Monday, May 12, 2014

Andy Cohen Buys Upstairs

BUYER: Andy Cohen
LOCATION: New York City, NY
PRICE: $2,571,081
SIZE: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Thanks to the eagle eyes of New York City-based informant Polly Wannacracker it's come to this celebrity property gossip's attention that former Bravo Television executive Andy Cohen—He-Rah of The Real Housewives of... franchise—shelled out $2,571,081 for a two bedroom and two bathroom co-operative in one of the more coveted pre-war buildings in New York City's ever-more gentrified West Village.*

The handsome and beefy bodied pop culture maven—his 2012 autobiography is entitled Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture—won't have to schlep his backgammon board and collection of coffee table books very far since 2003 he's owned and occupied a similarly (and possibly identically) laid out two-bedroom apartment a couple floors below his new that he bought in 2003 for an unknown amount. The tchotcke-filled apartment was photographed for a flattery bio-piece last spring (2013) in The New York Times.

Believe it or not, children, the reality television super-guru comes from a (slightly) more serious television background. He started as an intern at CBS News where he went on to produce The Early Show, 48 Hours and CBS This Morning. In 2004 he received a distinguished Peabody Award for executive producing the documentary The N-Word and in 2010 he received an Emmy as one of the executive producers of Bravo's Top Chef series. Last November (2013) Mister Cohen stepped down from his powerful (and no doubt lucrative) post as the EVP of Original Programming and Development at cable juggernaut Bravo but still serves as the executive producer of the the runaway successful Real Housewives of... franchise and for at least the next two years will also remain the liquor swilling host of Bravo's boozy night-time chat show What What Happens: Live. Mister Cohen launched his own production company, which he not surprisingly called Most Talkative, that has a deal to develop prime-time shows for his former employer. Anyhoodles, poodles...

Based on measurements shown on the floor plan including with digital marketing materials Your Mama guesstimates the angled, high-floor apartment spans somewhere close to 1,200 square feet with two en-suite bedrooms situated on opposite ends of the apartment for maximum privacy. Listing details show maintenance charges rack up to a hefty $2,525.70 per month.

The floor plan also shows a proper entrance hall, a nearly 25-foot long living room with fireplace and panoramic eastern views, and a picayune dining room that connects through to an essentially triangular (and windowed) kitchen. We counted new fewer than five walk-in closets where Mister Cohen can store all his body-conscious bespoke suits and semi-skimpy bathing suits.

Other residents/owners in Mister Cohen's distinguished building include Oscar-winner Sally Field, who picked up her high-floor apartment in October 2011 for $2,550,000, and Marissa Sackler, the founder of the non-profit business incubator Beespace, who paid $12.5 million for her terraced duplex penthouse in August 2011 and is one of the many daughters of the late Purdue Pharmaceuticals co-founder and art patron Mortimer Sackler.

In addition to his urban aerie(s), the out and proud Mister Cohen owns a compact, bay front cottage in a sleepy and not so long ago unfashionable section of East Hampton, NY.

*The apartment was listed for $2,525,000 so, given that property records show he paid $2.57+ million, it appears Mister Cohen faced some stiff competition that drove up the sale price.

floor plan: Classic Marketing

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

He has a mouth like a Donkey (I could have said something less pleasant). Good for him for forming his own production company, because Bravo is obviously having their way with him. His real estate is cheap and he should be rolling in dough.

Anonymous said...

This is an awful apartment.

Both bathrooms are only accessible from bedrooms with one of the bedrooms directly off the front door. A closet in the living room?

FonHom said...

If the floor plan is accurate, guests have to walk all the way through either bedroom to use the facilities. That's OK, really not great, and I think Mr. Cohen can afford a little remod.

The walk-in closet off the living room shares a wall with one of the bathrooms, and in this floor plan it's free of utilities (pray, hope.) I'd Jack & Jill it by cutting an entrance in the left rear wall of the closet. Again, not great, but better than the existing situation.

Mr. C. should make sure they beef up the bathroom exhaust system while they're at it and use the reduced closet for covered storage, no clothing. A comfortable fainting-or-whatever couch would be a nice touch, and would make the remod look planned.

FonHom said...

Didn't see comment by Anon 1:29pm until now. Yeah, it really jumps out at you. From what Mama says it seems to be a current floor plan, so I'm surprised he's put up with it. Even if one of the bedrooms is a library or office, that's a long walk for guests.

Anonymous said...

how much square feet is that? looks like maybe 1k-1.3k?

Anonymous said...

Did he use one of the MDL-NY brokers?

Sandpiper said...

Finally (!) a realistically sized floor plan for a single guy who's tickled to be there ... in a great building and cool neighborhood. It's a feel good story all the way around.

nursedeb said...

again, the bathrooms .....