London Terrace Dumps Hell Studio

We hope that summer fun doesn't turn dark on Mr. Hemmer, as it did for party boy Michael Davis. Remember him?

He's the guy at London Terrace who allegedly stole from tenants, walked through the halls "half-naked" (which half? We always wonder), blasted music and had sex with a homeless man in the showers of the co-op's health club.

In a landmark case, Housing Court judge Gerald Lebovits permitted the co-op board to terminate Mr. Davis' proprietary lease for "objectionable behavior."

It's been a hard few months for London Terrace. In late December, cultural critic and longtime resident Susan Sontag passed away. Less than two months later, over 160 apartments at 465 West 23rd Street were left without use of their stoves and ovens thanks to a gas line that was ruptured during the construction of Amy Sacco's new restaurant, Bette. Also, in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the board of managers, resident Cheri Dorr alleged that her studio apartment was filled with mold and asbestos.

Currently Ms. Sacco's posh eatery is open for business, the gas is turned back on upstairs, and Mr. Davis is finally gone, having recently sold his 500-square-foot studio for around $400,000--almost 10 times what he paid for it in 1993.

"The prime motivation was to truly assist this man in making sure that his best interests were kept in mind," said Bruce Solomon, a vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman who represented the dispossessed Mr. Davis--and got him quite a payday.

Mr. Solomon also represented gallery owner Paula Cooper and her husband, publisher John MacRae, in their recent purchase of photographer Annie Leibovitz's two penthouses, as reported in the July 3 New York Times. The art-loving couple now joins celebrity tenants Debbie Harry and Chelsea Clinton in the 75-year-old co-op.

Chiqui Gavilan and Marisa Chaves of the Corcoran Group represented Gwyeth Smith, an equities trader, who was searching for a place in Manhattan.

Mr. Davis' apartment--in a horrific state--was listed for $398,000. Although it suited Mr. Smith's price range, the apartment came with a warning about the dilapidated condition (garbage and vermin included).

Mr. Smith brought a few family members over to determine whether the apartment was worth the money. His stepfather, who has a history of restoring houses, and a contractor cousin were enlisted to examine the studio (which is one floor above Bette).

The family experts deemed it structurally sound, and Mr. Smith bought it. He began with bleach and completed a thorough scrubbing to eradicate the obnoxious odor. He then cleared out all the appliances, put a new floor in the kitchen, sanded, painted and performed the much-needed spackle work.

"For the most part, it was cosmetic," said Mr. Smith, who is content with the renovation so far and hopes to be moved in by the end of the month.