Sarah Jessica Parker and me: Is she moving to Brooklyn?

Sarah Jessica Parker is on the move…she’s been living in an 1840’s brick townhouse on Charles Street in the West Village for over 10 years. I remember when she and Matthew Broderick purchased it for a paltry $2-3 million because it was the 90’s and it was a real “fixer-upper”. So they bought it and fixed it up…inside and out including re-building the elegant stoop, installing video camera security, child-guards on the windows, and numerous other things. She found the house, rumor has it, strolling around the neighborhood during a Sex and the City shoot (her character Carrie Bradshaw’s brownstone apt. is around the corner on Perry Street). Now, 10 years and 3 kids later, she is looking for a bigger place and has put this one on the market for $9 million. A lady realtor friend of mine confirmed several months ago that Sarah & Matthew bought an elegant 1830 townhouse (much larger) for $19.5 million on a street just off University Place and was having it decorated (also a new stoop put on), etc. before moving into it. But suddenly around the first of April, the New York real estate columns are full of headlines announcing: “Sarah is moving to Brooklyn Heights!” The story says she is buying two adjoining houses on State Street in Brooklyn Heights for an undisclosed sum, blah blah blah. Don’t bet the farm on this…. I can’t confirm it yet, but this sort of “sudden” story smacks of being “planted” by her P.R. people and managers, most likely because she’s preparing to move into the new house and her “people” are trying to discourage photographers, reporters and nosy tourguides. Nothing against Brooklyn, but Sarah Jessica Parker is a Manhattan/Hamptons kinda gal and she is not moving to Brooklyn any time soon. Now she is worth a LOT of money and has a production company, as well as money managers, etc. so I wouldn’t be surprised if she was buying real estate here and there for 2 reasons…for an investment and also to discourage people from knowing where she was really living. Also, she comes from a large family…6 or 7 brothers and sisters. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she was helping a friend or family member put a down payment on property…this would also serve the purpose of helping a friend and providing a smoke screen for her actual whereabouts. Who knows. Personal Note: I actually knew Sarah Jessica Parker years ago when she was on Broadway in ANNIE as a 12-year-old going on 35 (like all child actors) but I’m sure she doesn’t remember me. Her Mother might… I was just a teenage acting student who sold programs and ANNIE souvenirs in the lobby and used to hang out and chat with the stage Moms and kids. I remember when Shelley Bruce (Broadway’s second Annie) got leukemia and left the show suddenly so Sarah was promoted from orphan “July” in the chorus to the lead as Broadway’s third ANNIE, I remember when they dyed Sarah’s brown hair red and everybody in the Alvin Theater was talking about how she cried but kept a stiff upper lip because she wanted to play Annie and red hair was mandatory. I remember her last day as ANNIE (like the others she grew too tall and began developing)…her Mom asked me to help them clean out her dressing room and load the car. It was a party in there with a lot of people including teenage Brooke Shields and her Mom Teri. Later, I worked as an extra on SEX AND THE CITY and was right next to Sarah…I really wanted to say something about the Annie years, but I knew she wouldn’t remember me so I kept quiet. I wish her all the best, but I still love reading and writing about celebrity real estate!

The Upper Westside of Central Park is one of New York City’s premiere “yuppie-puppy” neighborhoods where the residents are a caricature of what the Midwest thinks is a “liberal” New Yorker: almost entirely loyal liberal Democrats (with a few exceptions), extremely open-minded (except when someone wants to do something in their backyard which they disagree with, then WATCH OUT! They will cut you down in a second with their organized protests, rallies and boycotts. The streets are FULL of Moms, Dads and Nannies—--many yoga class vegans--all pushing their children in the latest prams, listening to the latest songs on their I-Pods, while wearing the latest fashions. It’s almost a cartoon depiction of a certain lifestyle. When I first moved to New York City as a youth, we lived on The Upper Westside…but this was early 1980’s—definitely “pre-Giuliani” and this once grand old New York City neighborhood had become a low-rent, run-down section of town with gorgeous old buildings begging to be discovered and renovated. I’ve recently learned that Lady Gaga grew up around the corner from my old apartment on W. 68th St and still lives there occasionally with her parents (W. 70th St.). Jerry Seinfeld, Glenn Close, Helen Gurley Brown, Celine Dion, Denzel Washington, Sting, Regis Philbin and many others live on the Upper West. Also, it’s come to my attention that movie-star Matt Damon has now made the Upper Westside his home, after many years of living in a loft downtown in the Village on Lafayette Street. It was so funny when one of his Bourne movies developed a billboard with the headline: BOURNE GOES HOME…it was even funnier when the billboard ran on the side of the building where Damon lived and a paparazzi photog got a great picture of Damon entering the building! LOL So now he’s moved the entire brood (wife and several daughters) up to W. 86th Street in a gorgeous old building built by John Jacob Astor (Titanic victim). My final question: What happened to Boston? I thought Damon was a loyal Massachusetts resident and Red Sox fan…so why does he live in New York City…land of the evil NY Yankees? Just askin……

