RFR Realty accused of misappropriating $6M in Century Tower suit

September 02, 2010 06:45PM
RFR's Aby Rosen and Century Tower

RFR Realty, led by Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs, is facing litigation from an investor in the conversion of the Century Tower condominium in Manhattan, who claims the developers misappropriated more than $6 million and failed to repay a separate loan in connection with the project. The suit filed Aug. 25 in New York State Supreme Court alleges breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting against Rosen and Fuchs, fraudulent conveyance, conversion and unjust enrichment. In 1998, Rosen, Fuchs and another investor formed a company to develop Century Tower, at 400 East 90th Street at First Avenue. Developer Trevor Davis developed the condominium with Rosen and Fuchs, but he is not named individually in the complaint. [more]
Tags: Aby Rosen century tower mark sugarman michael fuchs rfr realty trevor davis

TRD's Elliott says retail shifting on UWS

September 02, 2010 06:00PM
Stuart Elliott

The announcement that discount store Century 21 will replace Barnes & Noble at 1972 Broadway opposite Lincoln Center is bucking the trend of upscale retailers moving in on the Upper West Side, Stuart Elliott, editor-in-chief of The Real Deal, told WNYC. With rents down around 30 percent, the deal follows new retailers such as Apple, Brooks Brothers and West Elm moving into the area, he said. Elliott believes that Century 21 will be a good fit for the Upper West Side, going along with the trend of discount retailers expanding throughout the city. "People are looking for a bargain these days," he added. The closing of the Barnes & Noble is a "casualty of the recession," Elliott said, adding that there will likely be more Barnes & Noble closings ahead, as there have been with Starbucks and Virgin Megastore in recent years. [WNYC] Tags: 1972 broadway The Real Deal apple barnes & noble brooks brothers century 21

When New Yorkers move, where do they go?

September 02, 2010 05:45PM


Click for more images (source: Andrea Stanger via WNYC)

The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC recently did an informal survey of where nearly 1,700 (mostly New York-based) listeners have moved to and from over the past 10 years and why. The result was over 4,000 data points that paint a picture of the New York real estate patterns of the aughts. And to help paint that picture, WNYC crowdsourced from a pool of graphic designers, mappers and statisticians to present the results. Among their findings: far more Manhattanites moved out than moved into the borough, whereas Brooklyn's movers tipped in the opposite direction. Twenty-eight people, including 11 from Brooklyn and nine from Manhattan, moved to escape bedbugs or other critters. Click here to see more of what they came up with and the creative ways they've presented the data. Tags: andrea stanger brian lehrer michael porter

Harlem brownstone residents oppose affordable housing construction ... and more

September 02, 2010 05:00PM

1. Mortgage rates continue dipping to record lows [Inman] 
2. How the new disclosure law will affect real estate brokers [WSJ] 
3. Government cracks down on people seeking homestead tax exemptions [NYT] 
4. Harlem brownstone residents oppose affordable housing construction on 123rd Street [DNAinfo] 
5. Former Fortunoff building at 681 Fifth Avenue is half empty [Crain's] 
6. Accessories shop Oakley leases space for $1,400 a square foot at 44th Street and Broadway [Post] 
7. Former Whitney Museum President Robert Hurst sells duplex at 950 Fifth Avenue for $25M [NYO] 
8. Williamsburg's 99 Havemeyer half sold out [Brownstoner] 
9. Southampton developer Robert Morrow defends proposed "Tuckahoe Main Street" project [27 East] 
10. 12 out of 35 units have closed so far at the Lore condo in Harlem [Harlem + Bespoke] 
11. When is a good time to refinance a mortgage? [Truth about Mortgage] 

Sports Illustrated building share sells for $56M to real estate investor entity

September 02, 2010 04:30PM


Sports Illustrated building at 135 West 50th Street
An entity affiliated with real estate investor the Wolfson Group paid $56 million for a minority interest in the Midtown office building at 135 West 50th Street, known as the Sports Illustrated building. The Wolfson Group affiliate bought a 43 percent interest in the 23-story building from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, a charity named for the former Manhattan hotel developer, city records published Tuesday show. The approximately 800,000-square-foot building is owned by a fund managed by UBS Realty Investors, which purchased it in 2006 for $332 million from Murray Hill Properties. [more]
Tags: 135 west 50th street alliancebernstein peter jay sharp foundation

Hamptons beach house up for auction

September 02, 2010 04:00PM
The Montauk house

Auctioneer Real Estate Disposition has scored a Hamptons beach house foreclosure auction. The 3,000-square-foot Montauk home will hit the block next week, according to the Wall Street Journal, in a region that has remained relatively immune from the foreclosure crisis. The three-bedroom, four-bathroom home was sold for $1.28 million in 2006 and has a starting bid of $379,000. [more] Tags: auctions foreclosure home foreclosure montauk mortgages real estate disposition

Fate of Stuy Town still up in the air

September 02, 2010 03:30PM
Stuyvesant Town

A New York state Supreme Court judge postponed ruling today on whether a joint venture can foreclose on Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. Judge Richard Lowe indicated he would likely rule later this month in the case over the 11,000-unit East Side complex, Crain's reported. Over the summer, a joint venture between hedge fund manager Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management and Winthrop Realty Services acquired a $300 million mezzanine loan for just $45 million, with plans to foreclose on the property in an auction Aug. 25. [more]
Tags: bank of america bill ackman cw capital pershing square capital management

South Florida real estate poised for major activity in first two months of bulk buyer law

September 02, 2010 03:00PM
Icon Brickell has been a target of bulk buyers

From the South Florida website: Almost three months after Gov. Charlie Crist signed the Distressed Condominium Relief Act, the South Florida real estate market could see a huge rush of large-scale deals, among whose provisions removed frequently problematic "successive developer liability" for would-be bulk buyers. The law was signed June 1, and took effect July 1. It notably gave condominium associations the right to demand delinquent renters pay rent directly to the association, a provision that has been very successful so far. More crucially, it also removed successive developer liability, which had meant that anyone who sold or leased more than seven units in a condo in one year was legally considered a developer, and assumed the types of liabilities -- like construction warranties -- typically associated with developers. [more]
Tags: bilzin sumberg condo vultures distressed condominium relief act icon brickell

Mosque leader gets tax exemption on wife's Upper West Side apartment

September 02, 2010 02:30PM


Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Daisy Kahn and 201 West 85th Street
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the leader behind the Islamic Community Center, got a valuable tax exemption for the American Sufi Muslim Association, after claiming that 500 of its members prayed daily in an Upper West Side one-bedroom apartment, also listed as his wife's residence, according to the Post. In 1998, Rauf sought -- and was later granted -- "church status" for ASMA, which is an exemption from ever having to pay taxes, file returns or reveal the sources of a congregation's money or how it's spent, according to the Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism, which discovered the group's claims on the IRS form it filed. [more]
Tags: 201 west 85th street american society for muslim advancement

Brooklyn building workers protest pay cuts

September 02, 2010 02:00PM
Flatbush Gardens

Dozens of Brooklyn workers who are employed at the Flatbush Gardens housing complex in East Flatbush rallied yesterday to protest potential cuts to their pay and benefits and threatened to strike if they cannot come to a contract agreement with the building owners, the Wall Street Journal reported. The clash involves 70 workers, represented by Service Employees International Union's Local 32BJ, who contend that the building management -- Renaissance Equity Holdings -- has offered an untenable contract by requesting a 30 percent reduction in wages and benefits. [more]
Tags: flatbush gardens kyle bragg renaissance equity holdings

The Real Deal listings

September 02, 2010 01:47PM

Check out the new listings feature on TheRealDeal.com. Scroll down on the right-hand side and you can find homes being advertised on the market. TRD

Co-op maintenance fees climbing

September 02, 2010 01:30PM

The average co-op maintenance fee in New York City rose $1.76 per square foot per month, a 19 percent increase from 2009, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel, Smart Money reported. The main reason for the increase is a jump in property taxes caused by rising state and local debt; according to the most recent data from the New York City Department of Finance, property tax revenue from co-ops increased 9.68 percent to $12.8 million in 2009. Co-op boards looking to offset these taxes don't have many options other than to raise their maintenance fees. [more]
Tags: brian tormey department of finance energy information administration.

