Henry Joost, Sofia Black-D’Elia Seek Serious Buyer for Brooklyn Penthouse

Filmmaker Henry Joost isn’t catfishing. He’s sincerely seeking a serious buyer for his petite and charming penthouse in New York’s historic and lovely Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. Originally listed at just under $2 million, the two-bedroom, one-bath river- and city-view aerie is now available at $1.85 million. Robert Schulman and Jeremy Kamm, both with Coldwell Banker Warburg, hold the listing.

Tax records show that Joost, director of a couple of films from the “Paranormal Activity” series as well as the seminal 2010 documentary “Catfish” and its long-running TV spinoff series of the same name, paid $1.65 million for the penthouse in 2016. That was $300,000 more than the asking price and just a short time before he coupled up with “Single Drunk Female” star Sofia Black-D’Elia. Joost and Black-D’Elia, whose professional credits also include stints on “Gossip Girl” and “The Mick,” were married last fall.

Just off bustling Montague Street and a bit more than a block from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and the many water-front leisure and recreation options at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the two-bedroom and one-bath penthouse sits atop The Remson, a landmarked pre-war full-service cooperative apartment house built in 1929, and originally used as a hotel.

Beyond the flamboyant Romanesque façade is an ornate lobby staffed with full-time doormen. Up the elevator to the top floor, the front door opens to a small but proper foyer. Honey-hued wood floors extend throughout the apartment, which offers a wood-burning fireplace with an antique mantelpiece in the living room, an elevated, window-lined dining alcove, and a small but updated and smartly configured kitchen. Lots of built-ins and a custom-fitted walk-in closet aid in keeping the small space uncluttered.

The bedrooms flank the main living space, and both have direct access to the 350-square-foot west-facing terrace that offers sweeping sunset views of the New York Harbor and downtown Manhattan skyline. A smaller east-facing terrace outside the kitchen works well for storing wood for the fireplace, growing herbs and/or watching the sun rise.

The Remson is pet and pied-a-terre friendly, and listings note that maintenance charges — $2,171 per month in the case of this penthouse — cover utilities and cable. However, washer/dryers are not permitted, which means the housekeeper will need to schlep clothes down to the communal laundry room in the building’s basement.

Joost owns a second unit at The Remson, a studio apartment scooped up four years ago for $435,000 and currently for sale at $450,000, and tax records indicate the newlywed have already upgraded to a $4.15 million condo in neighboring Cobble Hill. Marketing materials show the couple’s recently acquired three-bedroom and three-and-a-half bath high-floor home does not have a terrace of its own, but it does have another rare and coveted feature: a private parking spot.