The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Coronavirus fears slam real estate stocks amid market sell-off

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:59 PM PST

UPDATED, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, 6:15 p.m.: As coronavirus fears shook markets and led to the steepest stock drop in over a decade this week, usually safe real estate investment trusts tumbled. “We’ve seen massive drawdowns across the entire equity market, and massive panic and sell-offs,” said Alexi Panagiotakopoulos, co-founder of Fundamental Income, sponsor of the NETLease Corporate Real Estate ETF. The stock market’s three major indices over the past five days saw their worst

Blackstone is latest real estate giant to back Dealpath

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:48 PM PST

In the latest proptech bet by a major real estate player, private equity giant Blackstone has made a strategic investment in acquisitions manager Dealpath. The investment will accelerate San Francisco-based Dealpath’s growth, the companies said Friday. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Founded in 2014 by Mike Sroka, Kenter Wu and Andy Lee, the cloud-based platform helps acquisitions teams manage deals. Dealpath claims its clients have closed $5 trillion in deals using its

Jared Kushner divests stake in Cadre

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:12 PM PST

Jared Kushner has divested his stake in Cadre, in a bid to end unrelenting scrutiny of his potential conflicts of interest with real estate investment startup. Kushner, the son-in-law and a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, sold his shares to a trust which then sold them back to the company, Bloomberg reported. His stake was most recently valued at between $25 million and $50 million, according to recent federal disclosures. The outlet previously reported

Douglas Elliman reports flat sales in 2019, blaming soft NYC market

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 12:00 PM PST

Douglas Elliman’s sales volume was relatively flat last year as weakness in the New York City market offset an increase in Florida deals, the brokerage’s parent company reported Friday. In all, the Manhattan-based firm saw sales tick up to $28.8 billion in 2019 from $28.1 billion the year before, according to its parent, Vector Group. Fourth-quarter sales edged down to $6.6 billion from $6.7 billion in the year-earlier period. But despite gains in the Sunshine

Mark your calendars: These are NYC’s top real estate events next week

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 11:45 AM PST

Here are a couple of real estate events coming up next week. Host: CRE Finance Council Date: March 4 to March 5 Time: 8 a.m. to noon CRE Finance Council is hosting its High Yield & Distressed Realty Assets Summit at the New York Athletic Club, 180 Central Park South. This event will feature networking opportunities along with discussions on market cycles, repurposing retail property and adapting to New York City’s changing landscape. Speakers include

Lady Gaga’s dad, MTA in rent feud over homeless at Grand Central

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 11:00 AM PST

Pop star Lady Gaga’s father is refusing to pay the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $260,000 in rent and fees for his restaurant in Grand Central Terminal, citing a homeless problem, vermin and dated furniture and facilities. Joe Germanotta, the owner of Art Bird & Whiskey Bar, wants the MTA to cancel his lease or renegotiate it, according to the Wall Street Journal. The transit agency sent him a letter this week saying it would begin action

NY rent law throws shade on Hamptons summer leases

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:15 AM PST

New York’s pro-tenant rent law is wreaking havoc on a Hamptons institution: the summer rental. The sweeping law, passed in June, prohibits landlords from collecting more than one month’s rent upfront. That’s thrown a wrinkle into the summer plans of Hamptons homeowners, who typically rent their beach- and poolside properties in three-month blocs. “The issue is you can get stuck with a tenant who pays for June, and once August comes around, doesn’t pay,” Frank

Something Navy opens first store in West Village

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:45 AM PST

Something Navy is officially moving into the West Village. The lifestyle and women’s apparel brand, led by influencer Arielle Charnas, signed a three-year lease for 2,000 square feet on Bleecker Street, which has become a popular location for digital brands opening brick-and-mortar stores. Home decor brand The Citizenry previously occupied the space at 379 Bleecker. The Bleecker Street store will be Something Navy’s first physical location and the brand will have the option of extending

Highlights from Day 3 of TRD’s Future City summit

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:45 AM PST

The final morning of the three-day Future City executive retreat concluded with back-to-back panels on the tech revolution in leasing. Founders and executives from companies Doorkee, The Guarantors, LEAP, Nestio and Vero participated in the first roundtable of the day. They discussed how technology-enabled systems could help multifamily owners and operators rent space in the aftermath of New York’s sweeping new rent laws, and where brokers fit into their services. In the second panel of

Race, gender discrimination lawsuit takes aim at WeWork’s culture

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:15 AM PST

UPDATED, 1:51 p.m., Feb. 28: A former human resources director at WeWork has filed a race and gender discrimination lawsuit against the co-working startup, claiming she was replaced by an unqualified white woman and later unjustly fired. The plaintiff, Ayesha Whyte, says her experience was part of a pattern at WeWork, alleging that other women of color were overlooked for positions that were offered to less qualified white candidates. In a lawsuit filed in New

