Doug Durst

In the last week of January, shortly before Blackstone acquired Equity Office Properties for $39 bil  read more »

In the Times's EOP post-mortem this morning, Terry Pristin takes a look at Steve Roth, the head of Vornado who lost big to Blackstone in a months-long bidding war. The conclusion: It's a defeat, but Roth's reptuation is safely in place.

"He had a defeat in an unbroken string of successes, which is something unusual for him," said Doug Durst to the Times. "But it's not like he had a project go south on him, so it's not a terrible black mark."

The evidence? Wall Street still backs him. Vornado's share stands at $134.65 and on the day Mr. Roth backed out, the company's share rose more than 7 percent.

- John Koblin

Women's fashion boutique Elie Tahari has officially signed a 29,674-square-foot lease for the 50th floor at Doug Durst's One Bryant Park, a deal The Observer first reported earlier this month.

In related news, The Real Deal reports in its current issue that Elie Tahari is also busy buying the entire east end of Long Island.

Making in-roads in the Hamptons and now with Durst? Some grand plan at work here?

- John Koblin