BALL BOY: Knick Shumpert rents at the Mantena (
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Jessica Chastain (WireImage for Tony Award Product)
Knicks guard Iman Shumpert just rented a three-bedroom, three-bathroom unit at the Mantena at 431 W. 37th St. that was asking $9,200 a month. Shumpert, who tore the ACL in his left knee during the Knicks’ playoff series against the Miami Heat, is not expected to be back in action until January.
The apartment has white oak floors, a chef’s kitchen and (important for a player who’s 6-foot-5) 9-foot ceilings. Building amenities include a landscaped roof terrace with city views and a private screening area, a billiards lounge, a gym, a yoga/Pilates room and bike storage.
Shumpert, who also has a place in Westchester, “loves New York and wanted to be closer to the people and the action of the city,” said his broker Prince Dockery, of Prudential Douglas Elliman, who confirmed that Shumpert is renting in the city but declined to comment where.
Worthy of mansion
Private, single-family mansions on Fifth Avenue’s Gold Coast are rare. Now we hear that two are in contract. The Stanford White-designed townhouse at 973 Fifth Ave., with an asking price of $49 million, is in contract for over $40 million. Owned by the estate of Victor Shafferman, the seven-story, 25-foot-wide home is a startling 15,225 square feet, with six bedrooms and seven full bathrooms plus three half-baths. It was built for banker/railroad baron Henry Cook and completed in 1907. Shafferman bought it in the bankrupt days of the 1970s for $600,000.
In addition, 815 Fifth Ave., which was asking $25 million, is in contract. The six-story townhouse, designed by architect Samuel A. Warner and built in 1870, is currently configured as 12 separate apartments but the new owners could convert it back to a trophy mansion with Central Park views.
We hear . . .
That Michael Bolla, a managing director at Prudential Douglas Elliman, was honored for his contribution to the revitalization of the Lower East Side on Tuesday at the Carlebach Shul gala dinner, which multiple Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Roberta Flack attended . . . That bad-boy art dealer Tim Nye is selling his Sagaponack home on Dune Road near the ocean in Bridgehampton for around $6 million.
Hunt for a new address for Jess
We have more news on the Jessica Chastain house search. Last week, we reported that she was looking on the Upper West Side. This week, we can tell you where she looked. “The Help” star checked out a charming two-bedroom, one-bathroom co-op with hardwood floors and skylights at 119 W. 85th St. The unit, set in a three-story, eight-unit brownstone, has an asking price of $1.15 million. It also comes with garden space.
Chastain’s broker, Halstead’s Sarah Schissler, could not be reached for comment.
Chastain’s latest film project, “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby,” also starring James McAvoy, will also be based in New York.
Park and go
Now that 737 Park Ave., a 20-story rental across the street from the posh 740 Park Ave., is going condo, are some of the building’s stalwarts fleeing? Lauren Katz, of the clan that originally owned the building, recently purchased a 14th-floor unit at 923 Fifth Ave. The two-bedroom, three-bathroom “classic six” was asking $7.75 million. It includes a 1,400-square-foot planted terrace and an additional maid’s room on the third floor with partial views of Central Park from the bedrooms and terrace.
Meanwhile, there are no floorplans yet for the condos at 737 Park Ave., which is being developed by Harry Macklowe.
Horse-race ‘place’
John Sabini, chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board and chairman of the Agriculture & New York State Horse Breeding and Development Fund, is in contract to buy a sixth-floor apartment that was asking $705,000 in Hunters Point, Long Island City.
The luxury Queens condo, at 10-17 Jackson Ave., measures 752 square feet and features dramatic views of Manhattan. We hear that the interior design will be handled by Bridget Nisivoccia, who worked on the Sag Harbor home of Christie Brinkley’s philandering ex Peter Cook.