One Madison Park, Ira Shapiro (top) and Jonathan Newman (bottom)

A state Supreme Court judge handed a victory to iStar Financial today by granting full authority to the interim receiver at the One Madison Park condominium, which is going through foreclosure proceedings. Judge James Yates ordered that attorney Jonathan Newman, who was appointed interim receiver earlier this month, be granted the authority to oversee the completion of One Madison Park. The move represents a significant setback to lead developer Ira Shapiro, who urged the judge to allow him to remain in control over the project, which descended into a bitter split with his development partner Marc Jacobs, and an investigation by the Rockland County District Attorney. “They’re no longer in control of the process,” said Matthew Parrott, attorney for iStar. “The custody and control of the building is in possession of Mr. Newman.” A written order is expected to be issued Monday, Parrott said. Burton Dorfman, the attorney for Shapiro, praised the judge’s ruling, and noted that the developer will still be involved with marketing and completing the 69-unit building in consultation with the receiver. Lawyers said that sales will not resume until Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office lifts the ban he imposed more than a month ago. On March 12, Cuomo ordered the developers to refund money to buyers after iStar filed to foreclose and dozens of lawsuits were filed claiming that the developers defaulted on tens of millions of dollars in personal loans used to fund overhead costs at the condo. [more]

Lender iStar Financial has told a state Supreme Court judge that it would fund the remaining construction at the One Madison Park condominium if the court-appointed receiver is granted expanded powers since it says the developer could not be trusted to complete the project. (Note: correction appended)

The remaining construction includes finishing the lobby, an indoor pool, fitness center, and other work to get temporary certificates of occupancy on the upper floors of the 50-story tower. The lender urged Judge James Yates to allow Jonathan Newman, the newly appointed interim receiver, additional powers to oversee the building amid concerns that the current developers, led by Slazer Enterprises president Ira Shapiro, have not fully accounted for millions in missing funds or resolved other problems. [more]

A state Supreme Court judge has named veteran real estate attorney Jonathan Newman as interim receiver of the controversial One Madison Park condominium, which is currently facing a foreclosure lawsuit by iStar Financial.

Newman, a partner at Newman Ferrara, was granted limited rights to oversee the project, including the collection of common charges and sales proceeds, however Judge James Yates allowed lead developer, Ira Shapiro, to continue sales at the 23 East 22nd Street property, at least until a number of legal issues are sorted out.

Yesterday’s move represents a partial victory for Shapiro, the president of Slazer Enterprises, who was facing allegations of forgery by his development partner Marc Jacobs and claims by the lender that millions of dollars in borrowed money was unaccounted for. [more]

Lawyers for iStar Financial claim that the lender never received millions
of dollars from apartment sales prior to the foreclosure filing at One
Madison Park condominium, according to court documents obtained by The
Real Deal. Lawyers for iStar faced off against counsel for the developer in a March 23
hearing before state Supreme Court Judge Eileen Rakower, who heard
arguments about the lender’s request for a court-appointed receiver. Meister Seelig partner Stephen Meister, an attorney representing the developer, said he was not aware of any allegations of missing funds. “So many of them are completely baseless and untrue that it’s really not
a good idea to rely on these unsupported allegations,” Meister told The
Real Deal. [more]