The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Stimulus deal buoys real estate stocks, but coronavirus maintains its grip

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 03:15 PM PDT

The mid-week market optimism slid away Friday, as real estate stocks — including real estate investment trusts, brokerage firms and homebuilders — fell along with the broader market. Markets did end the week higher but today’s dip, which came despite the House and Senate approving a historic $2 trillion stimulus deal, was another signal that the coronavirus still has a grip on the economy. Layoffs from closures of restaurants, hotels and scores of other businesses

Mass layoffs claim jobs at the Plaza, Sofitel and Le Bernardin

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 02:20 PM PDT

From the Plaza Hotel to Le Bernardin, workers at New York City restaurants and hotels were battered by more layoffs on Friday. With most non-essential business in the city at a standstill, there were 19 new WARN notices filed, signalling mass layoffs. The notices impacted a total of 1,692 workers. Among those businesses reporting layoffs in New York City were the famed Plaza Hotel, which laid off 250 employees and will close Friday. “As we

Crown Heights hotel marks lone mid-market deal this week

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 01:00 PM PDT

Just one property traded hands in New York’s mid-level investment sales market last week, at a time when the city is trying to grapple with the deepening coronavirus outbreak. Here are the details of the sale: An LLC based in Bedford-Stuyvesant purchased a four-story hotel in Crown Heights for $10 million. The seller was an LLC linked to the real estate and hospitality investment firm RiverBrook Equities. The hotel is at 1412 Pitkin Avenue, and

Another huge round of layoffs for Knotel

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 12:58 PM PDT

Flex office company Knotel slashed its 400-person workforce by half, as the coronavirus pandemic has drained the unicorn startup’s membership base. Knotel laid off or furloughed 195 employees worldwide today, Commercial Observer reported. “Business as usual is over,” Knotel CEO Amol Sarva told the publication. “[The coronavirus crisis] isn’t short and we’ve decided that we’re going to take some sharp action ourselves on this. We’re going to prepare for the worst case.” The cuts come

Could NY’s work from home moment fuel office-to-residential conversions?

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 12:30 PM PDT

The long term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic will not be fully known for months or even years, but one major question has already come up: if now widespread working from home becomes standard practice, what will that mean for New York’s office market? Some real estate pros maintain that companies and employees will be happier than ever to return to their offices after the crisis subsides, while others are predicting a more permanent decline

House passes $2 trillion stimulus package

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 11:45 AM PDT

UPDATED, 3:46 p.m., March 27: After a brief procedural hiccup, Congress’ $2 trillion economic stimulus package is on its way to the desk of President Trump. U.S. Representatives raced back to Washington on Friday to pass the coronavirus response measure by voice vote after Republican Rep. Thomas Massie threatened to hold up the bill by asking for a formal roll-call vote, according to the Wall Street Journal. The fallout from the pandemic has battered the

Fed to mall and hotel owners: Drop dead

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 11:15 AM PDT

The central bank’s multi-trillion-dollar intervention to help companies facing a credit crunch leaves struggling malls, hotels and other properties out in the cold. Earlier this week the Federal Reserve announced it would launch an unprecedented program to buy up corporate bonds so companies hurt by the coronavirus pandemic will have money to borrow. But the program is focused on buying investment-grade debt issued by the companies with the strongest balance sheets. That runs the risk,

Michael Shvo on the Bible, Batman and why NYC will bounce back

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 11:07 AM PDT

After seven months of due diligence, developer Michael Shvo bet on New York real estate emerging from the coronavirus pandemic last week — by making an offer to buy a building on Fifth Avenue. “What we’re facing now — we don’t know the end of this, but we know eventually there will be an end,” he said. With the global economy in limbo, Shvo spoke with The Real Deal’s publisher Amir Korangy as part of

Marc Jacobs gets what he paid for West Village pad: $10.5M

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 10:34 AM PDT

Marc Jacobs has officially closed on the sale of his West Village townhouse, reaping a mere $50,000 more than he paid for it more than a decade ago. Jacobs sold his four-story townhouse at 68 Bethune Street, part of the Superior Ink condominium, for $10.5 million, a property record filed this week shows. The fashion designer had shelled out $10.495 million for the home in 2009. The new owner is 68 Bethune Trust, with attorney

