The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Top NYC lobbyists riff on pandemic politics

Posted: 15 May 2020 02:45 PM PDT

With in-person lobbying off the table and the city and state governments desperate for cash, three of New York’s leading lobbyists say they’re turning greater attention to Washington. In a virtual panel discussion with The Real Deal this week, Kasirer’s Suri Kasirer, Greenberg Traurig’s Jonathan Bing and Geto & de Milly’s Michele de Milly said they have been putting in long hours since the shutdown advocating for their real estate clients and finding new ways

April’s 16.4% drop in retail sales is worst on record

Posted: 15 May 2020 01:45 PM PDT

The numbers are in for last month’s retail sales and they aren’t pretty. Despite an increase in online purchases, total sales fell 16.4 percent in April — the largest monthly drop ever recorded, the New York Times reported, citing the latest report from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The amount of money spent was the lowest it’d been since 2012, even without accounting for inflation. April’s figures were nearly twice the 8.3 percent drop in

Real estate players get creative on Zoom during lockdown

Posted: 15 May 2020 01:00 PM PDT

Virtual quiz shows, brokerage Oscars and oversized “Babyzilla” backgrounds on Zoom: Industry players are finding creative ways to make their audiences laugh during lockdown. Oli Farago, founder and CEO of the real estate acquisition and asset management tool Coyote Software, created a virtual game show dubbed, “No Pub Pub Quiz.” The online show — which he hosts for half an hour at lunchtime every Wednesday on Zoom — gives participants multiple-choice questions to answer, and

Thor Equities’ big bet on Fulton Market is paying off

Posted: 15 May 2020 12:30 PM PDT

Thor Equities’ investment in booming Fulton Market is paying dividends. In its latest move, the New York-based firm led by Joseph Sitt sold a 98,000-square-foot office building it developed for $85 million, according to Crain’s. That marks the priciest sale in Fulton Market to date. The buyer was German real estate firm Deka Immobilien. The five-story building at 905 W. Fulton Market is the future global headquarters of snack maker Mondelez International, which will take

Elon Musk lists another 5 homes for nearly $100M

Posted: 15 May 2020 12:15 PM PDT

Elon Musk has turbocharged his vision to sell off his many homes, listing four more Bel Air properties and another in the Bay Area for around $100 million. Earlier this month, the billionaire entrepreneur took to Twitter to say he was “selling almost all physical possessions,” and would “own no house.” At the same time, he put a pair of neighboring Bel Air properties on the market for a combined $40 million. This week, he

Councilman: Resume land-use reviews — but just for Rikers

Posted: 15 May 2020 11:51 AM PDT

A City Council member thinks it is time for the city to restart its land-use review process for one plan only: Rikers Island. Costa Constantinides, whose district includes the city’s notorious jail, wrote this week to Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Planning Commission Chairwoman Marisa Lago supporting their mid-March suspension of land-use reviews, but seeking an exception for the Rikers Island Public Place Mapping. “It is the only land use action that truly ensures

Small Talk: Every First Quarter Earnings Call

Posted: 15 May 2020 11:15 AM PDT

Hi, everyone, and thank you for joining us on our first-quarter earnings call. Hopefully, you’ve all received our hastily revised presentation by now, and if you haven’t, just picture a collage of arrows pointing aggressively downward. If any of you would like to feel a burst of nostalgia, we would be happy to also send you the presentation we started putting together in the olden days — late February. I like to look through that

This landlord’s legal win could give boost to other owners in overcharge cases

Posted: 15 May 2020 10:30 AM PDT

In another win for landlords, a state Supreme Court judge found that the new rent stabilization law’s rules don’t apply to a 2015 rent overcharge case. State Supreme Court Judge Robert Reed ruled on Friday that when calculating rent potentially owed to the tenants of Kibel Companies’ 90 West Street, the court could only allow a four-year lookback, rather than the six-year review established in the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. Reed

Almost 90% of renters have made payments in May: report

Posted: 15 May 2020 09:30 AM PDT

Nearly 9 in 10 apartment households had paid at least some May rent as of Wednesday, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. Through May 13, the organization said, 88 percent of the 11.4 million market-rate rental properties it tracks had made a full or partial rent payment for the month. That was only a 2-point decrease year-over-year and an improvement from the 85 percent of homes that had paid rent by April 13. More

