The Real Deal New York

An apartment at the Time Warner Center

From the May issue: Über-high-end firms dominated the ranks of Manhattan’s top boutique brokerages this year as prices soared in the luxury market — even as firms competed for a shrinking number of available listings. With last year’s top boutique firm, CORE, now categorized as a mid-size company on The Real Deal’s annual ranking, Upper East Side brokerage Leslie J. Garfield regained its long-time berth as the No. 1 boutique firm. [more]

From left: Andrew Roos and Michael Cohen

A five-year legal battle involving top executives from commercial firm Colliers International has been settled for $4 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Candace Carmel Barasch, the daughter of one of the principals at Williams Real Estate, sued Colliers’ principals including Andrew Roos, Michael Cohen and Robert Freedman in 2009, claiming that she didn’t get her fair share of proceeds stemming from the sale of the brokerage to FirstService Corp. Williams was rebranded as Colliers International after the $27 million sale. [more]

A rendering of 432 Park Avenue

The top penthouse at Harry Macklowe’s 432 Park Avenue is in contract for $95 million, the New York Times reported. [more]

From left: Faith Hope Consolo and Adelaide Polsinelli

Retail and other commercial real estate brokers have been busy scheduling meetings and gearing up to make deals at this year’s Las Vegas RECon, hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers. For most, the event, which plays host to more than 1,000 developers, retailers and brokers over four days, doesn’t come cheap. [more]

An interior shot of the Helmsley Park Lane hotel

The storied Helmsley Park Lane Hotel on Central Park South is headed to the auction block, with the estate of Leona Helmsley looking to cash in on the surging demand for high-end condominium conversion sites, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The 370,000-square-foot 46-story hotel has already attracted two serious suitors, sources told the Journal. Both developer Harry Macklowe and a consortium led by Steven Witkoff and CIM Group have put in nonbinding offers north of $600 million. [more]

Barclays Center

Converted townhouse at 226 West 71st Street lists for $15.9 million. Poor One57, only loved for the money. Queen’s Woodhaven gaining cachet with residents. What’s behind the Barclays Center’s signature smell?. City closes illegal Cobble Hill preschool, kids have classes in park instead. Read these stories and more after the jump.

Top stories over the weekend on The Real Deal:
1. New ACRIS will include co-op unit searches, more data
2. Rent or buy? It takes 6 years to recoup cost of purchasing a home in NYC 
3. Mission Real Estate: Rumored Tom Cruise brownstone hits the market for $28M 

Citi Bike station

Amid all the backlash and lawsuits over New York City’s bike-sharing program that is set to debut at month’s end, some proponents say the potential for a jump in real estate values is being missed in the bicycle brouhaha, OnEarth reported.

In London, many of the same complaints and predictions of doom were leveled against the city’s bike-sharing program before it launched in 2010. But Barclays Cycle Hire has defied expectations: 49 percent of users say they began cycling in London because of the system. [more]

The High Line

As new developments rise along the High Line in West Chelsea, families are flocking to them, the New York Times reported.

A lack of family-sized apartments Downtown has sent prices for luxury condominiums surging past those of Uptown and Midtown. One of the most sought-after neighborhoods is West Chelsea, as the High Line’s elevated parkland continues to drive development. [more]

Amanda Burden

As Amanda Burden’s decade-plus reign as planning commissioner begins to wind down, New York’s real estate watchers are already looking ahead to her potential successors, Crain’s reported.

Early successors include two ex-city planners: Vishaan Chakrabarti; Columbia University’s Center for Urban Real Estate director and a SHoP Architects partner; and Regina Myer, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Another hopeful is Anna Levin, a City Planning Commission member and former community board chairwoman. [more]