From left: Larry Silverstein and Peter Fine

Affordable housing developer Peter Fine may have gotten the last word over Larry Silverstein, after a Manhattan Supreme Court judge issued a summary judgement on tax credits against the Ground Zero developer last week, according to the Observer. Fine first brought his complaint against Silverstein last summer, alleging that Silverstein had reneged on a prior contract to purchase the development rights at 99 Church Street due to the financial downturn. Fine claimed that Silverstein’s backing out was a breach of contract and in the suit said that the move had made it impossible for Fine’s company, Atlantic Development, to move forward on a planned South Bronx affordable housing development. “Mr. Silverstein found himself unable to finance further construction of 99 Church Street, and thus determined to put the project indefinitely on hold,” the suit says. “No longer in need of the tax benefits it had agreed to purchase from Atlantic… [he] decided to renege on [the contract] thereby depriving Atlantic of a significant source of funding.” Thanks to the judge’s ruling, Atlantic has been awarded more than $3 million in credit and attorney fees. [more]

Peter Fine

From the February issue: No one could blame Peter Fine if he expected the past year to be easy
– even amid the market turmoil. Widely regarded as one of the city’s
top affordable housing developers, Fine started last year as the
darling of the entertainment world, as the unlikely coproducer of a
Tony Award-winning musical.
With close ties to President Obama’s new urban development guru, he was also more politically connected than ever. However, while his Broadway show, “In the Heights,” has enjoyed
continued success, Fine’s political connections and real estate career
have taken a beating over the past year.  [more]

The Manhattan District Attorney is investigating the alleged employment of undocumented workers and payment of substandard wages at projects run by Atlantic Development. Peter Fine, founder of Atlantic, is also the producer of Broadway’s “In the Heights.” Sources told the New York Post that investigators have been asking laborers about Atlantic’s wages and hiring practices. The company, which uses many subcontractors, develops affordable and low-income housing. Prosecutors raided Atlantic Development’s office in April. The company’s Boricua Village project in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx opened several months ago. [more]