From left: John Catsimatidis, owner, president, chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group and Gristedes Foods, and Gracie Mansion

If New York Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly decides not to run for mayor of New York City mayor, though he has not announced a run for City Hall, John Catsimatidis, the owner and CEO of the Red Apple Group and Gristedes Foods, said he will take Kelly’s place. This would add Catsimatidis to a list of current candidates with real estate ties, as The Real Deal previously reported. Catsimatidis himself has $700 million to $800 million in real estate interests through Red Apple, he told The Real Deal in an interview last summer. [more]

From left: Stephen Schwarzman, Richard LeFrak, Sam Zell, Leonard Stern, Stephen Ross

Blackstone President Stephen Schwarzman, Richard LeFrak, Equity International Chairman Sam Zell and Related Companies Chairman Stephen Ross were just some of the big players in New York City real estate to make Forbes’ list of the world’s 1,226 billionaires released yesterday.

But none can match the wealth of the man who has the final say on whether many of their ambitious city projects ultimately get built: Mayor Michael Bloomberg. [more]

At The Real Deal‘s seventh annual forum last week’s at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, real estate pros gathered to watch debates between real estate attorneys Adam Leitman Bailey of the eponymous firm and Stuart Saft, chair of law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf’s global real estate department; developer Billy Macklowe of William Macklowe Company and John Catsimatidis, CEO of the Red Apple Group; and Frederick Peters, president of Warburg Realty, and Lockhart Steele, founder of Curbed. In attendance were Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s retail leasing and sales division, Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and Andrew Barrocas, CEO of brokerage MNS, all of whom stepped outside to talk to The Real Deal about the state of the market (see video above). — Katherine Clarke

[more]

Is it any wonder that two litigators stole the show at The Real Deal’s seventh annual forum, which was structured as a debate between three sets of real estate professionals? (See a few photos from the forum above and look for the December issue for more.) Attorney Adam Leitman Bailey of the eponymous firm and Stuart Saft, chair of the real estate department at Dewey & LeBoeuf, faced off on whether litigation is harming New York City real estate — an animated discussion that had Bailey angling to settle a dispute with Saft from the podium (for a client with cancer) and Saft accusing Bailey of hurting the city with his tactics.

“When you litigate without thinking of the consequences and the macro [effects], it hurts the city of New York,” Saft said. [more]

The Real Deal’s seventh annual forum, “The Debate,” at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. Starting at 6:30 p.m., developer Billy Macklowe will debate Gristedes magnate John Catsimatidis. Then Curbed founder Lockhart Steele will face off against Frederick Peters, president of Warburg Realty Partnership. Finally, attorneys Stuart Saft of Dewey & LeBouef and Adam Leitman Bailey of his eponymous firm will go head-to-head. CNBC anchor Bill Griffeth will be moderating the event. It’s the big event of the year. If you move fast, you can still make it! Please tweet about the event and send questions using hashtag #trddebate. Comments

• Tweet

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]

Top row from left: Solow Building Owner Sheldon Solow, Boston Properties Chairman Mort Zuckerman, LeFrak Organization Chairman Richard LeFrak, investor John Paulson; Bottom row from left: Donald Trump, Tishman Speyer Chairman Jerry Speyer, Blackstone Group Founder Stephen Schwarzman, Red Apple Group CEO John Catsimatidis and Related Companies Founder Stephen Ross

Of the 63 New York City residents to make Forbes new list of the 400 richest people in America at least 13 are closely tied to the real estate industry. For example, the third richest New Yorker, right after businessman David Koch and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is John Paulson, who made billions betting against the housing market right before the crash. He’s the 17th richest person in the country, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $15.5 billion.

The 60th richest American is New York City real estate magnate Richard LeFrak, who is worth $5 billion thanks in part to the large housing developments he owns. He’s 10th among city residents. [more]

John Catsimatidis
From the August issue: John Catsimatidis is the owner, president, chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group and Gristedes Foods — Manhattan’s largest supermarket chain. Red Apple — which Catsimatidis said has around $700 million to $800 million in real estate interests — has a proposal to build three residential towers in Coney Island and is planning to add more residential buildings to the one it has in Downtown Brooklyn. In addition, Catsimatidis said he personally owns 300 properties in New York State and Pennsylvania. And he owns the Hellenic Times, a Manhattan-based Greek-American newspaper. He is also a prominent political fund-raiser and donor. Click here for the full Q & A. [more]

From left: Walmart, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Hunts Point Market

Longtime Walmart opponent City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is willing to soften her stance against the retailer if it agrees to source its produce from Hunts Point Market should it bring stores to New York City. According to Crain’s, Quinn is in discussions with Walmart officials to strike a deal where city outlets would purchase at least some produce from the market and its 47 businesses. Quinn and Hunts Point leaders fear that if Walmart uses its traditional network of produce sources, it will harm Hunts Point sales as other grocers that rely on the market fail to compete with the low-priced retailer. [more]

From left: Architect Costas Kondylis and Princess Katherine Karadjordjevic, developer Donald Trump, the Corcoran Group’s Pamela Liebman, Town’s Andrew Heiberger and wife Robyn, and marketing guru Louise Sunshine (credit: Clint Spaulding of patrickmcmullan.com). Click the image to see more photos.

Developer Donald Trump, who spent weeks courting the fringes of American politics in a possible presidential bid, stuck to real estate last night in brief remarks at the premier of a documentary produced by The Real Deal about the prolific and aging New York architect Costas Kondylis. (See more photos after the jump.)

Trump, who traveled the United States questioning President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, praised Kondylis — born in Africa to Greek parents — as a “great design architect.”

Kondylis was the architect on many of Trump’s buildings such as the Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza and an imposing row of residential towers that were critically panned called Riverside South, which face the Hudson River. [more]