Up to bat

Jennifer Gould Keil

GIMME SHELTER

Derek Jeter is looking for a massive bachelor pad, and he’s willing to pay a heavy rent after selling his gargantuan Trump World Tower home for $15.5 million in October.

The Yankee captain recently checked out a $25,000-a-month, 4,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-bathroom duplex rental at 129 W. 20th St. That’s less indoor space than the 5,425 square feet he had at Trump but more than enough room to stretch out. It also comes with 2,000 square feet of outdoor space. And Jeter still, of course, has his oversized 30,000-square-foot Tampa mansion, famously dubbed St. Jetersburg.

Getty Images

Derek Jeter

The Chelsea pad Jeter visited “is like a private home on top of a loft building,” our spy says. Jeter arrived at the listing looking sharp and well-rested in jeans and a blazer. Over the years, the unit has been eyed by other celebrities known for, um, playing the field — from Jude Law, who had an affair with his nanny, to Russell Brand, who was once married to Katy Perry.

Citi Habitats’ Jason Saft has the listing.

Marcus moving

Marcus Samuelsson, fresh off a (fully clothed) Playboy shoot for a feature about hot NYC chefs, has put his 2,250-square-foot, three-bedroom condo on West 118th Street on the market for $1.65 million.

The Harlem duplex, listed by Angela Holton of Brown Harris Stevens, includes a windowed chef’s kitchen and a terrace with a high-end barbecue grill.

We hear that Samuelsson, who added heat to the area with his Red Rooster restaurant, is upgrading his digs to a historic Harlem townhouse that he’s in the process of purchasing.

Model ‘shows’ all

Trish Goff, a former model who has appeared in Victoria’s Secret shows and international editions of Vogue, got her real estate license in July. The Douglas Elliman broker now has a hot property on the market — a 20-foot-wide Greek Revival townhouse owned by fashion stylist Alessandra Gambaccini, CEO of Sciascia Gambaccini. It is on the market for $5.495 million.

The four-story townhouse, in the Gold Coast of Greenwich Village at 45 W. 12th St., dates back to 1846 and has been renovated by Milan architect Roberto Gerosa. The home includes hand-painted walls by Italian decorator Marina Spinola.

Rollin’ in Greene

The Fugees’ resident real estate aficionado, Pras, has rented a stunning apartment at the 60 Greene St. condo building after a lengthy search.

The full-floor, 3,900-square-foot unit, with just one bedroom and two bathrooms, is designed for entertaining. It was listed for $30,000 a month.

An elevator opens into the apartment, which has cast-iron columns and 13-foot ceilings. It iss furnished in all white, with a dining area that seats 12 at a table cut from a single slab of white marble.

We also bet Pras loves the high-tech sound system and the bedroom area with a 72-inch drop-down TV screen separated by floor-to-ceiling translucent drapes.

Meier buys Meier pad

Good taste runs in the family.

Furniture designer Ana Meier has plunked down $6.5 million for an apartment at 165 Charles St. That’s one of the West Village buildings designed by her starchitect father, Richard Meier.

Ana Meier now has the condo, which was sold by gallery owner Barbara Gladstone, available for rent at $27,500 a month.

Town Residential listing broker Bill Kowalczuk declined to comment.

The glassy building suffered damage during Hurricane Sandy, but the lobby is restored and amenities will be back up and running by February, we’re told. Meier’s two nearby towers on Perry Street did not fare as well. Celebrity residents there, including Calvin Klein and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, won’t be able to move back in for several months.

Chalk up another One

One Fifth Avenue, the subject of a Candace Bushnell novel, is still going strong. A unit in the stately, 27-story landmarked building was snapped up for its full $1.39 million asking price shortly after it was put on the market. The seller, Weill Cornell Medical’s
Larry Schafer, is unloading the 930-square-foot co-op to insurance exec Richard
Press and his wife, Jeanne, who worked with broker Carol Staab of Douglas Elliman. The deal is expected to close next week.

The listing broker is the Corcoran Group’s Laurie Karpowich. Building residents have included Blythe Danner and Jessica Lange.

We hear . . .

That Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan is the new president of Stribling and Associates as her mom, Elizabeth Stribling, becomes chairman. Superbroker Kirk Henckels becomes vice chairman . . . That Joseph Sitt and Joseph Moinian hit Town Residential’s holiday party.

Read More..

Lennar to borrow $1.7 billion from Chinese bank

Miami-based Lennar Corp. has gotten approval on $1.7 billion in loans from China Development Bank to fund the development and construction of two major projects in San Francisco, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

The contract, set to close by Dec. 31 subject to various conditions, would mark the first U.S. loan by the big state-owned Chinese bank. One condition — tagged the “Chinese component”— is that China Railway Construction Corp. be included as a general contracting partner in the project, the person said.

