A15 NEW YORK\/REGION B1-7 Real Estate Firm Buys Complexes for $ 5.4 Billion Jerry I. Speyer , a real estate tycoon who controls some of New York City 's most prominent landmarks , signed the largest American real estate deal ever , agreeing to pay $ 5.4 billion for Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village , a vast corridor of 110 apartment buildings along the East River in Manhattan .