Brooklyn-based Steiner Studios closed last week on the acquisition of a four-property package with a contract price of $30 million, including 350 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn.

Steiner Studios bought the four properties: a 120,000-square-foot office building at 350 Livingston Street; a vacant lot at 325 Schermerhorn Street; a medical building at 345 Schermerhorn Street and a 20,000-square-foot parking lot at 62-64 Flatbush Avenue, last Wednesday, Ray McKaba, president of the Brooklyn-based seller Nevins Realty, said. He would not comment on the sale price. [more]

Real estate developers, brokers and attorneys are gathered for the third annual Massey Knakal Multi-family Summit for the tri-state area at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center on Sixth Avenue. The focus of this year’s summit is the acquisition, disposition, financing and management of multi-family properties in the greater New York City area, with a special emphasis on the political environment, trends in rents and operations, as well as a discussion of cap rates, financing and interest rates.

Bruce Beal, executive vice president of the Related Companies, talked about about the rental market and Related’s current projects.

“We’ve been doing everything from looking at distressed opportunities — projects that failed, retail projects that weren’t leased, half built condominium buildings — mostly in our core markets like New York, Boston, California,” he said. — Katherine Clarke [more]

Manhattan investment sales by quarter (source: Massey Knakal)

New York City investment sales fell a sharp 25 percent in the third quarter from the prior three-month period, but commercial property trades are still expected to top 2010 activity and reach $24 billion by the end of the year, executives at brokerage firm Massey Knakal Realty Services said.

Total third-quarter sales in the city hit $6.5 billion, down from $8.7 billion in the second quarter of the year, according to figures the company released at its quarterly media briefing in Midtown this morning. For the first nine months of the year, commercial property sales including multi-family, office, retail and development, reached $19.2 billion citywide, the firm reported.

But Robert Knakal, the company’s chairman, did not see the quarterly falloff as a permanent pullback. [more]

From left: Kenneth Krasnow of CB Richard Ellis, Daniel Hagan, Cory Rosenthal, Michael Wlody, Robert Knakal and
Paul Massey, all of Massey Knakal and Steven Spinola of REBNY

Massey Knakal Realty Services paid a $4,000 penalty to resolve a complaint brought by the New York State Department of State that alleges that the influential commercial brokerage firm violated the state’s real estate licensing laws.

In the agreement finalized last Thursday, Massey Knakal CEO Paul Massey and chairman Robert Knakal each agreed to pay $2,000 in fines after admitting that Kenneth Krasnow, former managing director of the Brooklyn office, was not licensed while managing real estate agents, and that three other company officers were licensed as salespersons, not brokers, as required by the law.

The agreement, known as a consent order, says, in part: “By allowing respondent Krasnow to act as a broker in a supervisory role without insuring that he was property licensed, [Massey and Knakal] failed to properly supervise respondent Krasnow, and [has] violated [state law].” The fines have been paid, the document says. [more]

From left: Kenneth Krasnow of CB Richard Ellis and Daniel Hagan, Cory Rosenthal, Michael Wlody, Robert Knakal and Paul Massey, all of Massey Knakal

The New York State agency tasked with overseeing real estate licenses, the
Department of State, served commercial real estate firm Massey Knakal Realty
Services this week with a complaint alleging violations including failure to
supervise a former managing director of the Brooklyn office and for failing to
properly license three corporate officers as real estate brokers, according to the
complaint provided by the agency (see complaint below).

The complaint seeks penalties including the revocation or suspension of the
company’s licenses held by Paul Massey, the CEO, and Robert Knakal, the chairman, as well as fines, although
an amount was not stated. Insiders noted that despite the complaint stating a
demand for a revocation or suspension of licenses, the actual penalties often
wind up being far less severe.

Massey Knakal, founded in 1988 by Massey and Knakal, has one of the largest
investment sales forces in the city with 76 brokers, agents and associates and
earlier this year branched into retail leasing and commercial mortgage brokerage, with additional personnel.

The complaint follows an investigation opened after a February 2011
article in The Real Deal reported that Kenneth Krasnow, then the company’s
managing director of the Brooklyn office, did not hold a real estate license in New
York.

The complaint, dated May 9, 2011, but served Aug. 1 alleges that Krasnow was
managing director of the Brooklyn and Queens offices despite not holding a
license between Oct. 6, 2008 and Feb. 14, 2011. An individual who supervises
agents in brokerage matters is required to have a real estate license, according
to the DOS.