Lady Gaga and me

People ask me all the time: “how do you find out where all the celebrities are in New York?” Here are some tips:
Pay Attention- Everybody knows where certain celebrities are. This is New York, after all, and people like to talk and spread information. A friend of mine lived in Debbie Harry’s building, another friend of mine lived on a block with several notable people. Take a poll of your friends and NEVER miss the gossip or real estate columns. Limo & taxi drivers are a great source also.
It’s important to update your celebrity information. Celebrities from 20 years ago are passe now. Reality TV stars are hot…also rock stars. I know some guides who are still telling people about Mia Farrow and Carly Simon living in the Langham on Central Park West! First of all, they both moved years ago…and secondly, WHO CARES? I had a group of younger couples yesterday. They were in their 30’s and they had no idea who Mia Farrow was, Lauren Bacall, Connie Chung or Alan Alda! They knew Carly Simon (a bit). Today’s groups want to know about Matt Damon, Jennifer Aniston, Kanye West, P. Diddy, Sarah Jessica Parker, the Real Housewives and more!
I talk about Lady Gaga when possible-- everybody always wants to know about her. I found out where she lived by using some simple detective work. She was interviewed awhile back by Barbara Walters and she said she grew up on the Upper Westside of Manhattan. I remembered that I have a phone book (remember those?) from 10 years ago, covered in dust, on the floor. After googling Lady Gaga to see her real name and how she spells it (Stephanie Joanne Germanotta) I then flipped thru the phone book and…..there it was: “Joe and Cynthia Germanotta: 135 W. 70th St.” Underneath Joe and Cynthia, was a separate listing at the same address for 15-year old “Stephanie”! By the way, this is a fabulous building…Upper Westsiders will know it from the Egyptian statues that decorate the upper floors. It was a former Knights of Pythias Hall (a fraternal organization like the Shriner’s or Masons) transformed into condos in 1983-4.
In a recent VANITY FAIR article, Gaga is quoted as saying: “I stay in hotels all over the world but when I’m in New York, I always stay with my parents in the same apartment where I grew up.” The Vanity Fair reporter noted that Lady Gaga was in the process of chopping tomatoes with her Mother to make homemade pasta sauce. The family just opened a restaurant: JOANNE on W. 68th St.

Chris Noth Spotted on Eighth Avenue Looking for Car?

On my way to the gym today about 5:30pm I saw the actor Chris Noth at the corner of Eighth Ave. and 54th St. looking exasperated while on his cellphone and out in the street waving his hands in an excited fashion. He didn’t look like the calm, collected rich guy he plays on Sex and the City…”Mr. Big.” He also didn’t seem like the cool-headed cop he played on Law & Order or the arrogant lawyer/politician he plays on The Good Wife. I recognized that look….it appeared he was trying to locate his car service driver and was on his cellphone frantically trying to talk to either the driver or the dispatcher. I know that look…I’ve been there myself! What did we ever do before cellphones? I suppose he was trying to meet someone for drinks or dinner before he was due at the theatre on West 45th St where he’s one of the stars of the Broadway hit THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON. I thought to myself “why don’t you just walk, take the subway or just go to the theatre and chill out”…he only had 90 minutes or so before he was due there anyway.
He finally closed the cellphone and tried to flag a yellow cab, of which none were available. Cabs flew past him for several minutes and he finally appeared to give up and marched down W. 54th Street and disappeared into the Café Iguana Lizard Lounge. Accordingly, I disappeared into my gym next door…finished with my little “celebrity snooping” incident. Just wondering: Who tries to get a cab at Rush Hour in midtown Manhattan? I wondered why he didn’t just take the subway? Does he think he’s too famous? At Rush Hour, nobody cares who you are…they are all just looking down at their papers and counting the stops till they get off the train. Besides, I’ve seen lots of famous folk on the subway--people more famous than Noth: Julia Roberts, John Lithgow, Caroline Kennedy and others. In fact, just that morning I’d seen his Sex and the City co-star Mario Cantone on the Eighth Avenue subway platform (I’d seen him there before).
Incidentally, Noth also needs to hit the gym again (I should talk)…that nice slim body he had for the last Sex and the City film is gone and he’s got the middle-aged man’s gut again, pooching out under his beige polo shirt. I heard the filmmakers told him to get a trainer and get in shape a few months before principal photography began. Perhaps walking would have done him good.

