The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

The Upper East Side tower that famously housed a TV family’s “de-luxe apartment in the sky” now faces sky-high damages from a class-action lawsuit. Tenants allege that the owners of the Park Lane, the rental building featured in the 1970s sitcom “The Jeffersons,” charged as many as 100 current and former tenants market-rate rents while receiving a tax benefit. The lawsuit names the owner entity of the 430-unit tower, which property records show is linked

In order to prevent the U.S. government from selling a 1MDB scandal-linked penthouse at a steep discount, the condo board of Chelsea’s Walker Tower recently sought to exercise its right of first refusal on a proposed sale. Unfortunately for them, a federal judge has decided that such a right no longer exists. Judge Dale Fischer wrote in a decision last Monday that a May consent judgment wiped out the board’s right of first refusal —

Andrew Moger’s days are filled with tracking restaurant closures around the city. The CEO of BCD Development, a restaurant-focused real estate brokerage and advisory firm, is on the lookout for vacancies — and expects a spate of them. “You take these restaurants that signed very expensive leases and were barely doing well pre-Covid, and then you add this type of devastation, it shouldn’t surprise anybody that those places aren’t going to make it,” Moger said.

With the office market in limbo, WeWork has launched a pay-as-you-go offering that allows users to drop in for as little as an hour (and $10). A source familiar with WeWork’s new “On Demand” program said it’s being piloted for the next 60 days in New York City. As companies reopen for business, it reflects a growing demand for a “third place” to work — in other words, a flexible space that is neither home

Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence sold her 4,070-square-foot Upper East Side penthouse at a hefty loss. The actress sold the full-floor unit at Alexico Group’s Laurel Condominium for $9.9 million late last month, property records show. The price was nearly 37 percent below the $15.6 million she paid in 2016. The buyer is a limited liability company called John’s Mountain. It is managed by Marwan Kheireddine, the chairman of Lebanon’s AM Bank and a former Minister

President Donald Trump said Monday that he was “going to stop” evictions by issuing a moratorium as negotiations in Congress bog down over a larger federal coronavirus relief plan. The White House is also looking into whether Trump can unilaterally extend the enhanced unemployment benefits that were part of the federal government’s pandemic relief legislation passed in March, according to Bloomberg. Democratic and Republican leaders are currently at an impasse over a proposed relief package.

Facebook is officially coming to the Farley Post Office redevelopment, in what is certain to be a major boost for New York’s struggling office market. The social media giant has signed a lease for 730,000 square feet of space at the property, landlord Vornado Realty Trust announced Monday. News of Facebook’s interest in the massive complex broke late last year. But as the coronavirus pandemic raised questions about companies’ need for large offices, there was

Sotheby’s International Realty is making a push in San Francisco with the acquisition of the 101-year-old local giant McGuire Realty. McGuire’s five offices will be split between Sotheby’s International Realty and its affiliate Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty, according to Inman. McGuire has two offices in San Francisco, one north of the Golden Gate Bridge, one in Berkeley, and a fifth outside San Mateo. The brokerage had around 120 agents on its roster as of

The owner of Lenox Terrace — a partnership led by the Olnick Organization — has agreed to pay nearly $1.2 million to tenants in order to settle decade-old claims that the landlord wrongfully deregulated apartments while receiving a tax break. The landlord settled a class action lawsuit filed by tenants in 2010, which alleged that apartments in the six-building complex were wrongfully deregulated while the owner received a J-51 tax break, according to an order

Gap’s landlord in the Financial District claims it is in danger of losing its property because the retailer refuses to pay rent. The Chera family’s Crown Acquisitions is in default on the $70 million mortgage covering the retail condo that houses Gap’s store on Broadway at the corner of Maiden Lane, the landlord revealed in court documents. Crown, which along with Morgan Stanley owns the retail condo at 170 Broadway, received notice on July 21

Charles Schumer badly wants another Covid relief package. The Senate minority leader also badly wants to remove the $10,000 cap on deductions of state and local taxes paid. Mitch McConnell also wants more Covid relief. But the Senate majority leader is strongly against restoring the deduction that Republicans and the Trump administration capped in December 2017, Schumer said Sunday. The two Senate titans are now in a high-stakes game of chicken on SALT, which is

