a business is “customarily or habitually” engaged in selling cannabis without a license, rather than “solely or primarily” doing so.
The policy changes give regulatory and enforcement agencies all the tools they’ve been asking for, so there should be no more excuses. If the state’s Office of Cannabis Management and local authorities including the NYPD follow through, the illicit shops should begin to fall like dominoes. There’s plenty of work to do: While there are about 100 legal cannabis shops open for business across the state, an estimated 2,000 illegal shops have been operating with impunity in New York City alone.
“The illegal shops will not disappear overnight,” Gov. Kathy Hochul cautioned at a press conference with Mayor Eric Adams, who had pushed for the crackdown alongside his Albany ally, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar. “But New Yorkers eventually will see a change in their communities.”
The communities have been waiting long enough; it’s not a big ask to expect government agencies to have planned ahead and put in place common-sense regulation and enforcement mechanisms in advance of legalizing recreational marijuana.
The best time to have shut down the illegal shops was the moment they started popping up. The second best time is now.
The Hamptons summer season is looking as busy as ever. Open houses for new listings have been packed , and the rental market is robust, so don’t expect Long Island Expressway traffic to subside anytime soon. Meanwhile, it’s still business as usual at East Hampton Town Airport, despite efforts to restrict small plane traffic, and Blade still promises to get you there from Manhattan via helicopter in under an hour.
As Memorial Day looms, visitors are already plotting their dining and nightlife reservations. One positive trend for locals and tourists who are looking outside the traditional summer window: Many of the new South Fork restaurants won’t just be seasonal engagements. Places like the buzzy bakery Carissa’s in East Hampton have shown they can stay busy even after the beach crowds depart, and a handful of soon-to-debut options will serve the local community year-round.
Billy Durney, chef and owner of Brooklyn’s celebrated Hometown BBQ, is one of the operators who’ll be feeding diners year-round when his Sag Harbor Tavern opens. He took over last summer’s short-lived Sag Harbor Kitchen to debut an extension of his popular throwback spot Red Hook Tavern, with his famed dry-aged cheeseburger in tow. Meanwhile, Joe Isidori, founder of Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beers — the chain known for its oversized novelty candy-encrusted ice cream shakes — will launch an outpost of his Arthur & Sons in Bridgehampton. And in May the Montauk Yacht Club emerges from its multimillion-dollar renovation with an expansive new waterside restaurant, Ocean Club Montauk.
The summer dining calendar will also be graced with pop-ups from notable New York chefs. Cedric Vongerichten, son of famed French chef Jean-Georges, is bringing his big-flavor Indonesian restaurants Wayan and Ma•dé to the home of Buttero, a cute little cottage by the East Hampton train station. And farther east in Montauk, the French incubator concept Fulgurances will host a series of dinners led by chefs such as Mads Refslund of the thrilling new Ilis.
Read on for the top South Fork restaurants and drinks-fueled spots you need to know before summer officially starts.
Restaurants and NightlifeSag Harbor Tavern, Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor will be home to the Hamptons most talked-about burger when Durney opens an outpost of his classic American spot Red Hook Tavern, complete with its signature, luscious American-cheese-topped patty and its deep vintage wine collection. The tavern, at 26 Bay St. in the former American Legion building, will have 40 seats inside and around 60 outside. There will be an expanded seafood selection, with new raw dishes and wood-fired cooking such as a grilled branzino. To start, the tavern will offer around 150 wines, ranging from bottles from the tiny, women-run Inconnu in California to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, a revered Burgundy.
For decor, Durney says the restaurant will look similar to the Red Hook original, with a turn-of-the-century aesthetic, 1920s-era lighting and floral wallpaper that pays tribute to his grandmother Veronica Sullivan. (As a nurse during World War II, she was honored at the American Legion Hall in Brooklyn, the borough where Durney grew up.) Slated to open: Mid to late May; More information
Village Bistro, East Hampton
In more Hampton burger news: A raclette cheeseburger will be featured on the menu at the unfussy French restaurant Village Bistro. It’s taking over the longstanding, cozy East Hampton Village space that previously housed Rowdy Hall, which relocated to Amagansett last November. New owners, real estate developer Adam Potter and local hospitality firm NSN Hospitality, are giving the place a bistro look characterized by a taupe, teal and salmon color scheme and anchoring the space with a 12-seat copper bar. Also on the menu: classics like duck confit salad and poached pear. Slated to open: May 10; More information
Isidori is bringing his 1990s-era West Village Italian-American red sauce joint Arthur & Sons Out East. The place, at 203 Bridgehampton Sag Harbor Tpk., will have a 70-seat dining room, a patio and spacious 15-seat bar — and, says Isidori, an “old school-new school vibe.” In Bridgehampton, he’ll lean into seasonality and serve plates like lobster pomodoro over the tube-shaped pasta paccheri as well as a burrata Caprese salad with local tomatoes.
