Developer Ziel Feldman Is Selling His Triplex Penthouse

Ziel Feldman converted the prewar building at 11 East 68th to condos in 2013 and kept one of the two triplex penthouses for himself.
Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photos: Getty Images, Douglas Elliman

When the condos at the Marquand, a conversion at 11 East 68th Street, hit the market a little over a decade ago, they were a study in creams and neutrals, with the kind of tasteful, dull finishes that new-development teams love to advise. But the building’s developer, Ziel Feldman of HFZ, picked a very different color palette for his own triplex penthouse: blacks and dark browns, brightened up by the occasional splash of white in the form of book-matched marble. It’s the kind of moody, bold interior that calls to mind the word “lair,” complete with dark woods, exotic stone, and veined marble against which works by the likes of Tracey Emin and Sanford Biggers seem to glow. As another developer put it to New York, Feldman was always known for liking the “razzle-dazzle.” He and his wife, Helene, are now selling the 21-room monument to their personal taste for $27.5 million. The listing brokers, Madeline Hult Elghanayan and Sabrina Saltiel of Douglas Elliman, did not return a request for comment.

The Feldmans’ penthouse, as shown in listing photos, is filled with black marble and dark hardwood with an expansive 2,600-square-foot terrace — the very opposite of most staged new-development apartments.
Photo: Douglas Elliman

The same living room, as shown in a digitally staged rendering in the listing, done in lighter hues that play to the airy nature of penthouse living.
Photo: Douglas Elliman

The unit is more than a reflection of the couple’s lavish aesthetic leanings; it’s also a remnant of flusher days. Feldman, a former real estate attorney turned luxury developer, had aspired to join the ranks of the old-line New York real estate families like the Zeckendorfs and the Dursts. That goal seemed within reach when HFZ started developing the XI, a twisting, Bjarke Ingels-designed tower on the High Line in 2015. Even the sales gallery for the building was a spectacle, with an art installation by set designer Es Devlin. But before the building could be completed, HFZ imploded — Feldman had a spectacular falling out with his former partner, Nir Meir, who was later arrested and charged with an $86 million fraud scheme involving the XI. Feldman claimed that Meir was responsible for HFZ’s collapse; Meir is still awaiting trial. To HFZ’s credit, the XI was a solid idea even if the particulars were a mess; the condos sold briskly after developer Steve Witkoff took over the project. After years of laying low, Feldman is now back with less flashy projects, quietly re-entering the real estate game with his daughter as partner in the national affordable and workforce housing firm GoodHomes.

The dining room, as shown in listing photos, seats 22. The apartment is also opulent is scale, with just over 6,100 square feet and 2,600 square feet of terraces.
Photo: Douglas Elliman

Back in 2020, when Feldman was fending off investor lawsuits and delinquent loans trying to save HFZ, he listed the 6,100-square-foot triplex penthouse for $39 million. Now he seems resigned to lowering the price and perhaps, also, his lifestyle. The question is whether another buyer will want the lifestyle the penthouse has to offer: In some rooms, both the floors and walls appear to be covered in striking black marble. In others, the walls are paneled in a gleaming hardwood, which sets off the furniture, upholstered in black and dark-gray velvets. The scale is dramatic, too: five bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and a “grand formal dining room” that comfortably seats 22 guests, according to the listing, complete with a wet bar. There are plenty of other fancy features: It has private elevator access, Central Park views (it’s less than a block away), fireplaces both inside and outside, and 2,600 square feet of private terraces. Tucked in nooks under staircases, in front of fireplaces and on the walls, there are John Chamberlain sculptures, George Condo paintings, a taxidermy’d bunny by Maurizio Cattelan — but of course, these won’t transfer with it. It was a pied-à-terre no less; the Feldmans also had an 18,500-square-foot Englewood mansion inspired by a Fontainebleau château they toured on their honeymoon. That sold in 2020; the next year they sold their Bridgehampton house for $50 million.

For potential buyers who can’t quite imagine themselves living in such dark-hued opulence, the listing includes digital renderings showing the apartment redone in creams and neutrals, looking very much as it might have back in 2013, had it been sold as a sponsor unit like the others in the building.

Sign Up for the Curbed Newsletter

A daily mix of stories about cities, city life, and our always evolving neighborhoods and skylines.

Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us.

Related