Arlene Farkas’ River House apartment to be auctioned
Bigamist department store heir Bruce Farkas’ estranged wife will suffer the humiliation of a public foreclosure auction of her River House apartment — and she has her snooty coop board to thank.
Arlene Farkas had defaulted on more than $6 million in mortgage payments on her E. 52nd St. unit last year — but she worked out a last-minute, face-saving, debt-retiring sale of the apartment to the French government for $7.8 million.
But the coop board sniffed at the French last month. And now, the dreamy duplex is headed back to the auction block.
Stein, Wiener & Roth, the law firm handling the auction, confirmed that the proceedings will now move ahead following the co-op board turndown.
Farkas fought an 18-year battle to wrest control of the apartment following her divorce from her cheating ex, who got hitched to a former Alexander's employee while still married to his wife. His double life was only uncovered when the couple's kids wound up attending the same private school as children he'd had with his other wife.
The massive 14-room Upper East Side apartment, with a library, a formal dining room, a breakfast room and maid's quarters, is still on the market with an asking price of $8.2 million. Listing brokers Nikki Field and Patricia Wheatley were not immediately available for comment.
The deal with the French was rejected because resident socialite Elizabeth Kabler argued that the U.S. ambassador to France's noisy parties and security detail would disturb the peace at the building.
Farkas had previously tried to sell the home for as much as $15 million, which would have satisfied her creditors and allowed her to pony up the funds for a fancy new pad. But no one would buy the apartment at that price and the unit lingered on the market for years. And Farkas finally showed her cards when she agreed to sell the apartment to the French for $7.8 million.
"That's the classic seller mistake," said appraiser Jonathan Miller. "You price it at what you want rather than what it's worth. But the market doesn't care about your problems. It's a cold, non-emotional animal."
Miller said the apartment would likely sell for more if it stayed on the open market as opposed to being sold at auction, but Farkas’ creditors appear to have reached the end of their rope.
Arlene Farkas could not be reached for comment.
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