Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Robert DeNiro Lists New York City Townhouse


SELLER: Robert DeNiro / Diahne Abbott
LOCATION: New York City, NY
PRICE: $14,000,000
SIZE: 4,158 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Yesterday Your Mama received a covert communique from an informant we call The Rolling Stone who told us about a New York City townhouse long owned by iconic actor Robert DeNiro had arrived on the market with an asking price of $14,000,000. Not surprisingly, the fine folks at The Real Deal beat us to this celebrity real estate punch.

Listing information states this is the "first time in over 30 years" that the 4-floor (plus basement) townhouse has been on the market. Property records reveal that it has actually been almost 36 years since Mister DeNiro acquired the townhouse in October of 1975 for–are y'all sitting down for this–$190,000. No, bunnies, we did not leave out a zero, Mister DeNiro actually paid, according to property records, $190,000 for the the house that's now listed at almost 75 times that amount.

As best as we can tell from the property records the house is owned by Mister DeNiro but occupied by his first wife Diahnne Abbott, the proud momma of New York City über-agent Raphel DeNiro who–natch–holds the listing the pretty West Village pad that overlooks James J. Walker Park where a scene of Raging Bull was shot and where young children scream with delight all day every day as they clamor around on the jungle gyms and swing sets. The New York City Tax Man shows the house measures 4,158 square feet and current listing information shows it's an impressive 22-feet wide, has voluminous 12-foot ceilings on the parlor floor and includes 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.

The Real Deal notes the brick-built house sits just a few doors down from the Huxtable's house on The Cosby Show and a few more doors down from the house where Audrey Hepburn's character lived in Wait Until Dark.

Once upon a time, Your Mama presumes, the main entry was up a stoop on the parlor floor but floor plans included with listing information show that the main entrance is now on the garden level where there is a den/office/bedroom with private pooper and a 32-foot long eat-in kitchen that opens out to a "secluded private garden." The finished basement level has oodles of storage and a room at the back that looks like it might be used as a fitness room with adjoining sauna and stall shower.

The parlor floor has a somewhat awkward but not unworkable plan that consists of a tight but elegant stair hall that leads to a small library/chamber and larger living room with fireplace and a trio of windows that looks down into the rear gardens. A short hall with powder pooper and a pair of coat closets connects the library/chamber to the impractically located dining room.

The master suite occupies the entire third floor and is comprised of large bedroom, substantial private terrace and a bathroom larger than at least two of the townhouse's other bedrooms. An additional room on the third floor–marked as a bedroom on the floor plan–would make an ideal dressing room and Your Mama would be shocked if it were not being used as such by the current resident.

Two large bedrooms and and two tiny bedrooms on the top floor share a single compartmentalized bathroom. Iffin this were our house–and it will never be our house–we'd convert each of the two tiny bedrooms on the fourth floor into fitted dressing rooms for the two larger bedrooms. A discrete door opens into a claustrophobic closet-sized space where a spiral stair winds up to the roof.

In addition to the West Village townhouse, Mister DeNiro's property portfolio also includes an ocean front residence in Montauk, NY, on the same stretch of precious sand as fashion tycoon Ralph Lauren, publishing poobah Jann Wenner, and real estate magnate Steve Roth who in 2008 famously paid $9,400,000 to acquire the beach front house of fallen (an imprisoned) financier Bernie Madoff.

In October 2006 Mister DeNiro and his second wife Grace Hightower paid $20,090,000 to acquire a spectacular 15 room duplex at The Brentwood on Central Park West that they bought from Miramax mogul Harvey Weinstein's ex-wife Eve. Listing information from the time of the purchase shows the low-floor duplex had 5 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms and living room that converted to a state-0f-the-art 35mm screening room.

NOTE: The above photograph shows an out of control vine of some sort cleaving to the front façade. The image is from, according to the Property Shark website, 2005. The choking vine has since been removed as per the single tiny photograph of the exterior presented with the online listing.

photo: Kate Lenova / Property Shark
floor plan: Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

In 1975, amongst the grit, grime and crime in NYC; $190,000 was huge!!

Anonymous said...

Obviously a super investment. I am curious however about the kitchen/dining arrangements. The "dining room" is on the parlor floor while the kitchen is on the garden floor below. There seems to be no dumb waiter or way for the food to get from kitchen to dining room other than for Sveltlana to carry the plates up on a tray or whatever. I note that the kitchen is an "eat in" kitchen. That would solve the problem. But if you eat in the kitchen, why bother to have a dining room at all?