Closing by year’s end is crucial because of new tax rules set to take effect, the person added.

The agreement, first reported in The Wall Street Journal, would provide funding for the first six years of what is envisioned to be a 20-year project.

The loan agreement, reached Dec. 7 after Lennar officials met in China with bank officials, provides for $1 billion in financing to a partnership led by Lennar to redevelop Hunters Point Shipyard-Candlestick Point, a site in southeast San Francisco spanning more than 700 acres, the person said. Plans for the mixed-use community call for nearly 12,000 residential units on the site. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013.

Under the pact, the Chinese bank would provide another $700 million to a partnership of Lennar, Stockbridge Capital Group and Wilson Meany, a real estate investment and development firm, to redevelop Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Islands in San Francisco Bay. Some 8,000 units of housing are planned for the mixed-use project on 535 acres. The U.S. Navy is set to turn over the first parcel of land to the development company in late 2013.

Read More..

Parents of students at Broward school warned of Legionnaires’ Disease exposure

Parents of students at Olsen Middle School in Dania Beach were being informed on Tuesday that their children may have been exposed to someone diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease, Broward School District officials said.

The person with Legionnaires’ Disease was not a student, district spokeswoman Nadine Drew said. They did not say if the infected person was a teacher.

Automated ‘robo-calls’ were made to the telephones of Olsen Middle School parents that explained how the district was working with the Broward Health Department

To read the entire Sun Sentinel story click here.

Read More..

Hugh Hefner's Fiancee Shows Off Engagement Ring

If the size of the diamond is any indication of Hugh Hefner's love for bride-to-be Crystal Harris, it's a safe bet to say that he's head over heels.

RELATED: Hugh Hefner Gets Marriage License?

Harris revealed her engagement ring on Tuesday, via her Twitter feed.

"My beautiful ring from [Hugh Hefner]," Crystal posted along with photos of the giant sparkler.

The couple is reportedly planning to wed on New Year's Eve.

Read More..

Parents’ ‘killer’: Kin framed me

A hulking Queens drug addict accused of murdering his parents in separate attacks a year apart claims he was framed by his sister and brother-in-law using tricks they learned watching “CSI” TV shows, court records reveal.

Gregory Cucchiara made up the bizarre allegations last month as he was questioned about the homicides of Giusepina Cucchiara, 66, and Carmelo Cucchiara, 75, prosecutors charge.

During the interrogation at the 114th Precinct station house, he allegedly attacked a police lieutenant and tried to assault a detective.

“I believe my sister and her husband may have something to do with my father’s death,” Cucchiara said. “My sister felt that my father was suffering to the point of sudden death. At the same time, she did not want any of the family assets passed on to me.

'My brother-inlawwatches a lot of ‘CSI’ and knows how to make things look as though they may not really be.' — Gregory Cucchiara (above), implicating sister & her husband

“She devised a plan to make it look like I am responsible for my father’s passing.”

“My brother-in-law watches a lot of ‘CSI’ and knows how to make things look as though they may not really be,” Cucchiara said.

The Bayside resident, whose long arrest record includes a 2008 bust for assaulting a cop, struck his his mom in the head and drowned her in the family’s bathtub on May 24, 2011, authorities allege.

He was not initially charged with that killing — but was questioned this year by cops after his dad was found dead on Aug. 21 in Carmelo’s Astoria apartment.

Material found under his father’s fingernails was later tested for DNA — and a match was made to Gregory, according to court records.

“This is a horrifying case of a young man throwing his life away and betraying the trust of his family — first by allegedly drowning his mother and then, a year later, suffocating his father,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said of Cucchiara, who will be arraigned on the murders today.

dan.mangan@nypost.com

Read More..

With spam, it’s better not to give or receive

Q. Recently I’ve been unable to send emails from my home email address. In addition, my incoming email contains several notices of undeliverable emails that I didn’t send that are addressed to people I don’t know. I suspect that my computer is infected by some malicious software and is being used to send spam email — and that those that are undeliverable are being returned. What should I do?

Joseph Campbell Burnsville, Minn.

I agree that your PC has been taken over by hackers and is being used to send spam.

The fact that you aren’t able to send emails from your home account supports this theory, since it indicates that your Internet service provider believes you are spamming and has temporarily blocked your ability to send email to anyone.