Chris Noth Celebrity Spotting on Eighth Avenue

On my way to the gym today about 5:30pm I saw the actor Chris Noth at the corner of Eighth Ave. and 54th St. looking exasperated while on his cellphone and out in the street waving his hands in an excited fashion. He didn’t look like the calm, collected rich guy he plays on Sex and the City…”Mr. Big.” He also didn’t seem like the cool-headed cop he played on Law & Order or the arrogant lawyer/politician he plays on The Good Wife. I recognized that look….it appeared he was trying to locate his car service driver and was on his cellphone frantically trying to talk to either the driver or the dispatcher. I know that look…I’ve been there myself! What did we ever do before cellphones? I suppose he was trying to meet someone for drinks or dinner before he was due at the theatre on West 45th St where he’s one of the stars of the Broadway hit THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON. I thought to myself “why don’t you just walk, take the subway or just go to the theatre and chill out”…he only had 90 minutes or so before he was due there anyway.
He finally closed the cellphone and tried to flag a yellow cab, of which none were available. Cabs flew past him for several minutes and he finally appeared to give up and marched down W. 54th Street and disappeared into the Café Iguana Lizard Lounge. Accordingly, I disappeared into my gym next door…finished with my little “celebrity snooping” incident. Just wondering: Who tries to get a cab at Rush Hour in midtown Manhattan? I wondered why he didn’t just take the subway? Does he think he’s too famous? At Rush Hour, nobody cares who you are…they are all just looking down at their papers and counting the stops till they get off the train. Besides, I’ve seen lots of famous folk on the subway--people more famous than Noth: Julia Roberts, John Lithgow, Caroline Kennedy and others. In fact, just that morning I’d seen his Sex and the City co-star Mario Cantone on the Eighth Avenue subway platform (I’d seen him there before).
Incidentally, Noth also needs to hit the gym again (I should talk)…that nice slim body he had for the last Sex and the City film is gone and he’s got the middle-aged man’s gut again, pooching out under his beige polo shirt. I heard the filmmakers told him to get a trainer and get in shape a few months before principal photography began. Perhaps walking would have done him good.

Ethan Hawke Spotted in Chelsea--Area becomes new Celebrity 'hood

Movie & Stage star Ethan Hawke (ex-husband of Uma Thurman) was seen today on West 21st Street in Chelsea, strolling along and entering a very nice apt. building. Hmmm...does this mean Hawke has relocated? Following the divorce with Uma, he has been known to jump around from place to place, eventually living in a hotel.
Does this new sighting mean he's finally moved into a permanent address in this very gay block of the very gay Chelsea neighborhood? Does this mean he's now gay? Questions, questions....
He is known as a "serious" theatre type and is involved very much with his Off-Broadway theatre troupe lately, directing various projects and putting his movie career on the back burner.
Other big stars who have made Chelsea their home in NYC include Kate Winslet, Javier Bardem & Penelope Cruz, Kelsey Grammer, Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban and others too numerous to mention here.

The Ride Provides Needless NYC "Street Show"

There's a new tourist attraction in NYC called The Ride...it's basically a midtown bus tour that covers no more than 20-30 blocks. Along the way through traffic they have set up street performers...a ballet dancer, a break dancer, a couple of mimes, etc. Instead of a guide, you've got TWO stand-up comics "narrating" NY as you drive by these staged performers. TWO comic/actors pretending to be guides! They do a verbal back-and-forth which must be even more confusing to the tourists on board who are already dumbfounded by the ordinary sites and sounds of our metropolis! They are basically using New York City as the "backdrop" to their little Off-Off Broadway show.
MY question: why go to all this trouble? New York is already a stage show with things to see everywhere without having to "stage" events. The people who dreamed up The Ride probably took the awful GrayLine double decker tour and thought "we can improve on this" (anyone could improve on that). And perhaps they improved on Gray Line, but they have obviously never had a really good tour with a talented guide. A talented guide like me (Jim Dykes) or my friends Jane Marx, Robert Fields, Hardy Phippen, Marta Cooper, Mike Brennan or any number of others can make the city come to life using what is there already! A good guide can simply help a group make sense of the existing craziness and give you a nice historical, fun perspective on how it all got that way.
Why add "staged events" to the madness which ARE the streets of New York on any ordinary day? To summarize, a good guide can verbally paint pictures and create a "show" with much less effort and expense than these people responsible for The Ride have done. Plus you are paying a LOT ($75? $85?) for something which is basically a 20 block bus tour from 42nd St. to 59th St. BIG DEAL! At least with GrayLine's tour you get the whole city for your money and can jump off the bus whenever you feel like you've had enough.