In addition, the state’s inquiry discovered that three individuals — Daniel Hagan,
vice president of special assets; Cory Rosenthal, vice president of executive
operations; and Michael Wlody, CFO — held corporate offices at Massey Knakal
with salesperson’s licenses, not brokers’ licenses, as required. Hagan, Rosenthal and Wlody weren’t immediately available for comment.

“By allowing respondent Krasnow to act as a broker in a supervisory role without
being properly licensed, respondent Knakal and respondent Massey have…
demonstrated untrustworthiness and/or incompetency,” the agency complaint
said, following standard language used in such documents.

The next step in the process is a hearing, but a spokesperson for the state did
not immediately know if a date had been set.

Knakal referred questions to Massey, who declined to comment. Krasnow did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.

In June 2010, the DOS fined the Corcoran Group $70,000 for allowing 79 brokers and agents to work despite licensing irregularities. Since
2009, the state has fined firms more than $200,000.

In May, CB Richard Ellis announced that Krasnow was tapped to lead its offices
in Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. CBRE did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.

Massey Knakal DOS complaint [more]

Clockwise from top left: 345 Schermerhorn Street, 325 Schermerhorn Street, 350 Livingston Street (building credits: PropertyShark) and 62 Flatbush Avenue. Center: Paul Massey

[Updated 4:40 p.m.] Massey Knakal Realty Services has filed a lawsuit against Nevins Realty
and its president, alleging he directly negotiated a $30 million sale of
four downtown Brooklyn parcels to Steiner Studios, costing the commercial
real estate brokerage $900,000 in lost commissions.

Massey Knakal, in the suit, filed June 22 in Manhattan Supreme Court,
alleges fraud and breach of contract against Nevins and asked the court for
an injunction to prevent the transfer of the $900,000 commission fee at the
closing, which is scheduled for tomorrow. [more]

Although developers Larry Silverstein and Harry Macklowe headlined the impressive list of speakers at Massey Knakal’s Commercial Real Estate Investment today, it was developer Sharif El-Gamal who jazzed up the audience at the second-floor auditorium in the McGraw-Hill Building in Midtown.

Speaking as part of a panel that included Brookfield Properties CEO Richard Clark, George Comfort & Sons CEO Peter Duncan and Himmel + Meringoff Properties’ managing partner Stephen Meningoff, El-Gamal talked about his company’s competitive advantages. [more]

From left: Ken Krasnow of Massey Knakal Realty Services; Eastern Consolidated’s Ety Lee; Eastern Consolidated’s Jerome Benayoum; and Lon Rubackin, a managing director at GFI Capital

Commercial brokerage firm Massey Knakal Realty Services has temporarily replaced Kenneth Krasnow, the managing director of the firm’s Brooklyn office, because he is not licensed as required by the New York State Department of State, company CEO Paul Massey told The Real Deal this morning.

Krasnow had been the head of the Brooklyn office since 2008. He will be replaced by Cory Rosenthal, corporate vice president, until Krasnow obtains his license, Massey said.

“[In the] interim, Cory Rosenthal, corporate vice president, will take over day to day management of Queens and Brooklyn until Ken resolves the license issue,” Massey said.
[more]

While New York City’s real estate world is always moving forward, one Manhattan townhouse has remained virtually unchanged for nearly 150 years. The Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard Street is a living monument to immigrant life on the Lower East Side during the mid-1800s through the 1930s, and in this video The Real Deal looks at the museum’s new visitor center and explore how apartment life has changed over the years. We talk with Morris Vogel, president of the Tenement Museum, and Paul Massey, CEO of Massey Knakal Realty Services and the newly appointed chairman of the board at the museum. [more]

From left: Garret Thelander and Paul Massey

Massey Knakal Realty Services has tapped Anglo Irish Bank executive Garrett Thelander, who helped open the New York office of the troubled lender and grow its staff to 35, to lead its new mortgage division, it was expected to be announced today.

Thelander, 55, is once again charged with starting a new office, this time as a managing director for Massey Knakal, to hire brokers and develop the new arm, Paul Massey, company CEO, told The Real Deal.

The hiring of the bank executive comes two weeks after Massey Knakal launched a retail brokerage division, bringing in long-time retail agent Benjamin Fox for that job. At the same time, the firm has had significant defections, including a top producer for the firm, Shimon Shkury, who left with his team to open the new firm Ariel Property Advisors. [more]