Looking out at the southwest corner of Central Park, the crowd at Jean-Georges yesterday was mostly made up of champagne-sipping journalists and Trump Organization executives, patiently awaiting the man of the hour and his three oldest children.

Unfortunately, Eric Trump couldn't make it—he's in Mexico on official Trump business—but the beautiful Ivanka, clad in black and white with sparkling peep-toe pumps, and her brother Don Jr. were there to announce the big news: New York has become too small a playground for these growing Trumps. With Pappa Trump's approving nod, the children announced the expansion of the Trump Hotel Collection into the rest of the world.

Whether the rest of the world is ready or not.  read more »

Just after 8:00 on the evening of October 1st, with a large group of dapperly dressed guests gathered in Grand Army Plaza below, a 12-foot cake shining in the spotlight amidst them, and a small cast of hosts counting down from ten on stage, the first sparks of light erupted from the rooftop of The Plaza hotel. They flared into the air and then were followed by others of their kind, exploding from different roof levels in the building. Some shot out of windows, others stayed along the surface of the facade creating spiraling sparkles of light against the hotel. At the finale, the building appeared to explode, as small fireworks shot out of every window and rooftop with a burst of light.  read more »

The bizarre triumphs of Manhattan’s high-end real estate market are simply unending. Just when you’d think our bubble was finally going to be bashed by the national mortgage crisis (or shaky Wall Street, or the tumbling dollar), another gargantuan deal comes along.

And the seller, of course, is Donald Trump. As he un-smilingly told The Observer last month: “Nothing affects me.” The last three original units at Trump World Tower, the monolithic First Avenue condo at 845 United Nations Plaza, have gone for the pleasant sum of $33.654 million.

The buyer of all three is listed in city records as CCHP Holdings, LLC, whose address is listed in Huntington, NY. The purchase deeds are signed by Donald T. Nguyen, but it’s not clear who the buyer is; according to a source with knowledge of the deal, the spread will belong to an Asian-American moneyman.

What does $33.6 million buy? The first two units take up the entire 89th floor (directly above Derek Jeter, incidentally). That floor alone has 20 rooms, eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, and 10,145 square feet, according to the listing with Trump broker Debra Stotts. That floor was listed for $28,248,500.

But then there’s the 14-room A-line apartment on the 90th floor, listed for $10,346,300. In case you were interested, the combined penthouse duplex will have 34 rooms, 14,864 square feet, 12 bedrooms and 16.5 bathrooms--and monthly maintenance fees of $13,906.

But somehow that space wasn’t enough for CCHP. Two sources said that the buyer tried to lure real estate lawyer and investor Dominick D’Alleva out of the other 90th-floor apartment. Mr. D’Alleva, who paid $13.5 million last year for that condo, would not budge.

In any case, CCHP will be tearing apart the three units and putting them back together. (Even the GE Monogram kitchen appliances are being ditched, one source said.) The floors have 16-foot ceilings, so there’s a potential for 32-foot-high legroom after renovations.

Better yet, CCHP got the three-unit penthouse at nearly a $5 million discount from the most recent listing price. The spread had been on the market for six years: Back in 2001, when sales at the condo began, Trump World Tower was billed as the largest residential tower in the world. That's no longer true.

Dennis Mangone, a Corcoran Group senior vice president, briefly listed part of the building's penthouse. “At the end of the day, Mr. Trump always wins,” he said, referring to those years on the market. “The dollar is weak now... it’s a huge incentive for foreign currencies to purchase New York real estate. And he”--meaning Mr. Trump--“has always had a really strong international base of people.”

Another foreign mogul, the disgraced Turkish telecommunications giant Cem Uzan, came close years ago to owning this three-unit spread (plus Mr. D’Alleva’s fourth condo.) But he defaulted on his contract, losing his $8 million deposit and the dictatorial views.

“On a nice day,” Mr. Mangone said about this spread, “you can see West Point."

UPDATE: And the winner is...  read more »

The Observer's Politicker blog reports that Donald Trump thinks very, very highly of Mayor Bloomberg.

At a charitable golf outing at Briarcliff Manor this morning hosted by Yankee manager Joe Torre, Mr. Trump said, “And it’s my really terrific privilege to introduce a man that I think is one of the great mayors and will go down as one of the great mayors, if not the greatest, in New York City – Michael Bloomberg. Come on up, Michael.”

According to Mr. Trump—a newly minted grandfather, thanks to Donald Jr. and his wife Vanessa—he wants to pursue other showbiz options without the network.

"It looks like viewers will have to wait to see what Mr. Trump plans for the future," a statement from Mr. Trump said. "But if Mr. Trump's past TV success is any indication of the future, then one can anticipate that millions of 'Apprentice' fans will be migrating to his new venture."

What does this mean?

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