Last year Robert De Niro's Greenwich Hotel ran afoul of New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission over a penthouse on top of building. The best suite in the TriBeCa hotel has caused controversy because the commission says that the penthouse does not match the design that they approved in 2004. Last year De Niro appeared at a panel hearing to ask commission members to give him a break and not make he and his partners remove the suite (at an estimated $1.5 million cost) and start over. At the time De Niro said that they worked on the project a long time and tried their best to make it fit into the historic neighborhood. The NY Post reports that De Niro had told the commission that he would update the penthouse façade to match detailed brick used on rest of the building's exterior.

It's been over a year and the building hasn't been corrected. De Niro's business partners and a team of architects were supposed to appear before the commission last week to address the delay. There is no official deadline for getting the project finished but the commission isn't giving up on getting the building fixed in a way that makes the neighborhood happy.

Reuters reported a few days ago that a sophisticated $88 million art investment scam was revealed in New York on March 26. Art dealer Lawrence Salander, 59 (at right), was arrested at his New York home on March 26, when he and his gallery were charged with 100 counts, including grand larceny and securities fraud. Salander pleaded not guilty in New York's Supreme Court and his bail was set at $1 million. He faces up to 25 years in prison on the most serious charge.

Former tennis champion John McEnroe was duped along with Bank of America, investment firms, art owners and collectors. So far, authorities have identified 26 victims of Salander's scheme, including McEnroe, who lost $2 million after investing a half share in two paintings, Arshile Gorky's Pirate I and II. The share in the paintings was sold at the same time to another collector, and McEnroe never recouped the money, authorities said.

Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said the scheme, which lasted from 1994 - 2007, included luring investors who paid cash in exchange for shares of ownership of works of art. "He sold artwork not owned by him and kept the money and lured investment money in fraudulent investment opportunities," Morgenthau said. Salander used the money to fund "an extravagant lifestyle" of lavish parties and private jets, he said.

The investigation of Salander, the former owner of Salander-O'Reilly Galleries (shuttered in 2007), continues. Other estates he looked after included paintings of the late father of actor Robert De Niro.

Most of the artworks, which are yet to be valued, are being held in the custody of a bankruptcy court in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Many of the investors have filed civil claims against Salander and his gallery, which filed for bankruptcy and closed in 2007.

Luxe Italian lingerie brand La Perla has put together a sexy collection of Valentine's Day gifts, presented in the form of a narrative photographed by Bjorn Iooss at Robert De Niro's plush Greenwich Hotel in New York. La Perla's rich tradition dates back to the 1950's when the company's founder, Ada Masotti, started making corsets for wealthy Italian women. Since then they've branched out but costly lingerie is still the core. La Perla's Valentine's Day story goes something like this:

"The La Perla woman makes the effort, but makes things look effortless. For Valentine's Day she wants to look her best and makes sure she takes care of her man. On Valentine's Day, she reserves a suite at the Greenwich Hotel, complete with a view of the New York harbor and a cozy fireplace. She buys several sets of La Perla lingerie, and takes her time to prepare so everything is just so. She then awaits for her man's arrival and presents the ultimate Valentine's gift - herself."

Luxe sushi empire Nobu, backed by Robert De Niro, plans to open an eatery in Doha, Qatar's capital city. Planning is in the early stages and the exact location is unknown, but the odds-on favorite is the landmark Four Seasons Doha in West Bay on the Arabian Gulf, the Qatari Penisula reports. This will be Nobu's second Middle Eastern outpost, following the branch at the newly-opened Atlantis in Dubai's Palm Jumeirah. Qatar, which has the highest per capita income in the world, is also the site of upcoming restaurants from famed chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, part of the country's growing luxeification. Nobu currently has has 21 restaurants in 16 cities around the world.

When sushi first became popular with Western diners it was touted as a guilt-free dinner, high in protein, relatively low in calories and fat, it quickly became wildly popular. Unfortunately all that popularity has led to rampant overfishing and now sushi is not looking quite so guilt free. The Telegraph reports that popular and expensive restaurant chain Nobu will now be highlighting their dishes which include bluefin tuna, a fish which as been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature after decades of overfishing. The items will be marked with an asterisk and let people know that it is endangered.

The move comes after Greenpeace used DNA testing to prove that the Nobu restaurants in London were serving bluefin tuna without letting customers know they were eating the endangered fish. The restaurant has decided not to take the fish off the menu because the restaurant chain's chefs protested losing the chance to create with the delicious delicacy.

The restaurants, which are part-owned by Robert de Niro and sushi chef Nobu Matsuhisa, are popular celebrity haunts in New York, Los Angeles and London as well as other places around the world. Matsuhisa has been looking to switch over to supplying his chain with bluefin tuna farmed from the egg in Australia and Japan rather than fish harvested in the open ocean, a move that is likely to inflate Nobu's already hefty prices.

Robert De Niro's Greenwich Hotel in New York only opened in April but it has hit a variety of snags including getting zero stars for its Ago restaurant by NY Times critic Frank Bruni, The most recent problem involves the hotels lavish rooftop penthouse. The best suite in the $43 million hotel has run a foul of the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission which says that the penthouse does not match the design that they approved in 2004.

On Tuesday De Niro appeared at a panel hearing to ask commission members to give him a break and not make he and his partners remove the suite (an estimated $1.5 million cost) and start over. De Niro said that they worked on the project a long time and tried their best to make it fit into the historic neighborhood. At the panel fellow celebrity and neighbor, actor/director Ed Burns testified that the architecture is beautiful.

The penthouse has a mansard roof and other decorative details which, according to Nadezhda Williams of the Historic Districts Council, make it seem more residential and out of style with the other more industrial buildings in the area. She is calling to have the penthouse called for in De Niro's plans to be built instead. No decision was reached on Tuesday but they will discuss the hotel at a future meeting and may consider less drastic measures such as changing the exterior o the penthouse from stucco to glass and metal.

Rates at the hotel have varied. They were originally supposed to start at $775 but now it looks like you can get in for $525 a night which is pretty reasonable for New York City.

As we mentioned in our Classicist column on Anderson & Sheppard last week, dapper Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter is a devoté of the bespoke British tailoring firm. He proved the worth of a well-made suit with the black three-piece Anderson & Sheppard number he wore to the Tribeca Film Festival fete that Carter co-hosted with Robert De Niro in Manhattan the other night.

Carter, pictured here with New York's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg (one of the guests along with Sigourney Weaver, Harvey Keitel, David Bowie, Jerry Seinfeld and others) looked quite dashing and much more svelte than on some previous occasions -- a fact which we feel is attributable more to A&S' fine tailoring rather than any newfound abstemiousness on the editor's part. After all, he does own one of NYC's trendiest eateries, The Waverly Inn, and we highly doubt he's ever presented with a bill.

[via Kempt]