New York Life Insurance Company

Now Mort Zuckerman will have to write his monthly rent checks to a rival.    read more »

Here's a new way to improve your credit rating: Steal someone else's! The market's so steep that this guy stole someone's identity to purchase a house in Bushwick, according to the Post.

The Daily News reports that Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is calling on Forest City Ratner to reduce the height of its Atlantic Yards project.  read more »

N. Richard Kalikow and Jeremiah O'Connor Jr. bought the Manhattan House, on the Upper East Side, for $625 million from the New York Life Insurance Company, reports The New York Sun. After condo conversions, the property could fetch $2 billion, but current tenants need to be bought out beforehand.

The Real Deal reports from the "Making Sense of the Manhattan Real Estate Market" panel discussion at the 92nd Street Y last night. Apparently, the real-estate bubble is a "press term," according to former Douglas Elliman chairman Alan Rogers, and the market is in a "period of semi stalling at the moment." -Matthew Grace

Manhattan House, with its Bauhaus-style balconies protruding over East 66th Street, has just sold for $625 million, according to today's New York Post. Also, a new record was set with each apartment costing over $1.072 million; there are 583 apartments total.

New York Life Insurance developed the "white-brick" building and owned it for more than 50 years. Since 1960, the insurance giant has been selling off several nearby properties, including the Beekman Theater, which closed in June. Manhattan House had been the final holdout.

Now, those unfortunately residents without rent-stabilized apartments may see a sharp increase.

"Sources said just fewer than half the units are rent-stabilized, with an average rent of about $1,800," according to The Post. "The rest are at market rents that zoom all the way to a penthouse pad for $20,000 a month."  read more »

Also, there are rumors of condo conversion, following in a tradition of recent sales of rental buildings. As The Observer reported in June, when Manhattan House first went on the market, the conversion proposal will need 15 percent support from tenants.

If a condo conversion plan is hatched, the dance between the sponsor and tenants will begin. We'll be watching to see if the tenant association steps up to get those much-desired "insider" rates. —Michael Calderone

The New York Life Insurance Company plans to sell Manhattan House, the storied Upper East Side luxur  read more »

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