A beloved butler is now the envied recipient of two apartments in the exclusive Dakota building on West 72nd Street and Central Park West. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Indra B. Tamang, who grew up in a mud house in a farming village in Nepal, has reached a pinnacle of society after more than three decades of loyal service as a butler, cook and caretaker to a socially prominent American family."
When Ruth Ford, an actress, died last year, she left Tamand a three-bedroom apartment and a studio, plus all her other possessions, specifically disinheriting her daughter. (Her daughter contested the will and ended up with a settlement that she's happy with.) Tamang put the three-bedroom apartment for sale: Estate taxes are considerable, plus it's unclear if the Dakota's co-op board would approve him (he has a home with his wife and kids in Queens, anyway). The WSJ notes that the apartment originally went on the market for $7.5 million, but the price, which has been cut many times, is now at $4.5 million.
Tamang came to the U.S. under the employ of Ford's brother, who had lived in Nepal for a while, and took care of the siblings in their old age, "I kept hearing about America. I took my chance and I came. I had no idea how the work was going to go and how long I would stay." And a lawyer for Ford's estranged daughter Shelley Scott said, "The one thing that everyone seemed to agree upon is that the guy who took care of her mother and the uncle is a very well liked and well respected. Shelley also liked this guy and is happy for him.
