Sean Verdi died of an apparent drug overdose at the home of Ian Reisner, 45, who’s known for developing the gay-friendly Out NYC hotel in Hell’s Kitchen, according to law-enforcement sources.
Verdi was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital at 8:30 a.m., where he was pronounced dead.
The young man’s stepfather was heartbroken.
“I cried all day,” said the stepfather, Steven Colandrea. “All I know is that he was at a party and OD’d. That’s not like Sean. He never had any problems.”
Reisner called 911 and reported the tragic incident to the cops, according to Verdi’s parents.
Police said initially they do not believe criminality was involved.
Colandrea said he was shocked to learn that his step-son died in the bathtub on an older man’s apartment.
Verdi met Reisner at Bartini in Hell’s Kitchen, where he worked, his parents said.
The enterprising young man was looking to open his own business and recently received a degree in bioengineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ.
Reisner’s digs at the building at 230 Central Park South include a 4,000-square-foot combination of five apartments, according to the real-estate blog The Real Deal.
In 2008, a banking executive offered Reisner and his business partner, Mati Weiderpass, $15.5 million for the pad but they turned it down.
The developer made news last May 25 when he was busted in East Hampton for driving while ability impaired.
The developer then pulled into a nearby parking lot where he struck a sign, and was found by police allegedly “unsteady and slurring his speech.”
He was charged with driving while ability impaired and released on $500 bail.
Reisner co-founded Parkview Developers with Weiderpass in 2003. The company focuses on trendy apartment and hotel development.
He had a 15-year career on Wall Street with Salomon Brothers and Bank of America, according to his Web site.
Reisner founded Out NYC, the city’s first gay hotel, in 2012.
“Everything from the ground up had the gay consumer in mind,” Reisner said at the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment