At Bezos condo, pol demands Amazon chief pay pied-à-terre tax

State Sen. Brad Hoylman and a group of about 20 community organizers gathered outside 212 Fifth Avenue, calling on Amazon chief Jeff Bezos to pay more tax on his Flatiron pied-à-terre. The group had a giant fake check — ostensibly from Bezos for $2.57 million — made out to the people of New York and a cake with lettering in icing that read “Alexa, how do we end homelessness?” View this post on Instagram  

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/at-bezos-condo-pol-demands-amazon-chief-pay-pied-a-terre-tax/

Alex Sapir moves to dismiss Rotem Rosen’s $100M lawsuit

For a period of several weeks this fall, it seemed the ugly battle between Alex Sapir and Rotem Rosen might be moving toward a resolution. The former brothers-in-law and business partners have been locking horns in court for almost a year over a claim Rosen made that he’s owed more than $50 million from the estate of Alex’s late father, the real estate mogul Tamir Sapir. To force payment, Rosen alleged last summer that Alex

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/alex-sapir-moves-to-dismiss-rotem-rosens-100m-lawsuit/

An eyesore for ages, Gravesend project site gets $71M refi

The developer behind a 23-story Gravesend project, which sits on a development site that has remained blighted for over a decade, secured a new financing deal. An entity tied to Thomas Wang’s W&L Group landed $71 million for 2300 Cropsey Avenue, property records filed Friday show. The development site, which previously held a nursing home, sits near the Brooklyn waterfront. Roslyn-based G4 Capital Partners refinanced the developer’s acquisition loan and provided around $66 million in

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/an-eyesore-for-ages-gravesend-project-site-gets-71m-refi/

Same old, same old: Property-tax reformers pan commission’s report

The industry coalition suing to force changes in New York’s City property tax system is not impressed by a city commission’s long-awaited recommendations for fixing it. Tax Equity Now policy director Martha Stark said the overdue, 72-page report is devoid of any new proposals to push the reform process forward. “After the period of time that the commission took, I did expect to see more of a detailed report with real recommendations,” Stark told The

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/same-old-same-old-property-tax-reformers-pan-commissions-report/

Former West Village chocolate factory leads NYC’s mid-market investment sales

Three mid-market investment deals were made public in New York City this week. Deals included a real estate firm buying a former chocolate factory in the West Village and a European government agency buying office space near the United Nations. Here are the details: Penn South Capital purchased 39 Clarkson Street in the West Village from an LLC linked to Rano Properties for $27.25 million. The office building previously housed the factory for Koppers Chocolate,

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/former-west-village-chocolate-factory-leads-nycs-mid-market-investment-sales/

TRDLA’s Winter Issue is LIVE to subscribers!

Hello and welcome to the Winter 2020 edition of The Real Deal LA! Below, Special Issues Editor Heidi Patalano gives you a look at what’s inside the issue: The saga of Mohamed Hadid and his Strada Vecchia spec home has been playing out for years. But over the past few months, the drama hit a crescendo: The developer was ordered to demolish the enormous half-built home, which has been hit with stop-work orders from the

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/trdlas-winter-issue-is-live-to-subscribers/

Ahead of Super Bowl LIV, here’s where pro football stars call home in South Florida

Football players and coaches are flocking to the Magic City ahead of Super Bowl LIV, but a number of the NFL elite already have owned homes here. Even longtime rivals of the Miami Dolphins – like former New England Patriots tight end Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski – have chosen to take up residence in Miami. A number of players have also sold their homes, including three-time Super Bowl champ Tajuan “Ty” Law, ex-Dolphin Ndamukong Suh, two-time

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/ahead-of-super-bowl-liv-heres-where-pro-football-stars-call-home-in-south-florida/

NYC’s convoluted property tax system could get a big reboot

The city has released an initial version of its long-awaited property tax report, but politicians are taking a wait-and-see approach. The recommendations call for eliminating the current limit on how much the assessed value of a property can increase each year, although the report stopped short of specifying new rates, the New York Times reported. The commission also proposed requiring owners to pay property taxes based on true market value rather than assessed value. The

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/nycs-convoluted-property-tax-system-could-get-a-big-reboot/

Hotel claims city audit mothballed 18 rooms for a year

The five-story building at 765 8th Avenue has been a hotel since the 1920s. But now its operator, City Rooms, says the city’s Department of Buildings forced the Hell’s Kitchen property to slog through red tape to prove it can, in fact, be used as a hotel. The year-long probe sliced into its profits. City Rooms, in a lawsuit filed this week, is demanding that the agency — which eventually dropped its fight — cough

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/hotel-claims-city-audit-mothballed-18-rooms-for-a-year/

To stay in business, bankrupt Forever 21 seeks auction

Bankrupt fashion retailer Forever 21 asked a court to approve an auction, an option it hopes would keep it from liquidation. Forever 21 has been engaging in “substantial, round-the-clock negotiations” with an unnamed stalking-horse bidder and asked the court to approve the sale of “substantially all” of its assets, according to Bloomberg. The retailer’s lawyers requested a sale hearing on Feb. 4, with the ultimate goal of reaching a deal that would keep Forever 21

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/to-stay-in-business-bankrupt-forever-21-seeks-auction/

Bill: Make landlords give tenants first shot to buy buildings

Landlords who want out of the multifamily market after last year’s rent-law shakeup should have to offer their buildings to tenants first, a Democratic state senator says. Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who represents Central Brooklyn, is drafting new legislation that would give tenants first dibs on buying their landlord’s property should it come up for sale. The measure would let tenants convert a property into a limited-equity cooperative — a permanently affordable model pioneered in the

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/bill-make-landlords-give-tenants-first-shot-to-buy-buildings/

Mohamed Hadid: LA’s most controversial developer on his doomed masterpiece

In November, a judge ordered Mohamed Hadid to destroy a 30,000-square-foot Bel Air mansion that the developer has kind of built. The extraordinary order from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan echoed and amplified arguments by the neighbors who filed a lawsuit against Hadid over the mansion. Joe and Beatriz Horacek and Judith and John Bedrosian alleged that the hyperbolic modernist kingdom at 901 Strada Vecchia Road violated city building codes and was

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/mohamed-hadid-las-most-controversial-developer-on-his-doomed-masterpiece/

Mayoral race goes from bad to worse for real estate

The mayoral race is looking bleaker than ever for the city’s real estate industry. In the past two weeks, one candidate acceptable to the industry dropped out and two other Democratic contenders railed against gentrification. Two of the three leading candidates are rejecting real estate campaign contributions. Perhaps the biggest blow came Sunday when Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. — one of two major Democratic candidates accepting donations from real estate companies and professionals

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/mayoral-race-goes-from-bad-to-worse-for-real-estate/

Knotel’s CEO cheered WeWork’s fall. But he’s got challenges too

As WeWork crumbled last year, one onlooker watched with glee. Amol Sarva, who as CEO of office-space firm Knotel had needled his high-flying rival for years, finally had his moment. “We’ve been waiting for the music to be over,” Sarva told the Financial Times. “And now the music is over, and it’s time to dance.” He strutted as WeWork lost $40 billion in value, ousted its CEO, slashed head count by thousands and slowed leasing

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/31/knotels-ceo-cheered-weworks-fall-but-hes-got-challenges-too/

Developer Fotis Dulos, charged with killing his wife, is dead: lawyer

Two days after attempting suicide, a Connecticut developer charged with murdering his wife has died in a Bronx hospital, his lawyer said Thursday. But in an odd twist, the attorney requested that the case against Fotis Dulos proceed. “Mr. Dulos’ children should not be subjected to a lifetime coping with the fictional reality that their father murdered their mother in cold blood on the basis of baseless and rampant speculation,” lawyer Norm Pattis wrote in

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/developer-fotis-dulos-charged-with-killing-his-wife-is-dead-lawyer/

“Million Dollar Listing New York” to get a new, female star

For the first time, Bravo may be welcoming a woman to the cast of “Million Dollar Listing New York.” Compass broker Kirsten Jordan has been cast as the show’s newest co-star, according to sources. She’s one of 11 agents on the Hudson Advisory Team, which was founded by Stephen Ferrara and Clayton Orrigo. Jordan, Orrigo, Compass and Bravo declined to comment. Jordan would be the first female to join the cast of Bravo’s hit reality

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/million-dollar-listing-new-york-may-have-a-new-female-star/

Slowing sales and tumbling prices: A decade in Manhattan townhouse sales

Sales of townhouses in Manhattan hit the lowest point in a decade last year. Year-over-year prices also took a tumble, according to Douglas Elliman’s 10-year report, which was authored by appraiser Jonthan Miller. The median townhouse price fell 7.8 percent in 2019 to $4.8 million. However, that figure was up on 2010 by 24.7 percent, showing that prices have increased while sales have largely stayed flat or declined. “Townhouses, in general, no matter whether the