Trump to Letterman: Downtown mosque project is "insensitive"

September 02, 2010 01:00PM


The Donald paid a visit to "The Late Show with David Letterman" last night to talk about development at and around the site of the former Twin Towers. Naturally, much of the conversation focused on the proposed mosque nearby, which Trump has repeatedly denounced as "insensitive." He argued that from a public relations standpoint, the developers behind the project would be met with "good will" from the public if they agreed to move to an alternate location. His views were met with audience applause, but then, so was Letterman's -- that religious freedom is a "fundamental building block" of this country. Tags: Donald Trump Freedom Tower david letterman ground zero mosque

Pending home sales show some stability

September 02, 2010 12:30PM


Despite the recent bleak housing news following the expiration of the first-time homebuyer tax credit, pending home sales are showing some stability, according to a National Association of Realtors report released today. The NAR's Pending Home Sales Index, which calculates the number of signed contracts nationwide, climbed 5.2 percent to 79.4 percent in July, compared to June. Still, July's index reading was 19.1 percent below the same month a year earlier, leading Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, to believe that a full recovery may be a long way off. "The recovery looks to be a long process," Yun said. "For those who bought at or near the peak several years ago... it may take over a decade to fully recover lost equity." See Yun discuss the housing market above. TRD Tags: home prices lawrence yun nar national association of realtors trulia

More foreclosures means fewer voters: experts

September 02, 2010 12:00PM

While the home foreclosure crisis has had a heavy influence on the nation's economic recovery, industry experts have now turned their attention to how it might affect the political arena, according to the New York Times. Because voters must register a home address to vote, analysts are concerned that the growing number of people whose home situations are in limbo may result in a subsequent decline at the polls. Robert Brandon, president of the Fair Elections Legal Network, pointed out that the foreclosure crisis could ultimately disenfranchise many voters, while distracting those who could vote from getting out on election day. [more] Tags: fair elections legal netowrk foreclosure home foreclosure mortgages

Ginsberg's EV apartment rents in five hours

September 02, 2010 11:30AM

alternate text
Allen Ginsberg and his (renovated) apartment at 437 East 12th Street
After just a short turn on the market, the East Village apartment that poet Allen Ginsberg once lived in has been snapped up, according to the Observer. The one-bedroom, walk-up apartment at 437 East 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue came online last week with an asking rent of $1,700 a month. The apartment was a hot ticket, according to listing agent Daniel Kramp of City Connections Realty. [more] Tags: 437 east 12th street daniel kramp allen ginsberg

Agents skeptical about Tiger reports

September 02, 2010 11:00AM


Tiger Woods and 421 Hudson Street
Though Us Weekly first reported that golfer Tiger Woods had moved into an apartment downtown -- the Printing House condo at 421 Hudson Street, according to Curbed and the Daily News -- real estate insiders say it's either wishful thinking or a stunt pulled by a landlord to promote his building. "No way Tiger would live there," a broker told The Post. If it really was Tiger who had been seen moving boxes into the building -- a run-down 1980s conversion with leaky ceilings -- maybe he was helping out a girlfriend, brokers told the Post. [more]
Tags: 421 hudson street printing house tiger woods

Brokers, websites battle to control listings

September 02, 2010 10:30AM

From the September issue: They say knowledge is power. That's especially true when it comes to New York City real estate. For years, the only access to apartments for sale in the city -- especially those in posh, highly selective co-ops -- was through real estate firms. Each company maintained a stockpile of listings, a valuable asset that in many ways determined its ability to be successful. Sharing this information meant giving up a competitive advantage. Today, vestiges of this mentality remain, despite the fact that listings are required to be shared electronically, and the vast majority of brokers agree that co-broking is the way to fetch the highest sale price possible for a property. Take, for example, the fact that Manhattan is one of the only real estate markets in the country without a conventional Multiple Listing Service. Yet with technology improving at warp speed, Manhattan is now seeing vast changes in -- and intense battles surrounding -- who controls real estate information. [more] Tags: REBNY propertyshark real estate board of new york streeteasy trulia zillow

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