Scofflaw Taxi Baron’s Big, Bold Tribeca Penthouse Back on the Market for $25M

The meter’s running again on the Tribeca penthouse belonging to Simon Garber, the yellow cab king (his company, SLS Jet Management, is one of the city’s largest taxi medallion owners) who made news a few years ago for squeezing drivers with fake fees. In 2014 reports had the 6,300-square-foot duplex–plus 2,450 square feet of outdoor space–in the lavish 101 Warren Street condo ready to hit the market for $27 million. After only a few days the listing mysteriously disappeared, only to reappear as a rental, asking a traffic-stopping $100,000 a month. Last June, Compass re-introduced the listing for sale at $30 million, which soon slunk to $25 million, then disappeared again. Now it’s back on the market, this time at the slightly-trimmed but still hirsute $25 million.

In addition to the aforementioned scandal, which cost him $1.6 million in fines from the TLC, Garber, (who apparently sometimes spells his name “Symon”) has also been accused of using salvaged vehicles in his Chicago fleet and various bizarre behavior (supposedly he once stripped to his underpants, then strolled into a neighbor’s house and took a shower). Garber and his wife, Lina, bought the 32nd floor duplex for $8 million in 2010; whether the current eight-figure sticker sticks this time or not, the palatial pad is something to behold, with more fancy features–and bedrooms–than Midtown has unavailable taxis on a rainy rush hour. And you’re guaranteed never to have to be more than four feet from at least one TV.

“The largest single family home” in the Skidmore Owings and Merrill-designed condominium boasts interiors by Richard Mishaan, “one of Architectural Digests Top 100 interior designers of 2014.” And it’s certainly clear that “no expense was spared.” Not pictured are two wraparound loggia terraces, plus the kinds of views of One World Trade, the Hudson River and the city skyline that add zeroes to the price of real estate. The home has an elevator to get between floors, of course, but it’s not as exciting as the grand wood staircase that winds into a 65-foot-long living room with an Artemide Skydro ceiling light and Macassar millwork throughout. The feast-ready dining room seats at least 20.

On the other side of the vast 32nd floor is a home office/guest suite and another long living room with lots of chrome, jewel-toned velvet and some cool op-art wallpaper. No idea whether the foosball table is part of the deal.

The open gourmet kitchen, besides having the prerequisite high-end Kohler and Davis fixtures and SubZero, Miele and Wolf appliances (and built-in fryer, warming drawer and teppanyaki for at-home Benihana blowouts), features lots of shiny lacquer accented in neon green, more chrome, more cool contemporary light fixtures–and lots and lots of windows.

To get to the private sleeping quarters upstairs, you can experience option paralysis over whether to take the elevator or either of two separate staircases.

The sufficiently impressive corner master suite gets a Duravit Starck free-standing tub and a sleek master bath detailed with Bisazza mosaic tiles and more shiny chrome, and, we hope, some really functional shades on that wall of windows. And who doesn’t love shower TV?

Dream closets? Check.

Completed in 2006, 101 Warren is known for its over-the-top luxe amenities beginning with the usual doorman and concierge plus a state-of-the-art fitness center, a spa, a dedicated spin room with classes, a screening room and a landscaped roof deck (plus a Whole Foods Market among its ground-floor retail), all surrounded with the things that put Tribeca into one of the city’s priciest zip codes.

The Ukrainian-born Garber is a polo enthusiast–he has a training area on his ten-acre estate in Colts Neck, New Jersey, where he lives with his wife and five children; he founded the International Polo Club of Colts Neck, and his company-sponsored teams compete in international events. Since Uber and its brethren have taken at least somewhat of a bite out of the taxi biz, perhaps the medallion mogul is seeking some liquidity (i.e. cash) to keep the glue factory at bay.

[Listing: 101 Warren Street #3210 by Ilan Bracha, Lisa Joa and Natalie Bagdadi for KellerWilliams]

[via CityRealty]

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Images courtesy of Keller Williams.