Anchor’s away!
START spreading the news: The historic Upper East Side townhouse that formerly belonged to the CBS anchor Walter Cronkite (inset) has hit the market for $7.7 million. The sellers, Joseph Faccibene and Mary Kay Coyle, bought the home at 519 E. 84th St., between York and East End avenues, in 1999. Cronkite’s fan mail was still delivered to the home years after he left, including books that fans hoped “the most trusted man in America” would autograph. Once, when Cronkite’s wife Betsy left her wallet at Patsy’s, the waiter rang Faccibene’s doorbell the next day to drop it off. (Faccibene tried to deliver it to the Cronkites’ home, but the doorman wouldn’t accept it, so they called CBS. Eventually, Cronkite called and asked if he could stop by with his wife, pick it up and visit the home.) “He had come to New York to start a new concept, the evening news, and said he had a hard time finding a place to live,” Faccibene told The Post. Cronkite, added Faccibene, bought the house for $40,000 when there was still a squatter in the house. “The house held a lot of memories for them,” Faccibene said. “They raised their family here and entertained lots of famous people, like Frank Sinatra,” The 19th-century, four-story brownstone, which dates to 1880, features four bedrooms, custom millwork and hardwood floors. There’s also an eat-in chef ’s kitchen and French doors that lead to a landscaped garden. The full-floor parlor features fireplaces, a dining room and a family room with three balconies overlooking the garden. The broker is Thomas Wexler of Leslie J. Garfield.