Arris Lofts and Marina Tencza

A Manhattan federal judge has ruled that a couple who sued the developer of the Arris Lofts in Long Island City can get out of their contract to buy a penthouse apartment, despite already moving into the unit. The decision marks the first post-closing victory for a New York condo buyer in a case involving the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act. [more]

From left: Edward Minskoff and 101 Sixth Avenue (building credit: PropertyShark)Edward Minskoff has bought out partner Andalex Group at 101 Sixth Avenue for an undisclosed price, the New York Post reported. Minskoff had owned at 32 percent stake in the building before the purchase, and now takes complete control of the 425,000-square-foot tower, which will be vacant once SEIU Local 32BJ moves out (it’s moving to 620 Sixth Avenue).

The building, between Watts and Grand streets in Soho, is undergoing a gut renovation in hopes of attracting entertainment, media and technology companies…. [more]

Local 32BJ Service Employees International Union and three affiliated
funds sued their landlord at 101 Sixth Avenue, alleging that the owner
of the building owes them more than $5 million dollars as part of an
unusual lease provision, Crain’s reported. The union leased the entire
400,000-square-foot building, between Watts and Grand streets, which is owned by the Andalex Group, in
1989, and subleases a minor portion to other tenants. Under the lease,
the landlord has to share a portion of money generated from the building
with the tenant, a highly unusual arrangement, brokers said…. [more]

More than half of the owners at Arris Lofts — a 237-unit condominium conversion in Long Island City located in the former Eagle Electric building — are suing developer Andalex Group for $20 million, seeking damages for alleged negligence, including misappropriated funds and breaches of warranty, Crain’s reported. The attorney representing the 120 apartment owners involved in the lawsuit, Steven Sladkus of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, said he is finalizing a formal complaint outlining all the allegations. While the developers no longer own apartments in the building, they maintain control of the condo board. In their suit, the owners claim that the developers were inappropriately using funds to pay for things like construction material, and that they “exhibited a total lack of interest in calling board meetings and doing what is necessary on behalf of unit owners,” Sladkus said. Calls by Crain’s to Andalex Group and their attorney, James Hausman of Meister Seelig & Fein, were not returned. Meanwhile, a couple who lives in a $3 million penthouse at Arris Lofts and invoked the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act are seeking to quash an apartment contract. That case is pending. (note: correction appended) [Crain's]

… [more]

Marina Tencza and husband, Darius, are demanding their money back for an apartment they moved into at the Arris

So far this year, federal judges have ruled on the first three cases in which New York City buyers are attempting to invoke a previously unknown law, the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, to quash their apartment contracts based on the… [more]

Just weeks after its leasing assignment was ended at the 2.8-million-square-foot Empire State Building, full service commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis told The Real Deal it has clawed back some of that space by inking a deal to represent 101 Sixth Avenue on the border of Soho and Hudson Square. CBRE picked up the leasing assignment for the 430,000-square-foot building at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Watts Street Oct. 7, said Peter Turchin, executive vice president at CBRE. The 23-story office building is owned by a partnership between the Andalex Group and Edward J. Minskoff Equities, and was built in 1991. The entire building is leased by the influential Service Employees International Union local 32 BJ, whose 20-year lease expires Dec. 31, 2011…. [more]