Economist and NYU professor Nouriel Roubini became an international star with his bold predictions—seen as outlandish at the time—on the path of the world economy. By 2006 he was saying that a huge housing bust and other factors would soon lead to a deep recession, and we all know how that turned out. But this housing bear also loves to party, so he’s suddenly feeling bullish on luxury Manhattan real estate. Bloomberg reports that Roubini is the mystery buyer of the incredible triplex penthouse at 6 East 1st Street in the East Village, formerly the neighborhood’s priciest listing. He paid $5.5 million for the 3,700-square-foot loft, which was last asking $5.995 million, and was once priced at $7.35 million. Maybe he was talking trash about housing as a negotiating ploy?
The penthouse has 13′ ceilings, two big terraces, a walnut wet bar and enough entertaining space to host a G8 summit. Or a bunch of models. Whatevs. The Halstead listing is already gone, but the details live on over on StreetEasy. Stay in school, kids, and maybe one day you’ll have a cantilevered steel staircase connecting all the floors of your downtown party palace