The Real Deal New York - Latest News

Impact from Stuy Town decision may widen

Adam Pincus — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:30:00 -0500

The recent ruling in favor of tenants at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village initially put the city's landlords on the defensive, but now property owners are asking if the city might owe them money because of the decision. Frank Ricci, director of governmental affairs at the landlord trade group Rent Stabilization Association, said he has fielded calls from "dozens" of landlords asking if the city might owe them for overpayment in taxes. And in recent weeks the law firm Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman raised more questions in a bulletin, including whether the city must pay landlords for lost tax abatements. Adding to the potential chaos, Stephen Meister, a partner who specializes in real estate law at the firm Meister Seelig & Fein, said he had spoken with building owners who might want to leave the city-run J-51 tax abatement program altogether.

Young hotelier to open Garment District spot

Amy Tennery — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0500

From the November issue: When Fashion 26 opens its doors this December, one young hotelier may have white knuckles: The spot is the first that Steven Kassin, the 24-year-old Infinity Group principal, has led from start to finish. "It's my baby," Kassin said of the Garment District hotel at 152 West 26th Street, on the corner of Seventh Avenue. "I'm young and I can't afford to mess up." Kassin, who's been working with the Infinity Group since graduating with his bachelor's and master's degrees from New York University at age 20, is heading up the $90 million project, in partnership with CPI, Citigroup's real estate private equity group. Rooms start at $275 per night.

MBA says more prime loans facing trouble

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:30:00 -0500

Prime fixed-rate loans are accounting for 33 percent of foreclosures, as opposed to subprime loans, which had been the culprit at the beginning of the housing crisis, according to the most recent data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Federal Housing Administration-backed loans also played a role, with the rate of foreclosures on FHA loans outpacing the rate at which the loans are being taken out, according to CNBC's Diana Olick. This is typical for FHA loans, however, said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist with the Mortgage Bankers Association, because FHA loans often go to riskier borrowers. “Keep in mind that any time you have the economic downturn, the FHA is always affected more than the prime market," said Brinkmann, adding that the crisis is extending beyond the usual suspects -- Florida, Nevada, California and Arizona -- which had seen the bulk of national foreclosures in the past. "In otherwise unaffected states, the unemployment is spreading and it's impacting every place and foreclosure has become much more of a national issue than it was before."

Commercial property sales to decline to $49 billion in 2009 ... and more

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0500

1. Authorization, re-authorizations approved at WTC redevelopment board meeting [GlobeSt]
2. More restaurants using Twitter to cover up health department closures [Midtown Lunch]
3. J.J. Byrne Park plans unveiled for Park Slope [Brownstoner]
4. NYU facility building in former Provincetown Playhouse spot [Bowery Boogie]
5. Albany businessman tries to do business with Trump, fails [NYT]
6. New York named least affordable housing market in the U.S. [CNNMoney]
7. Staten Island construction worker killed by Mack truck [SI Advance]
8. Top tips for buying foreclosures [CNNMoney]
9. Commercial property values have dropped 43 percent, Moody’s says [GlobeSt]
10. Homebuyers face uphill battle after cutting out brokers [AP via MSNBC]
11. Housing recovery may not come until next year, industry experts say [Bloomberg]
12. Commercial property sales to decline to $49 billion in 2009 [Bloomberg]

Top five sales agents of the week

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:30:00 -0500

The Real Deal has ranked the top listing agents of the week based on the highest priced residential deals filed with the city.

Footnotes: Data is for closed deals filed with the city this week through Thursday. The chart only includes sellers' brokers, because buyers' brokers' names are not available in city data or listings. The data does not include deals in contract. To obtain broker information, listing information was compared with sales records filed with the city. Only deals where an individual broker and address can be identified are included. As a result, private sales, listings where an address has not been provided and new development sales by a sales center are not included. Sources: Streeteasy.com and The Real Deal research.

Pop-ups lead to long-term leases for retailers

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500

Many pop-up shops are finding that a pop-up status can be a good first step toward permanent residency in New York City. One-time pop-uppers, like Kai D. menswear store at 75 Orchard Street between Grand and Broome streets, are signing long-term leases after their short-term occupancies run out, Crain’s reported. The strategy is also working for desperate landlords, who eagerly sign-on the temporary shops when tenants are hard to come by. After running its temporary shop for a month, Kai D. was able to negotiate a 13-month extension on its lease with its landlord, Dermott Co. Aaron Odle, a representative for Kai D., said that being able to move into the space temporarily helped it take the leap into permanent status. “You really need to be in a space to test it out, and we've decided that staying is the right thing to do,” Odle said.

CBRE picks up Soho leasing assignment

Adam Pincus — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0500

Just weeks after its leasing assignment was ended at the 2.8-million-square-foot Empire State Building, full service commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis told The Real Deal it has clawed back some of that space by inking a deal to represent 101 Sixth Avenue on the border of Soho and Hudson Square. CBRE picked up the leasing assignment for the 430,000-square-foot building at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Watts Street Oct. 7, said Peter Turchin, executive vice president at CBRE. The 23-story office building is owned by a partnership between the Andalex Group and Edward J. Minskoff Equities, and was built in 1991. The entire building is leased by the influential Service Employees International Union local 32 BJ, whose 20-year lease expires Dec. 31, 2011.

