From left: Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Aqueduct racinoIn his State of the State address today, Governor Andrew Cuomo will outline an ambitious plan to erect the country’s largest convention center near the Aqueduct racino in Queens, according to the New York Daily News. It is part of the governor’s new emphasis on legalizing casino gambling in the state in order to generate much-needed revenue. Cuomo envisions a $700 million, 3.8 million-square-foot center that would render the Javits Center, on Manhattan’s west side, obsolete. [more]

From left: Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a rendering of the Sept. 11 Museum

A $300 million dispute has nearly ceased construction at the Sept. 11 Memorial Museum, DNAinfo.com reported, and might need to be resolved in court. Now, it seems all but certain that the museum won’t open by its September 2012 target.

After initially making claims of being owed $156 million, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey recently updated the figure, saying the National September 11 Memorial & Museum Foundation actually owes it $300 million for cost overruns at the site. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is chair of the foundation, said the foundation believes the Port Authority is the indebted party at the site. [more]

A federal appeals court last week denied a request by two Upper West Side hotels to block a new law cracking down on short-term apartment rentals.

In February, the owners of the Hotel Alexander and Dexter House filed suit against former Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, claiming that the city’s new multiple dwelling law–which bans the practice of renting out units in apartment buildings and other multiple-dwelling properties for overnight stays — is unconstitutional. The owners said they had purchased their businesses– single-room occupancy hotels– based on the ability to rent units to tourists overnight. In May, a Manhattan District Court rejected their request for an injunction, but the hotel owners appealed.

The Hotel Alexander, located at 306 West 94th Street, is owned by an entity called Esplanade 94, while Dexter House, at 345 West 86th Street, is owned by Dexter Properties. [more]

Plans for the 1,000-seat Joyce Theater and performing arts space at the World Trade Center site have stalled as the Bloomberg administration waits for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to name representatives to the Frank Gehry-designed arts center’s board of directors, the institution of which is necessary for $100 million in funding, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has consistently supported the center, has picked his appointees for the board, which must be formed by Dec. 31 for the project to remain eligible for Lower Manhattan Development Corporation funding. Cuomo has not named anyone so far, leading some to speculate that he is purposefully dragging his heels, trying to win the funds for other projects. [more]

Construction costs will likely delay the planned 2012 opening of the Sept. 11 museum at the World Trade Center, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Two months ago the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which owns the site, ceased to renew construction contracts for the $800 million project, slowing progress because it says the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation owes $156 million.

But the foundation believes it is owed more than $100 million because of delays. [more]

Scott RechlerFrom the November issue: Scott Rechler is the CEO and chairman of RXR Realty, a multibillion-dollar private real estate company with roughly 20 million square feet of Class A office and industrial space. The firm — which is headquartered in Long Island and develops and owns property in the New York Tri-State area — recently completed the purchase of the 2.3 million-square-foot Starrett-Lehigh Building for $920 million. Rechler previously served as CEO and chairman of Reckson Associates Realty, which he sold to SL Green Realty in January 2007 for roughly $6 billion (including the assumption of $2 billion in debt) in one of the largest public real estate management buyouts in REIT history. In September, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Rechler vice chairman of the board of commissioners of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. [more]

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the Apthorp

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has shut down the sales office at the Apthorp, fined the developers $190,000 and ordered rescission for all contracted buyers following an investigation into misleading statements made to the AG months before they filed suit to block Anglo Irish Bank from selling their $385 million mortgage loan.
The Apthorp developers, led by Africa Israel USA and Broadwall Management, filed suit against the troubled bank Sept. 12, alleging the sale of the $385 million Apthorp loan would “adversely impact sales” and potentially “threaten the conversion project itself.”
[more]

Governor Cuomo and the St. Nicholas ChurchBehind closed doors, Governor Andrew Cuomo is pushing to rebuild the St. Nicholas Church at the former site of the Deutsche Bank Building, sources told the New York Post, even though it could severely delay construction of the World Trade Center site.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey wanted the church to be rebuilt at 155 Cedar Street, where it stood before being destroyed during the Sept. 11 attacks. Church leaders initially thought the new structure would be built one block away at 130 Liberty Street, but the Port Authority wanted to negotiate a land swap so that it could be built at the Cedar Street site. [more]

Clockwise from top left: Extell Development President Gary Barnett, the Rushmore and Carlyle Group co-founder William ConwayAttorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office faced off with lawyers
representing Extell Development and Carlyle Realty Partners yesterday as
a Manhattan Supreme Court judge heard what may be the final arguments
in a long-running effort to overturn a $16 million escrow dispute at the
Rushmore condominium.

Judge Anil Singh was urged to overturn the April 2010 ruling by former
AG Andrew Cuomo, who ordered the developers to refund $16 million
in deposits to 41 buyers at the luxury condo building at 80 Riverside
Boulevard close to 64th Street.

The case centers on whether the developers missed a Sept. 1, 2008 deadline
to close the first sale at the 289-unit building, or whether a scrivener’s
error in the offering plan mistakenly included the wrong date, which the
developers insist should have been Sept. 1, 2009, giving them a one-year
window to finish construction and close the first deal. [more]

Almost three-quarters of East Side residents approve of proposals to sell city-owned land — including the Robert Moses Playground next to the United Nations and U.N. Plaza 1 and 2, two city-owned building occupied by the U.N. on 44th Street — to finance the completion of a 21-block gap in the East River Greenway, according to the Friends of the East River Greenway, Crain’s reported.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation in July calling for a decision to be reached by Oct. 10 between city and state officials to sell the 29,000-square-foot park at East 42nd Street and First Avenue.

David Cantor, a spokesperson for the Friends of the East River Greenway, said $200 million would likely be generated by the land deals to fill the greenway gap. [more]