30 Lincoln Plaza and Milstein CEO Howard Milstein

Five tenants at 30 Lincoln Plaza have filed suit against Milstein Properties alleging the firm previously sold condominium units to outside buyers at
huge discounts, but refused to offer the same deals to existing
residents, and now refuses to allow them to close on their purchase
agreements.

The suit, filed May 5 in New York State Supreme Court, alleges
fraud, breach of contract and other claims against the developer,
which owns the 33-story tower at 30 West 63rd Street, near Central
Park. [more]

30 Lincoln Plaza and Howard Milstein, chairman of Milstein Properties

A state Supreme Court judge ruled against tenants at the 30 Lincoln Plaza condominium who filed suit to overturn Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s approval of the conversion despite outside buyers getting steep discounts.
More than two dozen tenants, led by Vera Salnikova, president of the 30 Lincoln Plaza tenant’s association, sued to overturn an earlier ruling by Cuomo in favor of the developer. Tenants asked the court to grant rescission of their condo purchases or an amendment to the offering plan, which was approved in August 2009. [more]

Howard Milstein is the head of Milstein Properties.

From the February issue: On a winter afternoon last month, sunshine streamed through the windows on the 33rd story of 30 Lincoln Plaza, illuminating the cleaning supplies and paint cans that occupy the high-ceilinged space. Innocuous though it may seem, this out-of-the-way spot is at the center of a bitter dispute now raging between the building”s tenants and the developer, the Milstein real estate family. In their quest to prevent the Milsteins from converting the rental building into condos, tenants have filed a lawsuit claiming that when 30 Lincoln Plaza was constructed three decades ago, the developer ignored city permits and added an illegal extra floor — the 33rd. Litigation is nothing new for the Milsteins. They are one of the city’s oldest and most successful real estate families, but also among the most controversial.  [more]

30 Lincoln Plaza and Howard Milstein

A group of tenants at Milstein family condominium conversion 30 Lincoln Plaza has filed a lawsuit against the sponsor and the attorney general, claiming a “fire sale” of units in the building resulted in an “egregious miscarriage of justice” against tenants. Facing a December 2008 deadline for the offering plan to be declared effective, Milstein slashed prices for non-tenants, selling units for 40 to 60 percent less than the prices tenants had paid, according to the suit, filed Dec. 21 in New York State Supreme Court. The suit, which reveals the “vastly reduced prices” of units in the building (see accompanying chart after the jump), offers a glimpse into the challenges faced by developers after the financial crisis of 2008. The suit claims that the condo offering plan “unlawfully discriminated” against tenants and failed to adequately disclose certain material risk factors, and that declaring the plan effective was “erroneous” and “an abuse of the attorney general’s discretion.” In the suit, tenants asked that the attorney general rescind the approval of the amendment that declared the plan effective. The suit was filed by tenants Vera Salnikova and Scott Petepiece, and an unspecified number of members of the 30 Lincoln Plaza Ad Hoc Tenants Committee. [more]