This Lenox Hill property is estimated to be sold for $50 million. (Jim Spellman/WireImage via Getty Images)

After much controversy regarding the estate of designer Oleg Cassini, who died in 2006, it looks as if movement is being made to disburse assets. A pair of townhouses owned by the widow of the Russian-born designer who dated, married and dressed the most glamorous women are said to slated for sale.

The Gramercy townhouse that belongs to the estate of designer Oleg Cassini is set to be auctioned on March 13.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Cassini’s Gramercy Park townhouse at 135 E. 19th St. is scheduled for auction on March 13. Misha Haghani of Paramount Realty USA, the auction house handling the marketing for the property, said the property was appraised for around $9 million in 2007. The 1901-era brick townhouse is about 6,800 square feet, and reports indicate it is now valued at about $15 million.

The second property at 15 E. 63rd St. is also expected to hit the market soon. Katherine Clarke at the WSJ reports that the former Elias Asiel Mansion will list for around $50 million.

The listings come as Cassini’s widow, Marianne Nestor, remains in jail over a decades-long dispute over the administration of the $55 million Cassini estate. She was removed as executor in 2014, and has failed to comply with a settlement efforts via a court-appointed receiver. The WSJ said:

The Gramercy sale is being executed in order to satisfy a judgement against Ms. Cassini in the case, according to Mr. Haghani. The other heirs are Mr. Cassini’s grandchildren from his earlier marriage to the actress Gene Tierney, he said. A court-appointed receiver for the case declined to comment.

The Lenox Hill townhouse will be listed by Leslie J. Garfield & Co., and will make its market one year after decades-long drama over an eviction case led by Marianne Nestor and her sister, Peggy, who purchased the property in 1984 — about 20 years after Cassini first bought the townhouse.

The Nestor sisters had tried to make the case that the townhouse, which was long ago converted into 10 apartments, was meant to be a single-family residence, and they planned to convert it back. But that meant trying to evict interior designer Thomas Britt over his tenancy in the 3,000-foot triplex he occupied in the building. The case dragged on for 30 years before it was settled last year.

In the meantime, Cassini’s jailed widow played hardball with the designer’s estate for decades against Cassini’s daughter via actress Gene Tierney. Tina Cassini died in 2015 before seeing any hint of the $1 million a court once ruled she was due.

However, Cassini’s grandchildren continue their case as heirs to their grandfather’s estate. The sale of these two townhouses should help to concentrate more cash into the estate’s holdings, paving the way for a long-awaited settlement.
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