Covid and the courts: New lawsuits target busted real estate deals

Posted: 15 May 2020 08:35 AM PDT

In suing to break its lease, a rock-climbing gym contends its business plans for a New York location were “completely destroyed” by social-distancing measures. One lender’s answer to a developer’s lawsuit seeking to avoid foreclosure called the filing “a shameless attempt to use the global pandemic.” And in trying to exit a multibillion-dollar luxury hotel portfolio purchase, a massive investment firm last week charged breach of contract, saying the seller had “failed to continue the

Staying on the sunny side: South Florida resi brokers see upside in coronavirus

Posted: 15 May 2020 07:30 AM PDT

As the rest of the country was shutting down in March, South Florida’s top brokers were getting phone calls from wealthy out-of-towners looking for high-end homes they could rent — preferably with a pool and spacious backyard, and possibly a tennis court. The majority of inquiries came from New York, though some also came from other states hit hard by the pandemic, including Michigan and Illinois. Another unexpected source of rental and broker fee income?

DJ duo Chainsmokers leads funding round for mortgage-lending startup

Posted: 15 May 2020 07:00 AM PDT

Popular DJ duo Chainsmokers is switching tracks with a plan to invest in startups — beginning with $10 million in mortgage lender LoanSnap. The Grammy Award-winning musicians Alex Pall and Drew Taggart had invested their personal funds before, but now they are taking it to a new level. Through a venture fund, Mantis, the two plan to invest $50 million in total, according to Bloomberg. The pandemic has given the duo a chance, for the

Eastdil Secured makes staffing cuts

Posted: 15 May 2020 06:23 AM PDT

Eastdil Secured is the latest firm to make staffing cuts as the real estate industry contends with the coronavirus pandemic. The firm notified staff this week that it would reduce its global headcount by 35, or 7 percent, Bloomberg reported. In addition to its U.S. offices, Eastdil, led by Roy March, has a presence in London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Dubai. Eastdil is one of the most active dealmakers in New York City, clocking

Century Plaza developer Michael Rosenfeld and USC trustee in battle over RE deals

Posted: 15 May 2020 05:30 AM PDT

One mid-November evening last year, USC trustee Glorya Kaufman says, a “close friend” of hers dropped in for a visit. The friend, developer Michael Rosenfeld, had come to get her to sign some documents. In a new lawsuit, Kaufman alleges that she signed the papers without having a chance to read them and without being provided with copies afterwards. She was “shocked to learn” afterwards that she had signed a $75 million guaranty on construction

TRD Insights: Construction industry bleeds almost 1M jobs in April

Posted: 15 May 2020 05:00 AM PDT

The U.S. construction industry hemorrhaged nearly a million jobs in April, according to a survey from the Associated General Contractors of America and data from construction technology firm Procore. The AGC survey found that more than half of contractors have furloughed or terminated employees since March. The chief reason was owners or developers halting underway projects. Sixty-three percent of contractors stopped work at projects that were underway in April or May. Those who halted projects

“We’re exploring everything”: Ceruzzi’s UES condo under pressure after loan falls through

Posted: 15 May 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Ceruzzi Properties is struggling to secure a lifeline at its Hayworth condominium on the Upper East Side, as the pandemic heaps pressure on overstocked developers across the city. The firm has been working with JLL’s Chris Peck for months on arranging an inventory loan for the 61-unit development at 1289 Lexington Avenue. However a financing deal with Slate Property Group was stalled by the state shutdown in late March, according to Ceruzzi’s president, Art Hooper.

Landlords battle rent strikes across the U.S.

Posted: 15 May 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Holding a yellow rope to keep six feet apart, tenant advocates in Missouri slowly wound their way to the governor’s mansion in April. After a series of virtual demonstrations, and even a protest where activists parked on the shoulder of a major highway between Kansas City and St. Louis, the advocates were calling on Gov. Michael Parson to suspend rent and mortgage payment obligations and halt evictions statewide. The group, KC Tenants, carried a large