The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Three more months in limbo: Broker-fee ban lawsuit delayed

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 02:15 PM PST

The uncertain future of broker fee payments will be prolonged until at least June. On Friday, the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James requested an extension to respond to the real estate industry’s Article 78 petition until May 1 and the industry agreed to the delay, according to court documents and a statement sent by the Real Estate Board of New York. The parties will now meet in court on June 12. The

Real estate titan: I was duped on deal by elderly button-shop owner

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 02:00 PM PST

In New York real estate, six inches can make all the difference. Real estate investor Arthur Shapolsky, through a limited liability company, signed a contract last year to pay $5.25 million for an Upper East Side building that was the long-time home of a beloved button shop. Key to the purchase was that the property connected to Lexington Avenue through a slice of land just six inches wide — or so he thought. But it

Hearst estate owner hopes for $125M parachute amid megamansion frenzy

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 01:30 PM PST

When the Beverly House hit the market last month with a $125 million asking price, it seemed crazy, sure, but not that crazy. Jeff Bezos had just agreed to pay David Geffen $165 million for the Jack Warner Estate in Beverly Hills, and that record sale was preceded by Bel Air mansions selling for $150 million and $120 million in the past year. So, if those estates could fetch nine figures, why couldn’t real estate

The bills that wouldn’t die!

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 12:35 PM PST

The only political victories the real estate industry could claim last year were fending off the pied-à-terre tax and the “good cause” eviction bill. But growing momentum to pass both measures in the current legislative session shows that the industry failed to drive a stake through their hearts. Though killed last year through intense lobbying, the dreaded “good cause” eviction bill championed by state Sen. Julia Salazar has risen from the dead and advanced to

Cushman & Wakefield lays off employees, but won’t say how many

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 10:40 AM PST

Cushman & Wakefield has made layoffs across the country as the company reorganizes, sources said. In a statement, the brokerage acknowledged the layoffs after a review of its business last year. The statement did not specify how many employees will be let go, or from which divisions. “We have made the difficult, but necessary, decision to reduce our workforce in select areas of our organization in order to align our business to our new strategic

Mark your calendars: These are NYC’s top real estate events next week

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 10:30 AM PST

Here are a few real estate events coming up next week. Host: iGlobal Forum Date: March 10 to March 11 Time: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. iGlobal Forum is hosting its Real Estate Private Equity Summit at The Harmonie Club, 4 East 60th Street. This event will feature one-on-one networking, workshops, and discussions on the outlook for real estate investment in different sectors. Melissa Reagan of Nuveen Real Estate and Melissa Donohoe of Columbia Property

Stagg Group to build 105-apartment complex in Highbridge

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 09:47 AM PST

More than 100 apartment units will be added to the city’s tight housing market by a Stagg Group project in the Bronx. The firm, led by Mark Stagg, plans to construct a nearly 110,000-square-foot apartment building at 1073 Summit Avenue in the Highbridge section, according to an application filed with the city’s Department of Buildings this week. The project will sit between West 165th and West 166th streets, near the Major Deegan Expressway. The 10-story

Damaged Wing? Startup lost altitude in sale by WeWork

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 09:05 AM PST

As WeWork continues to shed its non-essential assets, the valuation of another startup it invested in took a significant hit. In 2018, before WeWork’s botched attempt at an initial public offering, the Wing was valued at $365 million. In January, WeWork’s parent company sold its stake in the female-focused co-working company in a deal valuing the Wing at $165 million, according to Bloomberg. Now, investors now say the startup is worth about $200 million. WeWork

Pols slam city for backing developers of 200 Amsterdam

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 08:00 AM PST

New York politicians angry at the city’s decision to support a controversial Upper West Side tower say the position is “shocking” and “defies reason.” In a statement Thursday, state legislators Linda Rosenthal and Brad Hoylman and others condemned the city’s decision to side with SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan America in appealing a court ruling that revoked the permit for 200 Amsterdam Avenue. The appeal, filed Tuesday, came one day after the Department of Buildings

The Brady hunch: Is THIS the house Tom Brady (maybe) bought in Greenwich?

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 07:30 AM PST

The rumors got the snap in July, gained traction in November and broke free into the open field in January: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen had dropped $9 million on an estate in Greenwich and were moving their family to town! Even the governor weighed in to run blocking against the doubters with a tweet welcoming the power couple to Connecticut as the media buzz reached a peak. The supposed

PacSun takes retail space in SoHo for NYC debut

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 06:45 AM PST

West Coast surf wear and lifestyle brand PacSun is making a splash in Soho. The California-based retailer inked a short-term lease for 10,000 square feet to open a store at 503 Broadway, between Broome and Spring streets, Commercial Observer reported. The asking rent was $450 per square foot, according to JLL, which represented PacSun in the deal. Cushman and Wakefield negotiated the deal for the landlord, Vincent Fung. The SoHo store will be the youth-oriented

Gateway tunnel faces more delays from Trump administration

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 06:00 AM PST

The Gateway tunnel has suffered another setback at the hands of the Trump administration. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said that an environmental impact report — which would allow the project to receive federal funding — will continue to be delayed, NJ.com reported. The Federal Railroad Administration had initially set a March 2018 deadline for the report. In 2017, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie agreed to fund the states’ portion of the

City sides with tenants at Stuy Town in case against Blackstone

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 05:35 AM PST

New York City is siding with Stuyvesant Town tenants in their challenge against their landlord, Blackstone, while industry pros are puzzling over the potential consequences. Yesterday, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village tenants sued private equity firm Blackstone to prevent the deregulation of thousands of rent-stabilized units when their leases start expiring in July. The plaintiffs say 6,200 apartments in Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village could be deregulated, and argue the rent law passed by the

Creditors are banging on Toby Moskovits’ door

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 05:00 AM PST

A SoftBank-owned investment firm. A family friend. A national lending platform. And the former Bank of Internet. It seems like everyone is out to get Toby Moskovits these days. The high-profile Brooklyn developer and her partner Michael Lichtenstein, principals of Heritage Equity Partners, are fighting off foreclosure at a Bushwick development site. Creditors are after them for more than $10 million in alleged personal debts. And one of their flagship projects, the Williamsburg Hotel, is

Behind Safehold’s paydirt plan

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 04:30 AM PST

Safehold’s first big bet on New York City dirt flew under the radar at first. In late August, the iStar-managed real estate investment trust closed on its first deal in the five boroughs when it acquired the land under the landmarked Banknote Building, a 405,000-square-foot office building in the Bronx’s Hunts Point neighborhood, for $65 million. And as the only publicly traded firm to focus on ground leases — at a time when such deals

For US retailers, coronavirus concerns come home. What are their options?

Posted: 06 Mar 2020 04:00 AM PST

“Community spread” of the coronavirus in the U.S. has led to a growing fear among retailers. Already grappling with supply-chain uncertainty due to the spreading epidemic, retailers are now contending with the prospect of a decline in sales as consumers opt to avoid public spaces. While American cities have yet to witness the empty-street scenes that have appeared in places like Seoul or Milan, the way retailers in other markets have responded to the crisis