Countervail said...

According to the plans, do you have to transport into the den? There seems to be no doorway in.

Footie said...

I love how there is no door into the den on the garden level -- I guess you have to crawl through the window!

Anonymous said...

Grace is one lucky gal. From airline stewardess to wife of a Hwood legend. I'm sure that she will be the last. Go Grace!

lil' gay boy said...

Wait Until Dark... the best thriller Hitchcock never made.

Even back then (1967), this particular NYC neighborhood was enjoying its shabby gentility, and managed to escape the "President Tells NYC To Go To Hell" era that followed on the heels of Deniro's purchase. Although there's probably not a single urban American neighborhood one could walk the midnight streets with a $20 bill stuck to your shoe, this comes close.

I remember the purchase at the time ––– Deniro was highly thought of for keeping the faith in NYC when others were fleeing ––– he deserves every penny he gets.

I think this townhouse reflects the possibility that little was done to the basic floorplan of the 1850s and thus may still retain some wonderful details. And let's face it ––– anyone who can plonk down $14MM is gonna have a few spare to remodel/rehab, right?

Anonymous said...

LGB; It's "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD"...that was the infamous headline, not "President Tells City to Go to Hell". And it's DeNiro with a capital N which is pretty commmon knowledge...I mean, after all, if your going to indulge in your all-too-familiar artery-clogging, flamboyantly annoying pedanticism, "Randian" or not, it's important to know what you're talking about, just like you said.

Silly girl.

Pedant's Publicist said...

HEADS UP! MORE SLINGS AND ARROWS FROM ANON 2:31. GLAD I AM WEARING MY FLACK JACKET.

Anonymous said...

Seems a bit on the small side for the price? I can't believe property has increased so much in NYC since then. Oh, to be blessed with the gift of hindsight or a time machine!

hippie canyon said...

I love me some LGB. That said, I also love Robert DeNero. His career is astonishingly brilliant. As for this townhouse, lets start with the third floor front bedroom. Make that into a Poliform closet just for me. As for the trasporter den, obviously the party responsible for publishing the floorplan was sipping too much chardonnay. And I suspect that one of the "cl's" shown just outside of the FDR is actually a dumbwaiter from the kitchen just below, up to the FDR. So, then its a deal.

lil' gay boy said...

A typo & a misuse of quotes? (God knows no Post headline was ever so wordy). And just where did Ayn Rand come in? Did your English teacher make you write a report on John Galt's 52-page radio speech, so you had to read it?

I posted a comment about Mama's blog, the memories it evoked, and my personal opinion on the townhouse.

I didn't come here to talk about you.

I don't even know you.

Silly Anon.

Anonymous said...

Mamma the chillun are fighting again lol!

Can't we all just get along?

Oh screw that, I love a good cat fight. :)

StPaulSnowman said...

I don't see the chillun fighting, but I may have witnessed some homophobic bullying here in the schoolyard. Happily, LGB needs no defenders.

Anonymous said...

For $14M, I want a private pooper in my master bath.

Anonymous said...

The typo was ironic, darling.
Knew you'd pick up on it oh-so-seriously in a desperate bid to protect your haughty little ego. It was my "plant" to see how common you are...all too common, I'm afraid. Your a rancid, preening peacock describing plain vomit as a pastiche of undulating oranges,reds,and browns.

Pedant's Publicist said...

Shouldn't that read, "You"re a rancid........."? Nothing takes the sting out of venom like a seventh grader's sloppy use of your instead of you're. The preening peacock comment was , however, mildly amusing. Keep trying but get some editing help.

lil' gay boy said...

"The typo was ironic, darling."

No, it wasn't, darling, as I was referring to mine (misspelling DeNiro), not yours. Defensive much?

Try not to appear so desperate, my dear, and leave the snaps to those who were born with them.

Run along now; your Ovaltine is waiting...

Anonymous said...

LGB:2 Anon: 0
Knock out!

Anonymous said...

Grace Hightower is hanging on with all her might. DeNiro is still out there banging every black woman he can.

Anonymous said...

I drink Nestle's Quip.

And you can eat my chocolate balls.