New York halts most construction

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 08:10 AM PDT

After facing pressure from city officials and workers, the state is shutting down all construction except work on infrastructure, healthcare facilities and affordable housing. The Empire State Development Corp. updated its guidelines Friday, saying only work on “roads, bridges, transit facilities, utilities, hospitals or health care facilities, affordable housing, and homeless shelters” will be considered essential. The qualification is a dramatic change from the blanket exemption included in an executive order Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed

The Plaza shuts down and lays off 251

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 08:05 AM PDT

Prestige, glamour and Central Park views proved no match for the microscopic coronavirus as the Plaza Hotel stopped taking guests Friday and announced 251 layoffs. “We fully support our local authorities as they work to halt the spread of COVID-19. For this reason, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend service at The Plaza effective on Friday,” said George Cozonis, its managing director, in a statement on the hotel’s website. A notice filed

Mark your calendars: These are the top real estate webinars next week

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 07:30 AM PDT

Gatherings are out, but virtual gatherings are in. Here are some real estate webinars coming up next week. Host: Mortgage Bankers Association Date: April 1 Time: 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST The Mortgage Bankers Association is holding its webinar on Flex Office Space Wednesday. Listen to this session to hear how current trends in flexible office solutions impact lenders, property valuations and risk management. Speakers include Ken Biberaj of Savills and Richard Tsui of

Landlord groups: Postpone vote on rent increase

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 06:51 AM PDT

The three main trade associations for New York City’s landlords are jointly asking the city to put off a vote on rent increases for rent-stabilized housing. In a letter, the Rent Stabilization Association, Community Housing Improvement Program and Real Estate Board of New York urged Deputy Mayor Vicki Been to delay action by the Rent Guidelines Board. The board holds public hearings each year, starting in April, as part of its review process to determine

WeWork to miss 2020 targets because of coronavirus

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 06:08 AM PDT

WeWork says it won’t be hitting its targets this year because of the coronavirus. In a letter to bondholders, CEO Sandeep Mathrani and Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure wrote they no longer expect to meet their 2020 targets, Bloomberg reported. The co-working firm’s gloomy outlook came in a lengthy footnote to the letter. “We are in the process of reviewing and reevaluating the previously disclosed forward-looking information related to our other interim targets,” the executives wrote.

Redfin execs tighten belt and give agents a boost

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 05:35 AM PDT

Agents at real estate brokerage Redfin are getting a reprieve and the CEO is forsaking compensation in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Redfin, said he will give up pay for the remainder of the year, according to a report in Inman. Agents at his company will get an increase in their fixed pay to make up for the drop-off in transactions. The members of its board also agreed to forego

Second Take: Related’s Israeli troubles and how co-ops are dealing with quarantine breakers

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 05:00 AM PDT

The reporters behind The Real Deal‘s coverage of the lawsuits quarantine breakers could face at co-ops and the Related Companies’ dicey time in Tel Aviv, joined Associate Publisher Hiten Samtani via video conference for an in-depth discussion of their reporting. Kevin Sun, who reported on Related’s conversations in Israel as $200M in bonds mature, and Erin Hudson, who spoke to the lawyers advising co-ops and condos on quarantine legal options, offered their insights into what

The Closing: Don Capoccia

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Donald Capoccia is a founding member and principal at BFC Partners, which has pioneered development in emerging neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, East Harlem and Downtown Brooklyn and is tackling some of the largest projects in the city today. Capoccia started his company 35 years ago with partners Greg Baron and Peter Ferrara and now works with their sons, Brandon Baron and Joseph Ferrara. BFC’s current developments include the six-acre Essex Crossing megaproject on

Ample Hills Creamery to lay off all 101 of its workers

Posted: 27 Mar 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Ample Hills Creamery is laying off all 101 of its employees, according to a notice filed with the New York State Department of Labor. The notice, dated March 14, says the layoffs are for “economic” reasons. It comes in the wake of Ample Hills filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which the popular ice cream maker hopes will allow it to preserve and restructure the company. A spokeswoman for Brooklyn-based Ample Hills said that all layoffs