Inside the failed crypto auction of a WeWork-leased Miami tower

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 08:30 AM PST

UPDATED, Feb. 28, 2020, 11:43 a.m.: Pat O’Meara found success structuring deals for the Catholic Church, but early last year he found a new calling: Raising millions of dollars from cryptocurrency investors for real estate and infrastructure acquisitions. O’Meara, CEO and founder of finance and tech firm Inveniam Capital Partners, targeted $260 million of property acquisitions throughout the U.S. A centerpiece of the project would be the $65 million purchase of a historic downtown Miami

Howard Hughes project at 250 Water Street triggers primary race

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 08:00 AM PST

A second-term Assembly member in Lower Manhattan has drawn a challenger inspired by a real estate issue: Howard Hughes Corporation’s proposed redevelopment of a former thermometer factory site. Grace Lee is mounting a strong challenge to Yuh-Line Niou, who represents the Financial District and Chinatown, Gothamist reported. Lee alleges Niou has not sufficiently opposed development of the potentially mercury-contaminated site, which the insurgent says could stir up dangerous vapor, threatening children at a nearby private

Council closes tax-lien loophole that threatened property seizures

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 07:30 AM PST

The City Council passed a measure to safeguard non-profits against tax liens for taxes they don’t technically owe. Although charitable organizations are exempt from property taxes, New York City sent 90-day notices to 610 such property owners in 2019, and sold off 27 liens, City & State reported. Six of those have settled their debt to avoid foreclosure. Councilmember Antonio Reynoso drafted the bill, which will require the Department of Finance to exclude from the

Massive Flushing waterfront development stirs opposition

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 07:00 AM PST

A planned mixed-use development on the Flushing waterfront is meeting steep pushback in Queens. A proposed rezoning proposed by Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation would allow a hotel, retail and 1,700 new apartments at a total cost of $1 billion. The plan is facing local opposition despite a favorable community board vote, City Limits reported. Annetta Seecharran, executive director of Chhaya CDC, claimed the review process is being “railroaded” while an interim borough

Panelists Confirmed for the Evolution of Co-Working: Banking on Brooklyn Event

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 06:30 AM PST

We’re excited to announce that the panelists for our March 5th event, The Evolution of Co-Working: Banking on Brooklyn event in the all-new Spaces Dumbo location has been finalized! See below for confirmed panelists from innovative brands such as Servcorp, IWG and Made in NY Media Center by IFP. The panel will be moderated by our very own David Jeans, so be sure to RSVP here for complimentary tickets to what is sure to be a

Coronavirus exodus: CRE bigwigs ditch MIPIM

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 06:00 AM PST

UPDATED, Feb. 28, 2:17 p.m.: Fears of the rapidly spreading coronavirus have caused some of the world’s most prominent commercial real estate companies to pull out of a major commercial real estate conference in Cannes, France. On Friday, a 23-year-old woman tested positive for the virus in the resort town — the first case reported there — though organizers said the four-day show would go on, according to the website Building. Blackstone Group, Cushman &

NY real estate agent arrested after removal from wine and food festival

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 05:30 AM PST

A model and real estate agent based in New York was arrested during the South Beach Wine and Food Festival last weekend. Cheyenne Lutek, previously with Douglas Elliman, was released from Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami on Monday on a $500 bond, according to WPLG Channel 10. Lutek is no longer with Elliman, according to a spokesperson for the brokerage. She was arrested on charges of disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without

Challenges threaten de Blasio plan to legalize basement units

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 05:00 AM PST

Across the city, tens of thousands of people live in illegal basement apartments. The de Blasio administration aims to turn these units into legal affordable housing, but it’s not clear how the city will address the challenges associated with bringing these units up to code. Earlier this month, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a citywide legalization initiative that would build on a pilot program launched in East New York last year. The mayor projects that

“We’re the elite”: What backlogged Chinese EB-5 investors are planning next

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 04:30 AM PST

They would be known to each other only by their noms de guerre: Mecky, Mr. Xu, Julie, Mr. Li, Richard, Jenny and Big Sis. When the seven EB-5 investors gathered at the Eddington House cafe in Shanghai, known as a favorite haunt of the essayist Eileen Chang during the pre-revolutionary era, it was the first time any of them had met in person — although they had been in contact on WeChat for months. For

Rent law “canary in the coal mine” runs for Congress in Connecticut

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 04:00 AM PST

A real estate CEO who last year penned a letter to Cuomo to complain about the new rent law — after her firm had to pay a settlement for violating the old rent law — is now running for Congress. Margaret Streicker Porres is now running as a Republican in Connecticut’s third congressional district, where Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro has held the seat since 1991. Streicker — whose campaign website omits Porres from her name