United Arab Emirates Drops $27.25 Million on New York City Townhouse

The United Arab Emirates has reportedly purchased a townhouse in the Upper east Side of Manhattan, New York City, for $27.25 million.
The permanent representative of UAE to the United Nations confirmed news of the buy with The Wall Street Journal. However, the purpose of the purchase was not revealed. The seller of the townhouse was Eric J. Gleacher, the chairman of Gleacher & Company who also founded the mergers and acquisitions division at Lehmann Brothers in 1978.
Gleacher's townhouse spent more than a year on the market before it finally closed transaction in an off-market deal Tuesday. According to public records, Gleacher purchased the residence in 2005 for $11million and gave it a complete renovation adding hydraulic elevator and dumbwaiter that can be accessed on all its five floors. He also added another floor to the 20-foot-wide townhouse.
Gleacher decided to sell because the home had become an empty nest, the New York Times reported. He first listed it with Carrie Chiang of the Corcoran Group and priced the home at $29.99 million. But failing to sell, the price was reduced by $2.49 million just after two months and the listing agent was also changed.
The transaction was handled by Steven Cohen of the Corcoran Group.
Floor plans, sourced from Curbed, show the entrance opening into a grand foyer. There is an eat-in modern kitchen and a family room on the level. A garden a patio can be accessed outside. Below is a basement level, which is accounted as the ground floor level. The basement has huge storage facilities and a laundry.
The second floor has a butler's pantry, a formal living room, a dining area, a terrace and a balcony on either side. The third floor hosts the master bedroom, a library and spacious walk-in closets for his and her.
The fourth floor has two bedrooms and a laundry. There is an open terrace as well. The floor above has two other bedrooms and a luggage room. The sixth floor roof deck has two more bedrooms and open lounging spaces.
Interiors feature high ceilings, carpeted hardwood flooring and some rooms have peacock blue walls! Check out some of the photos of the home here.
While the Emirati government just bought into the Big Apple, the French government recently sold off a condo in Lenox Hills for $70 million to Israel Englander, the hedge fund manager.
Read more on the property here.