LeFrak weighs in on Stuy Town debt, says cooperation is key

Richard LeFrak, president and chairman of the LeFrak Organization, Stuyvesant Town

Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Realty’s restructuring of their $3 billion in debt will depend greatly on the support of tenants and local politicians, according to Richard LeFrak, president and chairman of the LeFrak Organization. LeFrak, whose group owns upwards of 15,000 New York City apartments, a third of which operate under rent-regulation laws, told Bloomberg that a “grand negotiation or compromise” between the embattled Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village owners and the tenants would be essential for a stable loan restructuring. “This is such a behemoth, you can’t handle it without being part of some sort of cooperative effort,” LeFrak said.