THE ART OF ICE CARVING
The Times has a cool feature with some great video of ice sculptor Shintaro Okamoto, who provided daily ice Buddhas for Megu until it closed in 2014 (and then became Buddha-Bar, which is also closed). (I believe he and his family lived here in the 2000s as well.) He started the business with his father in 2003, and Megu was one of their first customers. He estimates they made 2,500 of them over the next several years. “Ice Buddha definitely has a special place in my heart, because it was what took our company, Okamoto Studio, to the next level,” he told The Times.

REAL ZARAGOZA IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Crain’s reports that Mark Affolter, a head of the sports division at Ares Management and an owner of the Spanish soccer team Real Zaragoza, bought the triplex condo at Desbrosses and Greenwich — I am guessing 463 Greenwich, across from Fouquets — for $9.8 million. The unit is 3300 square feet, has two gas fireplaces and one room with 23-foot ceilings.

HILTON GARDEN INN IS SOLD
Hotel Management Network reports that MTD Digital’s subsidiary The Generation Essentials Group has “executed a sales and purchase agreement” to completely acquire the Hilton Garden Inn New York City Tribeca, the hotel on Sixth and Lispenard which for some reason never enters my consciousness. The hotel has 151 rooms, over 5,000ft2 of retail space for food and beverage operations, a rooftop area, a business center and a fitness center.

75 MAIDEN LANE & 13 GOLD ARE SOLD
Crain’s reports that an LLC linked to the Upper West Side firm CSC Real Estate has purchased a75 Maiden Lane as well as the adjacent parking facility at 13 Gold for about $40.2 million. From Crain’s: “The company has no definitive plans yet for the site, but it is excited about the neighborhood and the acquisition, a spokeswoman said.”