Durst Organization President Douglas Durst, the Fetner family and various brokers, public relations gurus and hangers-on mingled at the grand debut of Durst Fetner Residential’s new 55-unit condominium development at 1212 Fifth Avenue last night, enjoying market chit chat and sensational appetizers (see photos above).
It was a lavish affair; the catering by award-winning chef and cookbook author Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster held its own against the pull of the Central Park views, featuring a swan carved from a large melon and various platters of exotic vegetables and dips, as well as cheeses.
Randi Fetner Sherman, a principal and executive vice president of Durst Fetner Residential, gave The Real Deal the grand tour of four separate units on the ninth floor of the building. … [more]

Rose Associates, a developer and manager of both residential and commercial real estate, has been tapped to serve as property manager for Mount Sinai Medical Center’s residential real estate holdings. The properties — including more than 1,700 apartments in various buildings across the Upper East Side — are used mostly as staff housing. The 2 million-square-foot portfolio is spread across 25 different buildings…. [more]

Mount Sinai Medical Center and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center are entering into short-term leases with the bankrupt Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers for clinic space at its O’Toole Building on Seventh Avenue, between 12th and 13th streets, in the West Village. The lease agreements provide for a fixed rent of $26.15 per square foot annually, plus operating expenses of $36.26 per square foot, Crain’s reported. To ensure that the lease agreements don’t hold up a sale of the property, they are terminable with 90 days written notice after Nov. 30. If the tenants fail to move out, the rent gets hiked by 100 percent. [Crain's]

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The first of St. Vincent’s Medical Center’s creditors has begun receiving payments, as the bankrupt facility begins to sell off portions of its property, according to Crain’s. Sun Life Assurance has received around $2.5 million from the sale of 555 Sixth Avenue, better known as the hospital’s “Staff House.”… [more]

As St. Vincent’s Hospital faces closure, rumors are swirling over what will become of the West Village campus on the corner of 12th Street and Seventh Avenue, according to the New York Times, with preservationists alarmed over the possibility that it could become a luxury residential development. Rudin Management will likely redevelop the site and has promised to maintain at least part of the space for health care, with CEO William Rudin describing the creation of “an alternative health care facility” as “essential.” But community advocates are wary of Rudin’s claims, and the West 12th Street Block Association has already begun voicing concern.

St. Vincent’s Hospital, the struggling Greenwich Village institution that for the past several months has been fighting to stay open despite $700 million in debt and $10 million in monthly operating losses, will shutter its inpatient unit after a vote by the hospital’s board last night, Crain’s reported. Elective procedures will stop in two days’ time and other services, save an urgent care center, will be phased out over the next few weeks. The vote clears the way for a Chapter 11 filing. If a partner can be found during the bankruptcy process, the urgent care center could remain open. Mount Sinai Medical Center and Continuum Health Partners had previously expressed interest in taking over the hospital, but lenders GE Capital and TD Bank resisted forcing the hospital into bankruptcy, and each of the potential acquirers backed out as the task of returning the St. Vincent’s to profitability loomed large. Governor David Paterson said in a statement that the state Department of Health would seek proposals for partners in St. Vincent’s new, limited care services. [Crain’s]

Options are dwindling for St. Vincent’s Hospital, the financially-troubled medical center that’s been facing possible closure since January, with a recent negotiating partner leaving the table, according to Crain’s. Mount Sinai Medical Center had been in talks with St. Vincent’s to provide a financial injection, but the commitment proved beyond Mount Sinai’s scope, according to a statement from Mount Sinai officials. Mark Torey, the chief restructuring officer for St. Vincent’s, has indicated that the center would need upwards of $275 million to stay in business. Governor David Paterson said that he was disappointed by the news, and that he is concerned that “at this point, there does not appear to be a partner for the hospital.” City Council speaker Christine Quinn said that local officials will continue to search for an alternative to closure for St. Vincent’s.

From left: Richard LeFrak, Karen LeFrak, Michael Bronson, chief of roint replacement at Mount Sinai, Rick Friedberg, Francine LeFrak, Peter May, Evan Flatow, chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai Medical Center recently celebrated its new Joint Replacement Center at 5 East 98th Street, where construction was completed in the second week of December. The 5,000-square-foot space, which takes up half of the building’s seventh floor, was formerly occupied by the Department of Ophthalmology, now located in the Annenberg Pavilion at 1468 Madison Avenue. Also unveiled at last month’s reception was the new Samuel and Ethel LeFrak Center for Patient Education, housed within the joint replacement unit. The LeFrak family donated an undisclosed amount to create its eponymous center, complete with HDTV monitors to display post-surgical information and videos, and was on hand at the reception to celebrate the new space. TRD… [more]