U.S. Marshalls seized Ponzi Scammer Bernie Madoff's Upper East Side "penthouse" this week- leaving his wife Ruth without a place to stay. In fact, Ruth Madoff (below) was recently photographed taking the NYC subway (quel horreur!).
OK, I'm going to give you out-of-towners some insider NYC information (NOTE: I used to work on the same block as the Madoff's). First of all, just because the Bernie and Ruth lived in a "penthouse" on the Upper East Side, it doesn't necessarily make their building a prized living space. The Madoff apartment was/is at the corner of 64th Street and LEXINGTON Avenue. Uber-wealthy and/or upper crusty New Yorkers know that Lexington Avenue is not a desirable address - Fifth and Park Avenues are where most of the "exclusive" buildings are. After all, Eva Gabor didn't say "Darling I love you, but give me LEXINGTON Avenue" on Green Acres now did she?
Furthermore Matt Lauer also lives in the Madoff building - which, believe it or not, illustrates its NON-exclusivity. Celebrities are usually not approved by the co-op boards in big-money buildings - even if they have big money. Madonna, for instance, couldn't get approved on Fifth Avenue, and had to settle on the West Side.
And the fact that the media calls the Madoff apartment a "penthouse" doesn't meat squat - it probably just means they lived on the top floor. Yes, the top floor of any building is the most desirable (for the potential views), but when you live on Lexington there isn't much to look at. Except the back of all the fierce buildings a block away on Park Ave.
Besides, I lived on the top floor of my five-story building for years, but it certainly wasn't the "penthouse". It just meant I had to walk up more steps!
Finally, people with money take the subway all the time. Yes, most would prefer to take a car & driver everywhere they go - but at certain times of the day the subway is the fastest and easiest way to get from point A to point B. The subway is NYC's great equalizer - for $2.25 we all get the exact same service - "VIP's" have to fight for a seat like everyone else.