New York regulators now have the power to revoke real estate licenses if agents or brokers are found to have violated anti-discrimination laws. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation Monday, empowering the Department of State to take action against discriminatory practices today, his office announced. The state Senate had approved the bill 59-1 in July, with only Staten Island Sen. Andrew Lanza voting against the measure. The law was prompted by Newsday’s 2019 investigation into

One week, Manhattan is showing signs of a revival, with the highest number of luxury deals since the shutdown. The next week? Just three deals — tying for the lowest. The contrast underscores the volatility the pandemic has created in an already soft market, as buyers flee to the suburbs and developers navigate price cuts, concessions and pressure from lenders. “I think it’s hit and miss,” said Donna Olshan, who documents luxury sales in a

The pandemic has again postponed the Los Angeles murder trial of Robert Durst, this time, until April 2021. L.A. County Superior Court Judge Mark Windham extended the trial adjournment of the Durst Organization heir at the request of the prosecution and defense, according to Bloomberg. The trial was suspended in March, less than two weeks after it started, and as the coronavirus began intensifying. It had been set to resume this month. The 77-year-old scion

America will soon have to run on 800 fewer Dunkin’ Donuts. The retailer, one of the largest coffee and doughnut chains in the world, is permanently closing 8 percent of its U.S. locations, according to CNN. The company described the closures as “real estate portfolio rationalization” in its second quarter earnings, released Thursday. The closures will primarily affect low-volume sales locations, and Speedway convenience stores will consist of 450 of the closures. Dunkin’ additionally expects

Deutsche Bank is investigating a Park Avenue apartment sale by a company part-owned by Jared Kushner to his banker. Rosemary Vrablic, a private banker at Deutsche Bank for President Donald Trump and his son-in-law Kushner, bought a one-bedroom apartment at 715 Park Avenue in 2013 for about $1.5 million from Bergel 715 Associates. Kushner held an ownership stake in the seller at the time, the New York Times reported, citing an anonymous source familiar with

Three properties along Madison Avenue have hit the market, offering a test case for the value of retail real estate in the pandemic. The buildings, totaling 34,000 square feet, are located at 831, 835 and 837 Madison Avenue between East 69th and 70th streets, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s reportedly been decades since this much retail along Madison Avenue has been up for sale. Luxury-clothing retailer Akris and Anne Fontaine, a women’s clothing

Lord & Taylor and the owner of Men’s Wearhouse have fallen victim to the coronavirus, with the retailers filing for bankruptcy this weekend. Lord & Taylor, a department store chain whose roots go back to nearly two centuries, was acquired last year by the clothing rental start-up Le Tote for $100 million. But both companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday, the New York Times reported. The department chain operated 38 stores, which have

Last August, R.J. Pittman hopped on stage at a Las Vegas conference to promote his company. A seasoned tech executive with stints at Apple, Google and eBay, Pittman was less than a year into his role as CEO of Matterport, which develops and sells cameras and software to create 3D digital models of interior space. “Are you ready to step into the future?” he asked the audience packed with real estate executives and agents as

City National Plaza office complex in Downtown Los Angeles received a $550 million refinancing from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs in late March, just as the CMBS market seized up in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Two months later, as the market began to recover, a $330 million piece of that loan was included in a single-borrower transaction known as MSC 2020-CNP, while smaller pieces have been included in several other conduit deals. Financial disclosures

The construction industry was hit hard by the pandemic, with many construction sites across the country shutting down as the coronavirus began intensifying. The latest quarterly report from construction consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall shows that unemployment in the industry spiked in the early days of the crisis but then recovered somewhat, and did not reach levels seen after the 2008 financial crisis. Meanwhile, construction costs continued to grow inexorable, albeit at a slower pace.

On an average day, Rockefeller Center draws 470,000 visitors. It’s been five months since its last average day, though. Now Banana Republic is arguing that the purpose of its lease at the famous site has been frustrated, freeing it from the obligation to pay rent. The national clothing retailer, housed within the International Building, is at risk for a lease termination for skipping out on $791,600 a month in rent. Now the retailer is suing