The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Orthodox Jewish advocacy organization Agudath Israel of America and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn have filed separate lawsuits in federal court against Gov. Andrew Cuomo, challenging the state’s restrictions on religious gatherings in neighborhoods where Covid-19 cases are surging. Both organizations are challenging Cuomo’s recent order restricting gatherings in houses of worship on the grounds that it violates the Constitution’s Free Exercise Clause, forbidding laws that inhibit the free exercise of religion. In its

Despite a pandemic, fractious election season and wildfires still burning, Los Angeles luxury real estate brokers say business is booming. “We’re all winners here,” declared Josh Altman of Douglas Elliman, during Wednesday’s TRD Talks Live discussion. The panel included fellow “Million Dollar Listing” cast members James Harris and David Parnes of The Agency, Josh Flagg of Rodeo Realty and Tracy Tutor, also of Elliman. TRD Associate Publisher Hiten Samtani moderated. “I’ve had the most deals

After a two-day reprieve, the legal battle between Merchants Hospitality and former partner Adam Hochfelder is back on. The dispute, first reported Monday by The Real Deal, centers on Merchants’ allegations that Hochfelder embezzled funds from one of the firm’s hotel projects in 2017 and was scheming on the side with his Merchants email account. Hochfelder denies Merchants’ charges. He claims the disagreement traces back to his refusal to pay off debts on defaulted leases

An Upper East Side condo developed by Wonder Works Construction is facing UCC foreclosure, the latest in a spate of recent actions taken against struggling condo developers. A team of JLL brokers, including Brett Rosenberg and Jeffrey Julien, has been retained by mezzanine lender Nahla Capital to shop the loan for the Vitre condo at 302 East 96th Street, according to marketing materials reviewed by The Real Deal. It was not immediately clear how much

With a lift from Opportunity Zone financing, Silverback Development is set to build a $90 million, 200-unit development in the Concourse neighborhood. Plans for the building at 580 Gerard Avenue, where 30 percent of units will be affordable, include retail space and at least 71 parking spaces, according to the company. It will be Silverback’s first project in the borough, with construction expected to begin in the third quarter of 2021. No demolition plans have

A flood of new sublease space began hitting office markets nationwide over the summer, and New York was no exception. Sublease supply in Manhattan stood at 16.1 million square feet by the end of the third quarter, representing 27 percent of the borough’s total available office space, according to a new report from Savills. That’s a 47-percent increase year-over-year, far outpacing the 14-percent increase in direct space availability over the same period. “With many organizations

A Brooklyn law firm is suing Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio for state-mandated restrictions placed on Covid-19 hotspots in Brooklyn this week, claiming that “arbitrary” lines have forced the firm to close its doors. Turturro Law filed the suit Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn. The firm’s office is located on MacDonald Avenue in Midwood, within a “red zone” identified by Cuomo. The complaint alleges that the governor’s line-drawing violated the law

While national chains still face financial woes, there are some signs of recovery within the retail sector — particularly in categories such as gyms and clothing stores. National retailers paid 86 percent of their September rent, according to the latest Datex Property Solutions report. That’s about 10 percent below what they paid in 2019, but slightly above last month’s 83 percent. “Month by month, we’ve been digging ourselves out of this hole we found ourselves

You’ve got to spend money to make money, right? That could be Airbnb’s mantra after burning through a reported $1.2 billion in the year leading up to its initial public offering. Journalists at The Information obtained financial documents that offer new insight into the company’s position between mid 2019 and mid 2020. The publication’s report this week shows that most of the $1.2 billion was wiped away in the first quarter of 2020, as Airbnb

A San Francisco-based startup that helps building owners make their properties more energy efficient has raised $156.5 million. Founded in 2015, Redaptive Inc. targets big businesses and offers to help green-ify their office locations by installing systems and equipment that the startup owns but the client has the option to buy, according to Bloomberg News. The latest funding round, which boosts Redaptive’s total raise to more than $181 million, was led by CarVal Investors LP.

Many retailers have struggled to survive during the pandemic, but at least one is expanding. European sneaker chain Snipes is planning to open new stores in Brooklyn and Staten Island, Commercial Observer reported. The company signed a lease for a 4,600-square-foot space at the Georgetown Shopping Center on Ralph Avenue in Bergen Beach. Snipes has also leased a site at 965 Richmond Avenue in Staten Island. The asking rent for the 4,000-square-foot space was $18,000

Looking for a new apartment to rent in Manhattan? You’ve got options. The number of listings in the borough hit a 14-year high last month. The total of 15,923 is more than triple that of the same period last year, according to the latest Douglas Elliman rental report from appraiser Jonathan Miller. The vacancy rate hit 5.75 percent — for New York City, a stunning figure. Concessions in September also reached a record high, as

On the streets of Brooklyn, residents and religious leaders from the borough’s Orthodox Jewish community have responded with outrage to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new restrictions on Covid hot spots. Fires burned and at least one Hasidic man was hospitalized after being beaten by several protesters, the New York Times reported. The protests Tuesday night and Wednesday came after Cuomo outlined his plan for imposing a second lockdown in five counties throughout the state where Covid-19

The saga of whether the public will ever get to see Donald Trump’s tax returns just got a little bit more interesting. A federal appeals panel ruled Wednesday that the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., can obtain Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns under a subpoena, rejecting the president’s argument that the probe amounted to political harassment. “None of the president’s allegations, taken together or separately, are sufficient to raise a plausible inference that

The number of home sales continued to rise in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties in the third quarter, as did home sale prices. Westchester’s 20.4 percent year-over-year increase in median sales price was the highest in more than 28 years, according to Douglas Elliman’s Q3 report released today. Putnam saw the highest year-over-year price increase in two and a half years. Median price growth was its highest in two years in Dutchess County. The increase

Lincoln Restler is not a socialist. He doesn’t want to socialize private property for affordable housing and pet projects, as some New York City politicians do. But the City Council candidate has hatched a plan to force landlords to keep reducing the rent on vacant apartments and storefronts until a tenant signs a lease. “I’m not saying this proposal is a panacea,” Restler, a Brooklyn native and former aide to Mayor Bill de Blasio, said

Undeterred by the pandemic, IBM continues its search for up to 500,000 square feet in which to consolidate its existing Manhattan offices, with recent reports indicating the technology giant has narrowed the selection to half a dozen buildings. Three decades ago, IBM had an entire 1 million-square-foot Midtown office tower to itself, on the same block as Trump Tower. The IBM building at 590 Madison Avenue served as the company’s eastern regional headquarters until 1994,

The fight over proposed rezoning of Soho and Noho is already taking shape. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday that rezoning, which would pave the way for an influx of housing in the well-to-do neighborhood, will enter the city’s land use review process sometime next year. Though details on the city’s proposal are sparse, what’s known is that it could create 3,200 new apartments, 800 of which would be permanently affordable through the Mandatory Inclusionary