The menu will also include staples such as Isidori’s mom’s beef and Italian sausage meatballs with ricotta. The space features wall-to-ceiling honeyed wood paneling, along with red, green and yellow Tiffany lights and Rat Pack era art, giving the place a rustic feel. Grab a patio seat and try a pasta alongside a limoncello spritz. Slated to open: May 23; More information
Il Pellicano and Bijoux, Southampton
Nightlife impresario Kyky Conille (founder of the Meatpacking District’s now shuttered Provocateur) is taking the party to the former Blu Mar space at 136 Main St. in Southampton, expanding his Il Pellicano and Bijoux — the Little Italy Italian restaurant and 1920s Paris-inspired lounge opened in January — with a year-round restaurant and club. Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito is designing the new Italian seafood-forward menu, which will be served in a clean space defined by forest green banquettes and gold accents. The menu will range from ubiquitous seafood towers to garlic and white-wine-braised shrimp and spring vegetable pasta.
At the adjacent Bijoux club, patrons will have the option to order bottle service or à la carte cocktails including a spritzy and tropical-tasting elixir with lemongrass-infused Campari, fresh strawberries and Champagne until 4 a.m. Slated to open: May 23
Montauk Beach House Bar & Grill, Montauk
When the Montauk Beach House team decided to replace last year’s pizza and tacos menu, they turned to Yanni Papagianni, director of operations, who grew up in Cyprus. The popular and perpetually packed beach bar and grill is going Greek, with options such as a lamb burger with goat’s milk feta and cumin aioli alongside other Mediterranean staples like grilled beef kebab with pita and a pickled fennel and fresh-dill-accented Greek salad. The kitchen — which is open from breakfast through dinner — is overseen by Molyvos alum Andres Zeron. Menu items will be served on the property’s lawn along with produce-infused drinks from Nikola Jablanovic, formerly of the Surf Lodge — try the Melon Picante, made with ghost pepper tequila and watermelon juice. Slated to open: May 16; More information
Proper Hospitality — the developers behind chic West Coast hotels like Proper Santa Monica — makes its East Coast debut with a revamp of the Montauk Yacht Club, which opened in 1928 as a private social club. The property’s estimated $13 million facelift includes a 4,500-square-foot restaurant, Ocean Club Montauk, that’s an extension of chef Jarad McCarroll’s Caribbean-based upscale American spot, Ocean Club St Barths. The vast space has wraparound water views with three dining rooms that offer seating both indoors and out. On the menu: red snapper tartare as well as five-hour charcoal and wood roasted beef accented with smoked beetroot ketchup.
Prime seats include the U-shaped, six-seat chef’s table, where McCarroll preps his dishes in front of guests. To drink, there’s Italian rosato or the Sunset Sour, the bar team’s take on a negroni with Campari, gin, sweet vermouth, passionfruit and egg white. Slated to open: Early June; More information
Pop-upsWayan + Ma•dé x Buttero, East Hampton
As a follow-up to last summer’s two-week residency in Amagansett, husband-and-wife team Cedric and Ochi Vongerichten are staging a full-scale takeover in East Hampton, just a few minutes walk from the train station. They’re bringing their Nolita Indonesian restaurants Wayan and Ma•dé to Buttero from May 24 through Sept. 2. The best seats will be those on the patio, where guests can sample a gin-spiked Calamansi Fizz alongside local heirloom tomatoes with samba oelek vinaigrette, ginger turmeric-dressed fluke sashimi as well as Wayan’s signature wavy wheat noodles with lobster in a creamy black-pepper-flecked sauce.
Fulgurances, in collaboration with sustainable seafood wholesaler Dock to Dish, is branching out to Montauk. The Parisian chef incubator, that runs the Laundromat space in Brooklyn, has taken over an outdoor space at Inlet Seafood Restaurant with four dinners planned from July 1 to Aug. 26. The lineup includes Nicholas Tamburo (Claud), Victoria Blamey (Blanca), Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson (Frenchette), and Mads Refslund (Ilis). Each chef will highlight the area’s stellar local seafood, cooked over open-fire. The $250 to $280 six-course meals will include a wine pairing. Fulgurances will announce the specific dates on social media during the first week of May. More information
Zapote Bar, the drinking spot inside the luxe hotel Rosewood Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, Mexico, that ranked No. 11 on the World’s 50 Best Bars North America list, will pop up on July 12-13 at boutique hotel Topping Rose House. Joshua Monaghan, bar director at Zapote, is planning to serve cocktails off his newly launched “Call of the Wild” menu inspired by the Yucatan Peninsula’s Mayan heritage and landscape. Alongside drinks like Mono (a mix of tequila, sour orange liquor, kiwi, guava, green apple and dehydrated lime bitters), guests can sample some of the property’s signature plates including sweet-and-spicy catch-of-the-day ceviche with jicama and orange as well as melty Oaxaca cheese shrimp tacos with habanero mayo. More information
The perks of being famous do not always extend to real estate.
Actor Norman Reedus, a star of the long-running zombie series The Walking Dead, and actor Diane Kruger, of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, have sold their Greenwich Village townhouse after two years and several price cuts.
Itself a star of several media stories, the landmarked Greek Revival-style property at 40 Leroy St. went for $9.4 million, according to a deed made public Thursday.
In 2018 Reedus and Kruger paid $11.8 million for the five-level, stoop-fronted edifice, records show, meaning they accepted a 20% loss on the transaction, which went into contract Feb. 23 and closed April 23, according to the deed.