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/slowing-sales-and-tumbling-prices-a-decade-in-manhattan-townhouse-sales/

All Year clears William Vale bond hurdle on second try

Sometimes, 1 percent can make all the difference. A month after narrowly failing to get bondholder approval to amend prepayment terms on Israeli bonds backed by the William Vale complex in Williamsburg, Yoel Goldman’s All Year Management has succeeded on its second try. The key was doubling the prepayment penalty to 2 percent. The bonds in question were issued by All Year in 2017 for a $166 million refinancing of the then recently completed William

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/all-year-clears-william-vale-bond-hurdle-on-second-try/

Saunders’ No. 1 agent Chris Coleman jumps to Compass

Hamptons broker Chris Coleman — who was the No. 1 agent at Saunders & Associates last year — has moved to Compass. Coleman will join the Montauk office along with Kellie Baranovich and Sarah Birdsall, according to an email to agents viewed by The Real Deal. “Chris was the number one agent at Saunders in 2019, and has been one of the top in the company for several years prior,” wrote John Gicking, who runs

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/saunders-no-1-agent-chris-coleman-jumps-to-compass/

Doshi-Besen feud continues with lawsuit over Queens multifamily property

Amit Doshi added another lawsuit to the infamous ongoing feud between himself and his former business partner Michael Besen. Doshi sued Besen and his company New York City Management over control of a multifamily property at 94-16 34th Road in Jackson Heights, records filed in Manhattan state supreme court Thursday show. Doshi and business partner Robert Farhadian are managing members of the LLC that owns the building, and Besen’s NYC Management began serving as managing

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/doshi-besen-feud-continues-with-lawsuit-over-queens-multifamily-property/

Michelle Pfeiffer makes another splashy real estate buy

David E. Kelley and Michelle Pfeiffer aren’t done with the Pacific Palisades. A company tied to TV writer/producer Kelley — husband to the Hollywood actress — paid $22.5 million for a home there, county records reviewed by The Real Deal show. The purchase comes just after the celebrity couple closed on the sale of another property in the upscale neighborhood, and while they have one more still on the market. The 10,300-square-foot Mediterranean style home

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/michelle-pfeiffer-makes-another-splashy-real-estate-buy/

Stephen Schwarzman recalls one of Blackstone’s first real estate deals

It was the height of the 1990s when Stephen Schwarzman struck one of Blackstone’s first real estate deals — guided by little more than what he said was third-grade math. At the time, the U.S. government was selling off foreclosed properties to firms like Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Blackstone and Goldman had teamed up to bid on a portfolio of garden apartments, but the partners disagreed on price. “I looked at this transaction

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/stephen-schwarzman-recalls-one-of-blackstones-first-real-estate-deals/

“Scale is still our calling card”: Schwarzman talks Blackstone’s real estate strategy for 2020 and beyond

Following a year of mega-deals that brought Blackstone Group’s real estate assets under management to an unprecedented size, the firm’s executives sound optimistic about opportunities in the new decade — while acknowledging that it’s sometimes hard to find investments worth spending all that money on. “Blackstone is in terrific shape by any measure,” Blackstone president and chief operating officer Jonathan Gray said on the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday morning. “Our clients are quite pleased

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/scale-is-still-our-calling-card-schwarzman-talks-blackstones-real-estate-strategy-for-2020-and-beyond/

US homeownership rate rises to highest level in 6 years

The U.S. homeownership rate is now at its highest point in six years, signaling continued confidence in the market despite anxiety that the current cycle is nearing an end. Rates dipped in most big cities, which have priced out many potential buyers. According to fourth quarter U.S. Census data released Thursday, 65.1 percent of Americans owned their own homes. While that represented a slight increase over the 64.8 percent from the third quarter, it highlights

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/us-homeownership-rate-rises-to-highest-level-in-6-years/

Cadre brings on former Four Seasons CEO as president

Real estate investment startup Cadre has hired Allen Smith, the former CEO of Four Seasons, as its president. Smith spent four years at the hotel company, departing in 2018. Before then, he was the CEO of Prudential Real Estate Investors, the Prudential Finance subsidiary that was recently rebranded as PGIM Real Estate. In an interview with Forbes this month, he said he wanted to move more into the tech space, and described Cadre’s business model

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/01/30/cadre-brings-on-former-four-seasons-ceo-as-president/