Rector Square unit owners sue Levy, Shvo, Cooper Square for $100 million

David Jones — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

From left: Yair Levy, Michael Shvo, and Rector Square at 225 Rector Place

A group of 45 unit owners at Rector Square condominium in Battery Park filed a $100 million lawsuit against developer Yair Levy, superbroker Michael Shvo and building manager Cooper Square Realty, alleging widespread fraud, negligence and misrepresentation. According to the suit filed yesterday in New York State Supreme Court, Levy, the owner of YL Real Estate Developers, defaulted on the mortgage loan with Anglo Irish Bank, failed to complete construction of the building, converted reserve funds for his own use and failed to make PILOT payments to the Battery Park City Authority. The plaintiffs claim the sponsor and broker misrepresented the quality of the building to potential purchasers. “Instead of a building of their dreams they bought into a building of nightmares,” said Marc Held, attorney for the unit owners. Levy also allegedly sold a block of 15 apartments to an Italian university for use as dorm rooms for exchange students and rented out apartments to Marriott for use as extended-stay hotels, violating local zoning laws.

Home builder association's “New American Home” victim of market conditions

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0500

While more evidence highlighting the financial plight of the American home builder is hardly needed, the National Association of Home Builders has offered up an evocative image of the industry’s woes. “The New American Home,” a perennial showcase feature in the association’s yearly convention, typically highlights the latest, most cutting edge innovations in the industry, with high end details like swimming pools and an aesthetically-pleasing landscape design. This year, however, “The New American Home” is an exercise in modesty. The 6,800-square-foot home, built just outside Las Vegas, is equipped with over 50 solar panels, but little else. Domanico Custom Homes, which had been tapped for the project, bailed partway through, when a private investor ditched the deal. Now the home, which was intended to showcase all the newest and finest the industry offers, sits without flooring, without a swimming pool and without any buyers. The situation for “The New American Home” is so bad that it’s now on the market for $1.8 million -- a so-called “fire sale” price, according to Domanico.

Priciest, cheapest units to hit the market

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0500

122 East 78th Street, 45 Overlook Terrace

The priciest home to come on the Manhattan market this week is a nearly-century-old house at 122 East 78th Street, according to Streeteasy.com. The six-story home is configured for single sale or for transformation into a multi-unit building. On the market for $18.9 million, the building -- known as the Goodridge Mansion -- includes an English basement, laundry room and porter’s room. Joanna Cutler of Joanna Cutler Real Estate and Carrie Chiang of the Corcoran Group have the co-exclusive. The least expensive Manhattan home to hit the market is a $215,000 co-op unit at 45 Overlook Terrace. Simone Song of the eponymous firm is managing the 500-square-foot listing.

This Week in Comments

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0500

What, if anything, should the city do to help stalled development projects in New York?
1. Do nothing, let prices fall [and] new developers will come in and buy the notes from the banks. Their new basis in the project will be low enough that affordable market-rate housing can be built. More supply is good for everyone.
2. The city should just intervene in cases of emergency and dangerous situation to the public. Vacant construction sites impact neighborhoods. Other than that, let banks deal with it.

Fire shines light on illegal apartment epidemic

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

A deadly blaze that killed three people in a two-family Queens house at 42-38 65th Street, and revealed the numerous unregulated apartments divided within, has drawn a keen eye toward the growing problem of illegal apartments in the five boroughs. Following the fire, officials found that the Woodside home had as many as five different living units in its basement alone, and six more crammed into the upstairs space. One family lived in its unit in the house for two years before the blaze revealed the scheme. Housing advocates say that many other illegal apartments exist throughout the city, but that they’re difficult to track down and that they often hide in plain sight. Some experts say that as many as 100,000 illegal apartments currently exist in the city, the New York Times reported.

Openings and closings: Aeropostale opening, Tasti-D-Lite closing

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0500

Aéropostale on West 34th Street,Tasti-D-Lite on the corner of Court and Wycoff streets

In Soho, a pop-up shop of jewelry designed by Alicia Keys will open Monday through Thursday next week at 26 Clinton Street. On the Lower East Side, a yoga/dance/karate establishment may move into a 3,500-square-foot space in the basement of 92 Delancey Street. The southern storefront of 168 Ludlow Street will become a consignment shop and should open sometime next month. In Chelsea, a new location of café Grey Dog opened at 242 West 16th Street. A larger outpost of Artichoke Basille Pizza gets the go-ahead to open in the Meatpacking District. In Midtown, Red Mango has shuttered on Eighth Avenue between 45th and 46th streets. Aéropostale’s first street-front flagship store has opened on West 34th Street. On the Upper East Side, French perfumer Frédéric Malle has opened a new flagship location on Madison Avenue between 72nd and 73rd streets. On the Upper West Side, Five Napkin Burger will open a second location in the old Ollie’s spot on Broadway and 84th Street.

Is now a good time to buy a vacation home in South Florida? Has that market hit bottom?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0500

The Real Deal is looking for your feedback on market-related issues. Please comment below. If you have questions you'd like posted, please e-mail news@therealdeal.com.

Affordable housing residents say Lower Manhattan school zoning unfair

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0500

Residents in an affordable rental building at 89 Murray Street on the corner of Greenwich Street are up in arms over a proposed school district rezoning plan, unveiled Wednesday night, that would force children in their building to attend a far away elementary school. Parents say that while P.S. 234 at 292 Greenwich Street is just around the corner from them -- some even say that the school is visible from their windows -- the rezoning plan would force students in their building to attend the Spruce Street School across town. Even more vexing, they say, is that nearby luxury condo owners at 101 Warren Street would be able to continue attending the Greenwich Street school. Residents at the affordable housing unit say the plan unfairly favors higher income families, many of which, they contend, could afford nannies to accompany their kids to a farther away school. The city Department of Education said that it hopes to finalize the new zoning plan by the end of next month.