I suggest you download and run the free version of security program Malwarebytes (go to www.tinyurl.com/cwbd73f and click “free download.”) If that doesn’t work, try Windows System Restore to eliminate recently installed software (see www.tinyurl.com/y9q9apj and www.tinyurl.com/ykgps6.) Then call your Internet service provider; explain what happened and what you’ve done to fix it. If your PC is clean, you’ll be allowed to send email again.Q. I’ve recently received a lot of spam, including some that appear to be from people I know — except that the messages come from the wrong email address. How does a spammer use a familiar name with a fake email address and send it to me?

Also, is there a way to find out the identity of the people who send spam emails? I’ve read that the email address of the sender is not always accurate.

Ginger Bramlett Rockwall, Texas

The bogus email that appeared to be from your friend, but came from the wrong email address, is from a spammer who is trying to trick you into opening the email.

Why did this happen? Your friend’s email may have been hacked and his or her address book stolen, providing the spammer with a host of addresses where an email bearing your friend’s name might be opened by the recipient.

It’s hard to find out who actually sent spam, because originating email addresses are easy to fake.

I suggest you send these emails to your spam filter so that you and others may be spared at least some spam in the future. In addition, your Internet service provider allows you to block spam that comes from a specific domain name — the part of the email address that follows the symbol, such as Yahoo.com. See www.tinyurl.com/cxmq4m7.

Read More..

South Florida pols sticking to party lines on fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON --
Don’t expect South Florida’s congressional delegation to stray too far from party lines when it comes to dancing on the edge of the fiscal cliff, the end-of-the-year spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect if Congress and the president don’t address them.

Democrats are firmly with President Barack Obama, whose proposal seeks to raise $600 billion over a decade by eliminating tax deductions and $960 billion over the same period by raising tax rates for the top 2 percent of income earners. Many Democrats sounded as though the highly charged presidential campaign was still under way.

Republicans are just as committed to their party.

There’s been "no evidence thus far" that Republicans are truly interested in the middle class, said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Weston, who the president just asked again to head the Democratic National Committee.

"We need to continue to focus on rebuilding our economy from the middle class out," she said during an appearance on MSNBC.

"President Obama talked eloquently and passionately during the campaign about making sure that we can get a handle on this deficit, that we can rebuild our economy from the middle class out, that we can focus on creating jobs and getting the economy turned around," she added.

Equally firm: South Florida Democratic Reps. Alcee Hastings, of Miramar and Frederica Wilson, of Miami. Both are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which released a statement of principles this week calling for the Bush-era tax cuts to expire on the wealthiest Americans.

Social Security should be completely off the table, the caucus warned, and it said it would oppose any plans that change the eligibility for Medicare or cut Medicaid, the statement said.

Some Democrats made conciliatory moves, however. Sen. Bill Nelson said that during his campaign, voters told him they want consensus and an end to partisan gridlock.

"They want bipartisanship," he said in a video message. "They want to stop the ideological rigidity."

It’s the only way to rebuild the economy and reduce the federal deficit, while preserving Social Security and Medicare, he said. He called on people of both political parties "to reach across the aisle and work together so America doesn’t go over the cliff."

That’s unlikely to come from his Republican counterpart, Sen. Marco Rubio, who along with former vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was featured in a speech this week in Washington.

Rubio blamed the "complicated and uncertain tax code" for "hindering the creation of middle-class jobs." He gave no hint he would be interested in supporting the president’s tax proposal on the wealthiest Americans.

"You can’t open or grow a business if your taxes are too high or too uncertain. And that’s why I personally oppose the president’s plan to raise taxes," Rubio said. "This isn’t about a pledge. It isn’t about protecting millionaires and billionaires. For me, it’s about the fact that the tax increases he wants would fail to make even a small dent in the debt but it would hurt middle-class businesses and the people who work for them."

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Miami, was one of the few Republicans from South Florida to suggest she’d be open to tax reform, saying there needs to be a review of the tax code "to remove special interest tax loopholes used by the wealthy."

But she warned that the country’s debt exists "not because tax rates are too low, but because government spends too much."

Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, also of Miami, said he was less optimistic about a resolution now than he was right after the election.

He said he feels as though Republicans have moved closer to the president without getting credit for it.

"I’m very disappointed with the president’s response," he said in an interview.

"The speaker put forward a proposal, and whether you agree with it or not, there are a couple of things beyond debate: He’s gotten closer to the president’s position."

Even those on their way out of Congress made no move to cross party lines. Republican Rep. Allen West, of Plantation, who was ousted by Democrat Patrick Murphy, warned constituents in a letter that he didn’t think there was a true plan to reduce spending.

Rep. David Rivera, a Republican who lost his re-election bid and who will be replaced by Democrat Joe Garcia, did not respond to a request for comment.