When the Hollywood couple first listed the red-brick property at Bedford Street in February 2022, they asked about $13 million for the 3,650-square-foot landmark, built in 1837. But as the months dragged on — and home loan costs began rising, weighing on the market — Reedus and Kruger began reining in their ambitions.
In a bid to protect their privacy, perhaps, the celebrity duo shopped their home as a whisper listing, which kept it from the usual listings sites such as Streeteasy. But the off-market approach may have been a double-edged sword.
Whisper listings can have a tough time reaching a broad audience, said Clayton Orrigo, the Compass broker who handled the deal. “They didn’t want their home blasted all over the internet, but off-market listings can be hard to close,” Orrigo said.
Still, 40 Leroy has other challenges, he added. Unusually for a single-family dwelling, it lacks a backyard, though it does feature a spacious and landscaped roof deck. The fact that the property is relatively exposed at a high-traffic location, a few steps from busy Seventh Avenue South, also didn’t do it any favors, he said.
Orrigo declined to identify the buyer, who used the shell company Mr. Sweet Baby James LLC for the purchase. And despite the LLC’s seeming reference to the title of an album by musician James Taylor, a name that also once commonly referred to Taylor himself, Orrigo said that Taylor, a Berkshires resident, was not involved in the deal.
A Prada model and photographer, long-haired Reedus is probably best known for the role of motorcycle-riding hunter Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead, which ran for 11 seasons on AMC until 2022. But in 2023, Dixon, again played by Reedus, got a self-named spin-off, which has been renewed for a second season.
German-born Kruger, meanwhile, has gravitated more toward film roles, including as Bridget von Hammersmark, a German actor turned Allied forces spy in Tarantino’s 2009 hit film Inglourious Basterds. She has also played Helen of Troy in Troy and appeared in Nicholas Cage’s National Treasure franchise. Kruger is scheduled to play German actor Marlene Dietrich in an upcoming TV miniseries.
The couple, who have been together since 2016 and reportedly got engaged in 2021, have not lived in the home for a while, Orrigo said.
Manhattan’s residential market has begun the year in a swoon. In the first quarter, sales activity fell 11% from the year-ago period, according to data from Douglas Elliman, and the median sale price of $1.05 million was down 2% over the same stretch.
The perks of being famous do not always extend to real estate.
Actor Norman Reedus, a star of the long-running zombie series The Walking Dead, and actor Diane Kruger, of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, have sold their Greenwich Village townhouse after two years and several price cuts.
Itself a star of several media stories, the landmarked Greek Revival-style property at 40 Leroy St. went for $9.4 million, according to a deed made public Thursday.
In 2018 Reedus and Kruger paid $11.8 million for the five-level, stoop-fronted edifice, records show, meaning they accepted a 20% loss on the transaction, which went into contract Feb. 23 and closed April 23, according to the deed.
When the Hollywood couple first listed the red-brick property at Bedford Street in February 2022, they asked about $13 million for the 3,650-square-foot landmark, built in 1837. But as the months dragged on—and home loan costs began rising, weighing on the market—Reedus and Kruger began reining in their ambitions.
In a bid to protect their privacy, perhaps, the celebrity duo shopped their home as a whisper listing, which kept it from the usual listings sites such as Streeteasy. But the off-market approach may have been a double-edged sword.
Whisper listings can have a tough time reaching a broad audience, said Clayton Orrigo, the Compass broker who handled the deal. “They didn’t want their home blasted all over the internet, but off-market listings can be hard to close,” Orrigo said.
Still, 40 Leroy has other challenges, he added. Unusually for a single-family dwelling, it lacks a backyard, though it does feature a spacious and landscaped roof deck. The fact that the property is relatively exposed at a high-traffic location, a few steps from busy Seventh Avenue South, also didn’t do it any favors, he said.
Orrigo declined to identify the buyer, who used the shell company Mr. Sweet Baby James LLC for the purchase. And despite the LLC’s seeming reference to the title of an album by musician James Taylor, a name that also once commonly referred to Taylor himself, Orrigo said that Taylor, a Berkshires resident, was not involved in the deal.
A Prada model and photographer, long-haired Reedus is probably best known for the role of motorcycle-riding hunter Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead, which ran for 11 seasons on AMC until 2022. But in 2023, Dixon, again played by Reedus, got a self-named spin-off, which has been renewed for a second season.
German-born Kruger, meanwhile, has gravitated more toward film roles, including as Bridget von Hammersmark, a German actor turned Allied forces spy in Tarantino’s 2009 hit film Inglourious Basterds. She has also played Helen of Troy in Troy and appeared in Nicholas Cage’s National Treasure franchise. Kruger is scheduled to play German actor Marlene Dietrich in an upcoming TV miniseries.
The couple, who have been together since 2016 and reportedly got engaged in 2021, have not lived in the home for a while, Orrigo said.
Manhattan’s residential market has begun the year in a swoon. In the first quarter, sales activity fell 11% from the year-ago period, according to data from Douglas Elliman, and the median sale price of $1.05 million was down 2% over the same stretch.