The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

LeFrak to pay tenants $42M in settlement over scorching — and freezing — apartments

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 02:40 PM PST

After nearly five years of litigation, LeFrak has reached a hefty settlement with tenants at a Battery Park City complex. LeFrak, the third-largest rental landlord in the city, is set to pay tenants at Gateway Plaza $42 million, court documents show. The class action suit, filed in 2014, accused an entity controlled by LeFrak of neglecting heating repairs in the massive residential complex, which encompasses six 34-story buildings with 1,712 apartments across about 1.9 million

32BJ SEIU could strike if labor agreement isn’t reached in two weeks

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 02:30 PM PST

If office landlords and union cleaners don’t reach an agreement on their wages and benefits by the end of the year, workers could strike. During a massive rally in Midtown Wednesday, 32BJ SEIU members voted in favor of authorizing a strike should they fail to ink a contract with the Realty Advisory Board, which represents commercial building owners and cleaning contractors, by the December 31 deadline. The rally and vote are a regular part of

Pols ponder NYCHA air rights sale for Gowanus

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 12:00 PM PST

Developers already see a major opportunity in Gowanus: a gentrifying, underbuilt area with good subway access. Letting local NYCHA developments sell their air rights could make it even sweeter for builders and for public housing residents, and the two City Council members who must approve say they will consider it. The idea was outlined in a report from the Pratt Center for Community Development, which argues that the city needs to broaden the Gowanus rezoning

Europe could be headed toward a housing crisis

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 11:58 AM PST

Negative interest rates and high rates of household debt in Europe may be leading to a housing bubble. The European Central Bank five years ago slashed its benchmark interest rate to below zero in an effort to ramp up the continent’s stagnant economy. But the move kickstarted a surge in demand to buy housing, the New York Times reported. “The dynamics have totally changed in a short period of time,” Matthias Holzhey, UBS’ head of

Judge tosses mortgage-fraud case against Manafort

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:40 AM PST

The Manhattan district attorney’s criminal case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has been dismissed by a New York judge. Manafort’s lawyers argued that the charges in the state case, which include residential-mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying business records, were based on the same misconduct for which their client was already serving a seven-year federal prison sentence. Justice Maxwell Wiley took that view. “Given the rather unique set of facts pertaining to the defendant’s

Fitness chain plans to kick sand in Equinox’s face

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:30 AM PST

A budget fitness chain swole from private equity bucks plans to take on Equinox. EōS Fitness is looking to open 15 to 20 gym locations in Manhattan for a new luxury fitness line to compete with its ritzy rival — but with memberships costing about half as much. “Their luxury concept in Manhattan will be [about] $100 per month, but still offering the same full services that most luxury gyms offer in Manhattan,” said Greg

The five most expensive homes listed in NYC last week

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 09:00 AM PST

Lower Manhattan properties dominated last week’s supply of fresh listings. The second week of December saw the five priciest homes new to the market range from $18.5 million to $5.5 million, compared with the previous week’s spread of $19.5 million to just under $10 million. The two most expensive new listings were townhouses. Combined, the five most expensive listings in New York City between Dec. 9 through Dec. 15 seek nearly $45 million. Here’s a

NYC’s 10 most valuable office leases of 2019

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 08:15 AM PST

When it came to big office leases in New York this year, Hudson Yards was the place to be. The new neighborhood saw three of the city’s 10 most valuable office leases in 2019, more than any other part of New York. This included the most valuable office lease of the year — WarnerMedia’s roughly $2 billion deal at 30 Hudson Yards — along with Cravath, Swain & Moore’s $1 billion deal at 2 Manhattan

Real estate donors are turning away from Trump

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 07:35 AM PST

As a Republican, an incumbent and a former developer, President Donald Trump should have no trouble harnessing donations from the real estate industry. But new data from the Center for Responsive Politics show that the president is lagging behind Democratic rivals Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg this year when it comes to donations from individual real estate donors. Trump has raised just $902,723 from them compared to Biden’s $1.04 million and Buttigieg’s $964,912, the center

De Blasio’s plan for street homeless aims for 1,000 new units

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 07:10 AM PST

Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a plan Tuesday to house thousands of people living on New York City’s streets. The goal: end long-term street homelessness in five years. The plan, to cost $100 million, aims to have developers and nonprofits create 1,000 permanent housing units for the city’s homeless. The number of transitional beds — in informal shelters — will also be increased by 1,000, bringing the total to 2,800 across the five boroughs. “The

Shvo, partners land $120M construction loan for 685 Fifth Avenue

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 07:01 AM PST

Michael Shvo and his partners Deutsche Finance and Bilgili Group have landed a $120 million construction loan from CIM Group for 685 Fifth Avenue, the companies announced Wednesday. Shvo and his partners purchased the property in 2018 for $135 million. It is the former Dorothy Gray Building and was previously the global headquarters for Gucci. The developers got approval in February to convert the office portion of 685 Fifth Avenue into residential condos. Mandarin Oriental

Lawsuit: Big landlord owes back rent after taking tax break

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:22 AM PST

A lawsuit alleges that the owner of 63 Wall Street charged market-rate rents for hundreds of units despite receiving tax benefits that — according to a recent court ruling — required it to offer rent-regulated leases. Rockpoint Group, the owner of 63 and 67 Wall Street in the Financial District, under the 421g program, got a break on property taxes for 14 years. All of the units should have been covered under rent stabilization, according

Tenants demand freeze on rent increases from apartment improvements

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 05:00 AM PST

While a state agency stalls on issuing guidance for a regulated apartment improvement program, tenant groups are challenging pending rent increases at four buildings in Inwood. The state’s division of Homes and Community Renewal indicated in November that it would release new guidance for the Major Capital Improvements program — which allows landlords to increase stabilized rents in exchange for building-wide improvements — by June 2020. And in another blow to landlords, the agency said

Sizing up Stellar’s dueling worlds, from OZ plays to class-action lawsuits

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 04:30 AM PST

Stellar Management has kept a notably low profile for most of its roughly 35-year existence, especially compared to some other New York landlords like Blackstone, LeFrak and the Related Companies. But the investment and management firm has become increasingly hard to ignore. The company has its hands in everything from the multifamily market to ground-up development to Opportunity Zones. But views on Stellar vary widely — to the point that the one company can sound

NYC’s 10 most active developers (actually, one is a bank)

Posted: 18 Dec 2019 04:00 AM PST

Related Companies had a busy 2019. The developer, along with partner Oxford Properties Group, opened the first phase of the 28-acre Hudson Yards. Related also inked massive leases with Facebook, which is taking 1.5 million square feet of office space across 30 floors in three buildings — 30, 50 and 55 Hudson Yards. As with last year, Related’s work at Hudson Yards has made it the most active developer of 2019. To get a sense