Read More..

Will and Jaden Smith Survive After Earth

Will Smith and his son Jaden haven't shared the big screen since 2006's The Pursuit of Happyness. Now the father-son duo pair up once more for M. Night Shyamalan's post-apocalyptic thriller After Earth, and we're showing you the new trailer.

RELATED: Will Smith Surprises Jada on The Talk

In the film, opening June 7, 2013, a father and son crash land on a now-abandoned Earth. While the father, General Cypher Raige lies dying after the accident, his 13-year-old son Kitai must play the soldier, searching for the rescue beacon -- their only chance to be saved.

Watch the video for more.

Read More..

Suicide fear for DJ pranksters

The Australian radio station accused of fueling a British nurse’s suicide says it won’t risk doing the same to the two “very precariously balanced’’ shock jocks who pulled a hoax on her.

Station spokeswoman Sandy Kaye said the question of firing DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig, who convinced the nurse they were royalty and entitled to confidential information about pregnant Kate Middleton, hasn’t even come up.

“They haven’t been able to address that because of the fragility of the [DJs’ mental] health,” Kaye told The Post. “Our primary concern is to look after them.

REUTERS

GRIEF: Benedict Barboza and daughter Lisha mourn wife and mom Jacintha Saldanha yesterday.

Supplied by INFphoto.com

The DJs, using phony British accents, last week called the hospital where Middleton was being treated for severe nausea, and told nurse Jacintha Saldanha they were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.

Saldanha transferred them to the nurse at Middleton’s bedside, who also fell for the trick and gave them details of the duchess’ condition.

“They’re not fit to work,” Kaye said. “They’re very precariously balanced. They’re in an incredibly fragile state and receiving intense psychological counseling.”

Greig and Christian gave their own interview to Australian TV show, “Today Tonight.’’

“There’s nothing that can make me feel worse than what I feel right now,” a crying Greig said.

The nurse’s husband, Benedict Barboza, wrote on his Facebook wall yesterday, “I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife, Jacintha, in tragic circumstances.”

Read More..

AutoNation: Back in the fast lane with expansion, higher sales

Despite an agonizingly slow economic recovery, the country’s largest auto retailer, Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation, is thriving again as demand for vehicles expands.

The company, one of Florida’s largest, is posting increasingly strong profits and revenues. Just last week, in a sign of confidence, Autonation announced a major acquisition — buying six large auto stores in Texas — that will add about 700 employees to its national payroll of 19,400.

In announcing the deal Tuesday, which is expected to provide AutoNation with $575 million in additional revenues next year, the company’s CEO and chairman, Mike Jackson, expressed optimism about the prospects for continued growth in vehicle sales.

“You want to know what I’m thinking, look at what I do,” Jackson told viewers on CNBC’s Squawk Box program.

No information was released on the cost of the transactions, but in recent years auto dealerships sometimes sold for three to five times revenue, which would represent a significant investment for the company.

Tough times

To be sure, AutoNation has struggled through some tough times. It was battered by the Great Recession, which depressed sales and pushed the company into a $1.2 billion loss four years ago. As sales began to improve in 2010 and 2011, it was blindsided by a shortage of Japanese-made cars last year after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 shut down Japanese manufacturers of some essential components.

Since then, however, AutoNation has rebounded. Unit sales, revenues and profits all performed well in the first three quarters of this year, and the company expects new vehicle sales to continue their recovery nationwide, rising to the mid-14 million units this year, up from about 12.7 million in 2011. In the third quarter of 2012, AutoNation’s new car unit sales grew by 21 percent over the same period in 2011, doing better than an estimated 15 percent increase industry wide. November’s sales of new vehicles increased by 21 percent over November 2011 .

The big dealerships acquired sell Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Chrysler products in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth markets. They are expected to sell 14,000 new and used autos this year, and will add substantially to AutoNation’s future sales.

“We are in the right industry at the right time,” Jackson said during an interview. “The recovery in new vehicle sales is being driven by replacement demand,” added Jackson, who has 42 years of experience in the auto business. “The average age of the light vehicle fleet in the country has increased to 11 years, and even though cars and trucks last longer today, they can’t go on forever. About 12 to 13 million vehicles are scrapped every year and need to be replaced.”

Other factors are contributing to stronger demand for vehicles. “The population is growing, interest rates are low, there is ample credit available and manufacturers are producing a wide range of new models that offer attractive styling, power and greatly improved gas mileage,” said Jackson, who took over as AutoNation’s CEO in 1999. “Auto financing is more available than it has been in recent years. A little known fact is that people are more likely to default on a mortgage than on a vehicle loan.”

Read More..