From left: Bill Thompson, Milstein Properties Chairman Howard Milstein, and Brookfield Chairman John Zuccotti

A pair of deals mayoral candidate Bill Thompson oversaw as chairman of the Battery Park City Authority that aid Lower Manhattan developers has helped line his campaign coffers while stripping the city of much-needed revenue, according to the New York Daily News. Thompson stepped down from the post this month to focus on his mayoral campaign, but in the last year he’s helped overturn scheduled fee increases for Battery Park City condominium owners and secured valuable rent breaks for Brookfield Office Properties’ planned redevelopment of World Financial Center retail. [more]

Developer Howard Milstein, his home at 888 Park Avenue and an anonymous mask worn by the protestors

Prominent real estate figures were among those targeted by Occupy Wall Street protestors in today’s “Millionaires March.”
Protesters marched up Park Avenue and demonstrated outside the homes of real estate developer Howard Milstein and John Angelo, CEO of Angelo, Gordon & Co., along with other CEOs and wealthy executives, including News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and hedge-fund manager John Paulson. The protestors, who have been camped out in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District for the last few weeks, were joined by affordable housing groups and tenant advocacy organizations as they marched, yelling “we are the 99 percent,” and “hey there, millionaire, pay your fair share.” Some wore anonymous masks to hide their identity. Representatives from Community Voices Heard, a coalition of low-income New York City residents, were among the marchers.  [more]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has nominated developer Howard Milstein as the new chairman of the New York State Thruway Authority, overseeing both the Thruway and the 524 miles of the state’s canals, according to the New York Times. Milstein, who presides with his brother, Edward, over his family’s Manhattan real estate empire and is also the chairman and CEO of Emigrant Savings Bank, has donated generously to Cuomo’s campaigns and both he and his wife served on the governor’s transition team. Though the Thruway Authority position is unpaid, some watchdog groups immediately raised red flags about potential conflicts of interest between Milstein’s real estate holdings and economic development projects that might arise during his tenure, which Cuomo dismissed. [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]

From the February issue: During the real estate boom, it was common and even encouraged for brokers to buy units in the new development buildings they were marketing. After all, what endorsement could be better than a six-figure down payment? But now that buyers are scarce, a number of problems with brokers purchasing units have surfaced, from unethical dilemmas with flipping to price inflation to whether brokers can be considered “bona fide” purchasers. These issues often went unnoticed when prices were roaring upward, but can threaten a condo development’s very existence in today’s litigious environment. “In the past, there was absolutely no issue because these buildings were sold out, and who cares what the broker did?” said Anne Salisbury, an attorney in the real estate litigation group at Guzov Ofsink. “Now that you’ve got empty units, it can become an issue.” For years, marketing firms urged their brokers to buy units in the new development buildings they were tasked with selling. “It’s a sort of stamp of approval for the building,” said Jennifer Lee, the director of new business development at aptsandlofts?.com, who noted that the brokerage encourages its agents to purchase property. [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]