Judge Judy’s Manhattan duplex is listed for $9.5m

Real Estate

Judge Judy Sheindlin arrives at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Pasadena, Calif. on May 5, 2019. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/File

By Vivian Marino, New York Times Service

May 30, 2024

NEW YORK — Judith Sheindlin, better known as TV’s “Judge Judy,” is putting her Manhattan home, a duplex penthouse with a wraparound terrace and scenic East River views, on the market for the first time in more than a decade.

The asking price for the apartment at 14 Sutton Place S., in the Sutton Place enclave, is $9.5 million, according to the listing brokers, Tom Postilio and Mickey Conlon, a team at Compass. Monthly maintenance is around $10,130.

“We’ve enjoyed this jewel of an apartment,” Sheindlin said in an email. “Time to simplify,” she added, with typical directness.

Sheindlin, a Brooklyn native and former Manhattan Family Court judge, starred as the no-nonsense judge in the long-running “Judge Judy” TV series. She now appears in the “Judy Justice” courtroom show on Amazon Freevee. Her husband, Jerry Sheindlin, a former New York Supreme Court judge, was also a TV personality, starring in “The People’s Court” for a couple of seasons.

The two bought the Sutton Place home in 2013 for use as a pied-à-terre, paying $8.5 million. (Their purchase came just after selling another pied-à-terre at the Sherry-Netherland hotel several blocks away.) They have owned several other homes around the country, in places such as Newport, R.I.; Greenwich, Conn.; Naples, Fla.; and Los Angeles.

The duplex penthouse sits on the top two floors of 14 Sutton Place S., a 14-story, brick-and-limestone building that has 92 other units and was designed in the late 1920s by renowned architect Rosario Candela. On the corner of East 56th Street, it was converted to a co-op in the late ’50s.

The apartment retains many of its original architectural elements, like the two wood-burning fireplaces with ornate mantels, classic moldings, hardwood floors, and the curved wrought-iron and wood staircase. Ceiling heights go up to 10 feet, and rooms are graciously proportioned.

“There’s a modernity to the layout and an openness,” Conlon said, noting that the Sheindlins kept the floor plan largely intact, making a few cosmetic changes over the years. “It’s grand but not ostentatious in any way.”

“Classic and stunning,” Postilio added, “not cookie-cutter.”

The home has four sizable bedrooms, four full marble and tile bathrooms, and two powder rooms, along with an elegant wood-paneled library.

The main entrance is on the upper level. A spacious gallery with inlaid marble flooring leads to an eat-in, windowed kitchen equipped with a wooden center island, marble countertops and professional-grade appliances. The Sheindlins added a powder room off the kitchen where the previous owner once had wine storage.

Beyond the kitchen is the formal dining room, with floor-to-ceiling French casement doors that open to a terrace, which offers stunning cityscape and river views. The outdoor space is irrigated and landscaped with potted plants, and there are areas carved out for lounging and dining.

“It’s wonderful for entertaining,” Postilio said.

Entry to the terrace is also through the enormous living room, which is anchored by a fireplace, and the library, which has a second fireplace and a powder room.

A staircase near the apartment’s entrance leads down to the four bedrooms, three of which have en suite bathrooms. The large primary bedroom suite features a sitting area, built-in storage and an abundance of closet space.

“There’s a beautiful separation from the public and private spaces and even from the bedrooms,” Conlon said. “It is absolutely a jewel box. And it’s comfortable.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.