The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Two startups aimed at landlords — one for property management, the other for “fostering community” among tenants — are joining forces. Alfred, the property management company also known as Hello Alfred, has acquired tech-enabled amenities provider HOM in an all-equity deal, The Real Deal has learned. Terms, including the price, were not disclosed. Together, the companies’ services will be available in 160,000 units in 35 markets across the U.S. and Canada. HOM’s employees will join

Construction unions may be nearing a victory in their war on “body shops.” A new City Council bill would impose licensing and disclosure mandates on companies competing with union labor at construction sites. The bill, expected to be introduced by Council member Diana Ayala on Thursday, would require labor brokers to obtain a license from the city and report their workers’ demographics, wages and benefits twice a year. The measure has been sought by the

Most mask mandates are gone and the number of people vaccinated is up, but the pandemic isn’t over for retailers. Case in point Urban Outfitters, whose longtime store near Union Square is now closed, according to its website. A strong first quarter earnings report the company turned in, which sent the stock rising Wednesday morning, couldn’t help the Manhattan location. Urban Outfitters had been at its two-story spot at 526 Sixth Avenue since 1999. It

Is it news that New York state regulators are following the letter of the law? When it comes to who is responsible for paying broker fees, the answer is yes. The Department of State has updated its guidance to align with an Albany judge’s ruling from last month that landlords can continue to collect broker fees from prospective tenants. The practice is common in New York City but has been under scrutiny since early 2020,

It’s clear that the pandemic has impacted New Yorkers’ ability to pay rent. What’s less clear is exactly how much rent debt has been amassed since the beginning of last year — a crucial piece of the puzzle for policymakers in determining how much relief to extend to tenants and landlords. A report released Wednesday by New York University’s Furman Center aims to inform the efforts of lawmakers in apportioning those funds. The findings offer

Odds are that a bill to raise the value of rental vouchers for homeless New Yorkers will pass the City Council Thursday afternoon. The measure would beef up the city’s Family Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Supplement or FHEPS voucher to match the higher rates guaranteed by the federal Section 8 program. The legislation is championed by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and has 40 sponsors — six more members than Johnson would need to override

A six-building office complex in Iselin, New Jersey, has changed hands for $88 million. KBS, a California-headquartered commercial real estate investor and operator, sold the property to Northeast Capital Group in Ramapo, New York, according to Newmark. Northeast Capital, led by CEO Joel Kiss, did not immediately return a request for comment. The 629,000-square-foot Woodbridge Corporate Plaza, at 485 U.S. Route 1, is 90 percent leased to 64 tenants, according to Kevin Welsh of Newmark,

When Related Companies unveiled Vessel, the sculptural staircase at the heart of the Hudson Yards megaproject, chairman Stephen Ross said he hoped it would become as iconic and beloved as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree — or even the Eiffel Tower. But five years, three deaths and one pandemic later, the Thomas Heatherwick–designed attraction hasn’t lived up to those ambitions. It has been closed since the third suicide at the sculpture, but now Related will

That warm westerly breeze you feel? That’s coming from the North Fork of Long Island, where the real estate market is scorching. Demand is so intense that houses are getting multiple offers before they even hit the market, according to Jeanmarie Bay of Town & Country Real Estate’s Greenport office. “We put up a listing as coming soon; it will be on the market April 15,” she said. “By the time April 15 gets here,

 When City Department of Buildings inspector Francesco Ginestri visited a Queens construction site last summer, he was there to make a deal. The contractor had been issued a stop-work order, but Ginestri promised that in return for a cash payment — a bakery would be the dropoff point — a hefty fine could be avoided. Instead, federal authorities in February charged Ginestri with soliciting a cash bribe. On May 19, the now former inspector pleaded

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has convened a grand jury, which will investigate potential criminal conduct regarding former President Donald Trump and others at his company. The panel will sit three days a week for six months — longer than usual — to hear several matters, including the Trump Organization probe, according to the Washington Post. Vance’s investigation has lasted more than two years. The decision to convene a grand jury indicates that the inquiry

Digital closing platform Snapdocs is officially a unicorn. The startup has raised $150 million in a series D funding round, bringing the value of the company to more than $1.5 billion, Inman reported. The latest round was led by Tiger Global with participation from Sequoia, Y Combinator, F-Prime, Maverick, Alkeon, and Wellington Management. Seven months ago, the company announced that it has received $60 million in series C funding. Overall, it has raised $260 million

Facebook was one of the first major companies to give employees the option of working from home permanently in the wake of the pandemic. Now, a year on and amid a broader push to get workers back into offices, the social media giant is starting to open up again. In an email, the company informed workers that its Manhattan offices will open July 12 at 25 percent capacity, Bloomberg News reported. Employees that have been

  Boston Properties is making a big bet on the Midtown South office market. The REIT is set to buy the ground lease on the 20-story building at 360 Park Avenue South, Commercial Observer reported. While the purchase price for the lease is reportedly $300 million, sources told the publication that the deal also includes several operating partnership units that could be converted into stock, bringing the total to more than $325 million. The building’s owner,

If a tax break for property owners expires during a pandemic, but few people notice, does it still make a sound? According to state officials, it does. J-51, a tax incentive provided to owners who renovate residential buildings or convert commercial properties, quietly lapsed last June after the City Council did not reauthorize it. Now, with just a few days left in the state’s legislative session — and no indication the city will revive it

Total addressable market, or TAM, is a metric investors use to figure out whether a sector is worth their trouble. With a tiny TAM, even a home-run investment in a startup may not generate the return investors crave. Target a big TAM, however, and things get a lot more interesting. A key reason proptech is hot is that investors believe the TAM to be gargantuan. An industry that permeates all aspects of our lives and

When Shaya Schreiber started searching for a home in Madison, Wisconsin, her options were limited. Student loans made the single mother of two ineligible for certain affordable housing and a market-rate home was beyond her reach. Then she found the Madison Area Community Land Trust. The trust helped her purchase a three-bedroom house on the west side of the city. The organization paid $160,000 for the home and more for necessary improvements. Then Schreiber bought

It’s still anyone’s guess who will win the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. But no one is guessing Scott Stringer, Shaun Donovan or Ray McGuire. A phone poll conducted five weeks before the June 22 primary shows the three candidates struggling for traction despite their ample war chests peppering voters’ screens with ads. The survey also thrusts Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams into the role of favorite and elevates Kathryn Garcia from