Some disappointing news just in from over at the New York Observer: Robert De Niro is no longer slotted to be the staff sugar daddy. A month or so ago New York magazine made an announcement in their gossip pages regarding the sale of the Observer to De Niro and the Tribeca company — and though things looked promising for a stretch, today the New York Times carries the word that the deal is dunzo.

“Unfortunately, we could not come to mutually acceptable terms,” Craig Hatkoff, a former real estate investor and one of the founders of Tribeca Enterprises, said in a statement. The other founders are Jane Rosenthal, the producer, who is married to Mr. Hatkoff, and Mr. De Niro, the actor.

Peter W. Kaplan, the editor of The Observer, said, “It just didn’t happen,” adding, “Sometimes things just don’t.”

And sometimes (ok, quite often) Keith Kelly just gets things wrong.

New York Observer Deal Won’t Happen, 2 Sides Say [Katherine Q. Seeyle, New York Times]