Seen (almost) & Heard: Lady Gaga at the Warren Street Hotel

LADY GAGA TUCKED IN ON WARREN
There was a scrum outside the Warren Street Hotel all day yesterday — at least until 9p — and they were waiting for Lady Gaga. She’s in town to host SNL on Saturday (she’s also the musical guest); her seventh studio album hits stores and streaming today.

WEINSTOCK CAKES BUILDING FOR SALE
G. sent the listing for 273 Church ($12 million), the cute four-story brick building between White and Franklin that has the gallery Friedrich Pontone on the ground floor. The building was also once owned by famed cake maker and longtime Tribecan Sylvia Weinstock, who bought that building to house her business and her home. She started Sylvia Weinstock Cakes in 1980 on floors 2 and 3 after she and her husband, Ben, sold their house in Massapequa and bought the building. Back then the longtime bar South’s was her downstairs tenant and she and Ben lived above the shop on 4 and 5. Sylvia sold the building in February 2020; she died in November 2021. (The profile of her is one of my favorite interviews ever. This line alone: “I measured my success by the pleasure we gave others and the satisfaction I gave myself.”)

PERMA-SIDEWALK SHED BUILDING FOR SALE
G. also noted that 71 Franklin, which has had an offensive sidewalk shed on it for years and years (at one time it was Selia Yang’s bridal shop), is also empty and for sale. That one is 54-feet wide at at one point there were renderings to sell it as a mega-mansion. Now it is listed for $18.3 million (the mortgage taken on it in 2014 was $4.2 million). When discussing the problem of sidewalk sheds, T. added this to the list: “The reeking, rotting perma-scaffolds represent a bigger hazard than the old facade the owner has literally done zero work on. We just let building owners leave these up forever with no penalties? Think how much the city could raise if taxed the 300+ miles of scaffolds in NYC that overstay their welcome. Start at $100 per foot per month over the expected permit date (and then up to $1000 after 1 year delay). By my calculation, we could house all of the homeless with the money.”

CHARLES MOFFAT GALLERY MOVES TO BROADWAY
Charles Moffat gallery is moving from its sweet little home at 431 Washington, the taxpayer between Vestry and Desbrosses, to a second floor space at 394 Broadway.

 

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