From left: Developer Larry Silverstein, Newmark Knight Frank Chairman Jeffrey Gural, Assemblyman David Weprin, Rep. Bob Turner and Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis

The loser in New York City’s special election to replace former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, Democratic Assemblyman David Weprin, had more high-profile supporters from the real estate community than Republican businessman Bob Turner, the winner, although Turner’s support picked up somewhat as the race became tighter and drew to a close, according to federal campaign finance filings.

While Weprin, who had initially led in polls for the race in the 9th Congressional District, received financial support from big names such as developer Larry Silverstein, real estate executive Jeffrey Gural and property owner William Rudin, Turner, who began showing higher poll numbers at the end August and in September, received support from Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis and developer Peter Kalikow. [more]

Even as the Democratic candidate running to succeed him headed towards his eventual defeat, former Rep. Anthony Weiner moved out of his Forest Hills home
in his former district and into a high-rent three-bedroom Greenwich
Village apartment, the New York Post reported. Weiner had initially
put the 875-square-foot co-op on the market before his Twitter scandal
forced him to resign, but then pulled it off the market once the
controversy erupted. Still, he found a buyer for the apartment in August.  [more]

[Updated at 6 p.m. with information from Trump]

As the race to replace former Rep. Anthony Weiner in the 9th Congressional
District in parts of Brooklyn and Queens heats up, developer Donald Trump has now
inserted himself into the competition between the two candidates
running to take his seat, former state Assemblyman David Weprin, a Democrat,
and businessman Bob Turner, a Republican, in the special election next Tuesday. [more]

From left: Jeffrey Gural of Newmark Knight Frank, Jeffrey Levine of Douglaston Development, David Weprin, Joe Sitt of Thor Equities and Frank Sciame, Jr. of F.J. Sciame Construction

Today, state Assemblyman David Weprin will get the nod from the
Democratic Party to run for Anthony Weiner’s old seat in Congress, which
he is expected to win.

And even though that seat, New York’s 9th, probably won’t be around for
long — population changes will likely force the state to phase it out in 2012
– some real estate executives are happy to have somebody they have close
ties to representing them in Washington, even for the short-term.

“He’s a good guy, and I don’t think the real estate industry has anything to
worry about,” said Jeffrey Gural, chairman of Newmark Knight Frank, who
contributed $2,000 to Weprin in 2010 for his assembly race, according to
campaign finance records. [more]

As of today, it’s officially illegal to have roll-down metal security gates protecting storefronts in New York City. According to the Daily News, the new law, which was passed by the City Council in 2009 and went into effect today, gives business owners with solid metal gates until 2026 to replace them with gates that are at least 70 percent see-through. Though some small business owners have complained about the cost of the new gates, which they also say are less secure, the intent is to allow law enforcement officials to see inside locked-up stores should they ever respond to a call late at night. “When the police or firefighters roll up to a place at 2 a.m. to respond to a call, they’ll be able to know right away whether a cat set off the alarm or whether there’s a guy in there with a machine gun,” said Peter Vallone, chair of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee. [more]

Sexting Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is seeking a leave of absence from the House of Representatives after a Twitpic-gone-awry, is apparently a supporter of New York real estate’s favorite kabbalah scholar: Rabbi Yishayahu Yosef Pinto. According to the Daily News, Weiner, who lives in Forest Hills, is a regular at Pinto’s classes and gatherings and has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Pinto’s other followers, including developers Zina Sapir and Haim Binstock. On the surface, it might seem as though Weiner could learn a lot from Pinto, who does not meet with women. But then again, the rabbi’s right-hand man, developer Ben Zion Suky, was linked to a bootleg porn video operation earlier this year. Weiner is now being called upon by House Democrats to resign, but even still, some might argue that Weiner isn’t even the Pinto follower having the worst week ever. [more]

Rep. Anthony Weiner and wife Huma Abedin and their Forest Hills apartment

About 10 weeks before the tweet was seen ’round the world, Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner and wife Huma Abedin put their two-bedroom co-op in Forest Hills Gardens on the market for $449,000. Now that Weiner’s weiner has been all over the internet, it looks like he’ll be staying put for a while. According to the Post, the couple’s broker, Madeleine Realty, said the 875-square-foot, Ascan Avenue apartment has been pulled from the market. As if the world needed a more intimate look at Weiner’s private life, the listing photos show the couple’s “H” and “A” monogrammed pillows in the couple’s bedroom, as well as one of their cats, which was already introduced via an internet leak of the infamous “two pussys” shot that Weiner had sent to an online gal pal. Meanwhile, Gawker draws the connection that the home hit the market around the same time Abedin, a top Hillary Clinton aide, likely found out that she was pregnant and might be needing more space. [Post] and [Gawker] [more]

From left: REBNY President Steven Spinola, Rep. Anthony Weiner, Warburg President Frederick Peters, Elaine Mayers of Citi Habitats and Stacey Max of Bellmarc Realty

Tuesday’s approval of an amendment to a proposed Federal Housing Finance Agency ruling dealing with flip taxes could keep lenders from abandoning the New York City residential market in the future, according to industry experts.

The amendment pared down an earlier FHFA provision, announced in fall 2010, which would have barred government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from lending in all multi-family buildings in which a flip tax is written into the contract. In its original form, the proposal could have adversely affected roughly 50 percent of the New York City residential stock, according to Real Estate Board of New York President Steven Spinola.

The amendment was passed as part of a larger proposal that is still winding its way through the approval process. [more]

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A total of 206 stores along Queen’s busiest commercial strips are vacant, an average of 12 percent, the Daily News reported. The stretch from 116th Street to Woodhaven Boulevard was the hardest hit street in the borough, with one out of five shops defunct, according to a recent borough-wide study commissioned by Rep. Anthony Weiner. “If you want to take the economic temperature of our city, the best thing to do is take a look at how our shopping strips are doing,” Weiner said. Weiner unveiled a five-point plan already passed by the House of Representatives that includes tax incentives and more experimental proposals, like a mobile van that would allow owners to fight citations and obtain permits without going to City Hall. The tax incentives, which still need to be passed by the Senate, would give store owners $1,000 for each employee hired and offer a separate credit if the employee receives health care. [NYDN]

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