Israeli diamond/real estate mogul Lev Leviev purchased the former headquarters of the New York Times at the worst possible time: In 2007, he paid $550 million for the West 43rd Street landmark, or about three times what the seller had paid two years earlier. The Uzbekistan-born billionaire (and part-time mohel) had been planning to turn it into a "first-class" office building. But then the recession came along and Leviev's empire started to unravel. And so now he has new investors and a new plan for the massive space.

It looks like 20 Pine Street and Rector Square aren't the only downtown apartment buildings facing lawsuits from frustrated, angry buyers. Steve An paid $820,000 for an apartment in mogul Lev Leviev's District condo building at 111 Fulton Street back in 2007. Maybe he isn't so impressed with how Amy Sacco's "exclusive lifestyle concept" has been turning out? An filed suit against Leviev's company on Tuesday, and is now demanding his $82,000 deposit back. You can look at the complaint for yourself below.

The party for ASmallWorld—the one that featured protests by a group opposed to Lev Leviev's business practices—didn't bring too many socialites out in the rain last night. "The likes of Annie Churchill, Dalia Oberlander, Jennifer Creel, and Gillian Hearst Simonds stayed away—until the private post-event dinner at Serafina, that is," reports Fashion Week Daily's Ashley Baker. Judging by photos Adalah-NY directed us to this morning, it seems the protesters had a bit of trouble generating a turnout, too. [The Daily]

It looks like there will be some additional drama at tonight's splashy "Champagne & Diamonds" party for the faded social networking site ASmallWorld and Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev. (ASmallWorld informed us this morning, by the way, that Harvey Weinstein will not be attending personally.) A protest is planned by a group that objects to Leviev's record on human rights. Says a rep for Adalah-NY: "It's truly a small world for Leviev, as his companies are simultaneously involved in destroying communities in Palestine, Africa, and New York City. We will protest this outrageous celebration of worldwide human rights abuses and economic catastrophe by Leviev and New York's elites, because it ridicules the losses of homes, jobs and security being inflicted on working people worldwide." Sounds like Annie Churchill, Jennifer Creel, Amanda Hearst, and Annelise Peterson are in for a treat! The full press release is after the jump.

Harvey Weinstein is the co-founder of the Weinstein Company, the struggling studio that has produced very few hits over the past year, has seen a handful of senior of execs flee for the exits in recent weeks, and has been immersed in a nasty legal spat with NBC over the fate of his one big hit, Project Runway, over the past few months. (Further evidence of his financial woes: He owes Cindy Adams $10,000 and has refused to pay up.) Lev Leviev might be a less familiar name to you. He's the Ubekistan-born, Orthodox Jewish diamond and real estate billionaire who lives in Israel and controls the Africa-Israel Group, which dominates the diamond mining industry in Angola and owns a good deal of real estate, too, including the former headquarters of the New York Times.

This isn't shaping up to be an especially good year for New York's ultra-rich. According to Forbes, Moscow recently overtook NYC as the city with the most billionaires per square mile: Moscow had 74 people worth ten figures compared to New York, which had just 71. But those smarmy bazillionaires aren't staying put in Moscow or even in the de-facto Russian mogul ghetto of London. Many of them are spending time right here in New York: Real estate, oil, and metals scions from Russia and other former Soviet republics have been busy snatching up some of the most expensive apartments the city has to offer. Last month, a 42-year-old fertilizer kingpin named Dmitry Rybolovlev agreed to pay $100 million for Donald Trump's Palm Beach mansion, Maison de l'Amitié. The 59th richest man in the world, worth some $12.8 billion, his purchase includes a 33,000-square-foot home and 6.5 acres of land. But he isn't the only one. After the jump, a list of the novi Russki who spend time in New York—just who these Soviet oligarchs are, how they made their money, and what exactly they're up to in town.

Are you an extremely plugged-in Jewish business magnate whose newborn son needs his foreskin removed stat? Pull the right strings and you may be able to retain the mohel services of Lev Leviev, the Uzbekistan-born diamond/real estate/chemicals baron who clocked in as Forbes' 210th richest person in the world this year. The scalpel-brandishing billionaire, who insanely opted to circumcise his first son himself despite never having performed a circumcision before, is now apparently open to snipping others' kids: this Sunday he'll be in town to perform a bris on the son of Zina Sapir, the daughter of real estate mogul Tamir Sapir, and Rotem Rosen, the CEO of Leviev's holding company Africa Israel. In addition to currying favor with Leviev, the Sapir-Rosens will enjoy the added benefit of saving a little scratch: Leviev's doing the deed pro bono whereas the average bris runs about $350. Given all the woes besetting the Sapir family's Trump Soho development, every penny helps.

Since the Catholic Church began offloading some of its properties, the city's been in need of an weird religious organization with a shady past to fulfill the role of Real Estate overlord. Happily, we found a replacement in Lev Leviev's Africa-Israel corporation. The Israeli Lubavitcher diamond dealer has been doing a little real estate retail therapy—grabbing the Times building for $525 billion and 50 per cent of the Apthorp apartment on the U.W.S. According to today's Post, Leviev just bought Ian Schrager's One Madison Avenue, a building the also-a-little meshuga Schrager had planned to be another "high-end hotel, more like a private club." But now those plans are kaput. Guess New York can make do without another Gramercy. But what will rise in its stead? We're guessing something really scary and dangerous, like a tower of diamonds with rockets on the parapets and when you go by the gargoyles scream at you and shoot diamonds from their eyes. —Josh

• David Halberstam's Doonesbury appearance: He kissed Woodward and Bernstein's Guccis. [Slate]