The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘NO LONGER A HOME’
Giuliani’s ex recalls life in apartment now up for sale.
Apartment 10W NEW YORK — at 45 E. 66th St. went up for sale for $6.5 million in July. The prewar apartment includes “an abundance of sunshine, high ceilings, and beautiful hardwood floors,” according to the listing. The layout is “thoughtful and inviting.” The dining room is “ideal for a tranquil breakfast or cozy dinner.” Oh, and “pets are welcome” in this co-op building.
The seller, Rudy Giuliani, could certainly use the cash.
His lawyer, Adam Katz, filed an article about the apartment being listed for sale as an exhibit to show that Giuliani, 79, “was close to broke.”
That was last month at a court hearing where lawyers for Smartmatic, an election technology company that sued Giuliani and Fox News in 2021 over false claims of election fraud, argued that Giuliani was using his financial state as an excuse for not sharing discovery documents.
There “are a lot of bills that he’s not paying, from a $57,000 phone bill to significantly more,” Katz said at the hearing. “I think that this is very humbling for Mr. Giuliani.”
It’s a precipitous fall for “America’s Mayor” — the lawsuit is among several legal matters entangling Giuliani. Last month, he surrendered at the Fulton County Jail for the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump. Giuliani has been identified as a co-conspirator.
The controversies have left stains not just on Giuliani’s reputation, but on the apartment’s as well. It was raided by the FBI in 2021, overshadowing its walking distance to Nobu and Bergdorf Goodman.
Years ago, “it was a very positive thing” to prospective buyers that Giuliani lived there, said Dolly Lenz, a luxury real estate agent, who has had multiple listings in the co-op.
“It was like, it’s America’s mayor, he chose this building — all very good things ascribed to him living in the same building,” she said. But today, Lenz said she “would suspect it would be wildly different.”
The Sotheby’s broker currently listing Giuliani’s apartment is Serena Boardman, who New York magazine once called the “broker to the fallen stars” when she won the task of marketing a different property — Bernie Madoff’s Manhattan penthouse. She did not respond to requests for comment. Katz also did not respond.
The penthouse
Judith Giuliani, Giuliani’s ex-wife, recalled the apartment’s glory days, which coincided with Rudy Giuliani’s peak as a national household name in the wake of 9/11.
By 2002, his mayoral term had ended, and he embarked on his apartment search on the Upper East Side while staying at a hotel, the New York Post reported at the time.
He needed a home that matched his heft, and he wouldn’t settle — Judith Giuliani said that he wanted a top-floor apartment.
After some negotiating, they snagged the 66th Street co-op apartment for $4.77 million.
“He never even saw the apartment until we had already decided to buy it,” she said, adding that the interior design and decoration was done by her. “I found it, I decorated it, I made it his home.”
There, she hosted many luncheons, holidays and charity events — but it was primarily about hosting and entertaining friends and family, not work, she said.
“It was home for us,” said Judith Giuliani, 68, who was married to Rudy Giuliani for 15 years. “He was my husband, and he loved coming home,” she said. “It was a place where he went for it to be a respite.”
In the paneled library room, Judith Giuliani installed a special humidifying system and plasma TV for Rudy Giuliani, “where he could smoke cigars and relax and watch his Yankee games.”
The Gothic-style apartment complex was built between 1906 and 1908, and it was designated as a landmark in 1977.
When architects applied to build a new penthouse addition at the top of the building, Rudy Giuliani sought to block the construction. In 2014, Curbed reported that Brian Morgenstern, a lawyer for Giuliani, said that a “penthouse on top of a penthouse on top of a penthouse” would be too much.
The concern, on Giuliani’s part, was perhaps because at the time, his apartment was on the top floor, and he didn’t want to lose his own penthouse status.
“At the time that we bought it, it was a penthouse. It was extremely important to Rudy that he lived in a penthouse,” Judith Giuliani said.
The new addition was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Rudy Giuliani was no longer at the top.
‘I wish Rudy well’
His marriage would soon wane.
By 2018, Judith Giuliani filed for divorce.
Rudy Giuliani’s dealings with Trump were well underway and public opinion started to turn against him.
“I’m sad to know that the hero of 9/11 has become a liar,” Judith Giuliani told the Times in 2019, of the legal battle to get from the divorce what she felt she was owed.
Though she had decorated the apartment and had fond memories of her parties, “I wanted to move on,” said Judith Giuliani, who is represented by lawyer Dror Bikel.
“He was, after all, the Mayor of the City of New York, at one point a very well respected one. So, it seemed logical that he would have that apartment.”
But it’s “no longer a home,” she said.
“No matter how things ended up, there were many, many, many happy memories in that apartment. And I wish the next person well, and I wish Rudy well.”