A groundbreaking lawsuit heading to trial in federal court claims that prominent developer Joseph Chetrit engaged in discrimination by allegedly firing an employee for his religious beliefs.

Les Kramsky, a former employee, claims in the lawsuit that Chetrit, an Orthodox Jew, only hired him because he believed that Kramsky, too, was Orthodox, then fired him once he discovered that he was not. Kramsky, who is Jewish but not Orthodox, also alleges that he was pressured to pray and participate in religious rituals while at work.

The trial is slated to begin June 27 before Judge Harold Baer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The suit names the Chetrit Group as a defendant, along with the firm’s managing member, Joseph Chetrit, and his brothers Meyer, Juda, and Jacob, who are partners in the company. [more]

Columbus Square general manager Jeffrey Davis and the development at 808 Columbus Avenue

A five-building, 710-unit rental complex on the Upper West Side is nearing completion, according to the Wall Street Journal, and, despite the premium price tag on many of its units, the development at 808 Columbus Avenue near 100th Street is drawing plenty of interest from renters. The $650 million Columbus Square residential project, which includes several big box stores, including a Whole Foods, Modell’s and TJ Maxx, as well as two private schools, has already leased out all the units at two of its buildings. The third, which just recently opened, was 20 percent leased after a week and a half on the market. [more]

From left: Jeffrey Davis, the general manager of Columbus Square, 801 Amsterdam Avenue and 808 Columbus Avenue

(Updated with comments from Yuval Greenblatt: 1:41 p.m.; updated with
date of completion for project: 2:51 p.m.) The Chetrit Group and Stellar Management have taken leasing at the Upper West Side’s Columbus Square out of the hands of Prudential Douglas Elliman and put it in the hands of five new in-house leasing agents. Elliman’s one-year contract for the leasing of the two rental towers 801 Amsterdam Avenue and 808 Columbus Avenue expired March 31, said Jeffrey Davis, general manager of Columbus

Square. In that time, the brokerage’s five on-site agents rented out about 80 percent of the buildings, which have 100 and 359 units, respectively, he added. “The contract was up and as the buildings were almost finished leasing [so] we decided to finish with our in-house team and [then] proceed with the other buildings” once 801 and 808 Columbus Avenue are completed, Davis said, which will likely be in the third and fourth quarters of this year. “The renewal would have been for the whole complex but as the other buildings were not ready and there would be a lapse in time it did not make sense to continue.” [more]

Kathy Rudney, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman, is handling rentals at Columbus Square

From the February issue:
It’s away from the heart of the Upper West Side. Its rents are up to 30 percent higher than the competition’s. And its shops more closely resemble strip-mall offerings than what’s typically found on city blocks. But Columbus Square, a mega mixed-use complex that spans six blocks from West 97th to 100th streets between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, is posting enviable rental and retail numbers in a down market, according to brokers familiar with the project and the neighborhood. Since May, the project has leased 290 of 454 apartments in two buildings at the site, where five buildings are planned, for a rental rate of 64 percent. One-bedrooms there list for about $3,400, which dwarfs the $2,300 average that postwar equivalents in the neighborhood usually command, brokers said. Once complete, Columbus Square will have 710 apartments. Of course, with the housing market still weak, tenants are receiving generous extras from the co-developers, Stellar Management and the Chetrit Group. Those incentives include up to three months of free rent, plus coverage of the broker’s fee, for signing a 14-month lease, according to Kathy Rudney, the Prudential Douglas Elliman broker handling rentals. But the base rents, she noted, are firm.  [more]