From left: Andrew Cuomo, Rector Square and Yair Levy

A state Supreme Court judge ruled today that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo can proceed in his civil suit against developer Yair Levy, who is facing banishment from future condominium unit sales after he allegedly misappropriated millions of dollars from the Rector Square reserve fund.

Cuomo sued Levy, alleging that the man formerly known as the “condo king” illegally withdrew $1.6 million in reserve funds at the 303-unit building in Battery Park City, and signed over checks to family, while using the money to pay credit card bills at Macy’s and Verizon Wireless.
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Rector Square and Yair Levy

Anglo Irish Bank acquired unsold shares of Rector Square, the troubled Battery Park City condominium, during a public auction at the New York state Supreme Court this afternoon, with a winning bid of $82.75 million.

Anglo Irish, the senior lender at the 304-unit building at 225 Rector Place, plans to resell the building to new investors, according to the bank’s attorneys, who explained that the bank wanted to make sure the property had stable ownership going forward.

“The bank invested so much in [the building] that it’s interested in seeing that the building finds a good home,” said Herrick Feinstein attorney Chris Sullivan, who represented Anglo Irish in its foreclosure case against the property. [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]

Sean FitzPatrick, former chairman of the Anglo Irish Bank, was arrested yesterday on charges of alleged financial fraud. FitzPatrick, one of Ireland’s most visible financial executives, has been accused of fiscal impropriety in the past. FitzPatrick left his post as Anglo Irish’s chairman in December 2008 amid allegations that he had concealed personal loans, valued at tens of millions of dollars, from shareholders. On this side of the Atlantic, Anglo Irish has made waves in the New York City real estate world. After buying big during the boom years, the bank saw its investments flounder in the financial downturn. In January 2009, the bank filed to foreclose on developer Yair Levy’s $165 million mortgage on Rector Square, a 304-unit residential development at 225 Rector Place in Battery Park City.

From the March issue: As developers of struggling new condos grow more desperate for cash, some may be pilfering funds from their own projects, industry insiders say. The reserve fund — a sort of rainy day fund for capital improvements at condo conversions — is particularly vulnerable because developers have easy access to it, experts said. Former Sheffield57 developer Kent Swig and Rector Square’s Yair Levy are the most high-profile examples of sponsors who’ve been accused of depleting these funds. But attorneys and other sources say many more developers are likely misappropriating funds, using residents’ money to pay their bills and falsely inflating costs. [more]

A New York State Supreme Court judge shut the door on developer Yair Levy in the highly publicized foreclosure at Battery Park City’s Rector Square condominium.

Judge Joan Madden awarded summary judgment this afternoon to Anglo Irish Bank, which filed to foreclose after Levy’s firm defaulted on a $165 million mortgage loan. Madden rejected Levy’s arguments that the bank subverted the project by cutting off funding, and noted numerous defaults by Levy’s YL Real Estate, including improper withdrawals from the emergency reserve fund and “questionable” requests for construction money.

“Anglo further alleges that at least one contractor has accused YL of pocketing some of the loan proceeds and that YL embezzled most of the tenant reserve funds,” Madden wrote in her decision.

Levy himself filed suit in state Supreme Court, alleging the bank forced the project into bankruptcy by shutting off his construction funds.

Levy was not immediately available for comment, nor was YL Real Estate attorney David Segal. Christopher Sullivan, an attorney representing Anglo Irish Bank, was also not immediately available. [more]

Developer Yair Levy is facing a bevy of fiscal nightmares, including a $100 million suit from 45 apartment owners at a Battery Park City condo conversion filed last month, making him one of the most troubled developers in New York City. While once considered the “condo king” of the city, Levy’s YL Real Estate Developers has come unraveled by poor project choices, according to a Crain’s profile, including Rector Square and Park Columbus. But while some of Levy’s developments, including the foreclosed condo conversion project Sheffield57, have proven irksome for Levy, he contends that many others face similar woes. “Everybody is in trouble,” Levy said, attributing his problems to “too many condo projects at the same time when the market collapsed.”

From left: Yair Levy, Michael Shvo, and Rector Square at 225 Rector Place

A group of 45 unit owners at Rector Square condominium in Battery Park filed a $100 million lawsuit against developer Yair Levy, superbroker Michael Shvo and building manager Cooper Square Realty, alleging widespread fraud, negligence and misrepresentation. According to the suit filed yesterday in New York State Supreme Court, Levy, the owner of YL Real Estate Developers, defaulted on the mortgage loan with Anglo Irish Bank, failed to complete construction of the building, converted reserve funds for his own use and failed to make PILOT payments to the Battery Park City Authority. The plaintiffs claim the sponsor and broker misrepresented the quality of the building to potential purchasers. “Instead of a building of their dreams they bought into a building of nightmares,” said Marc Held, attorney for the unit owners. Levy also allegedly sold a block of 15 apartments to an Italian university for use as dorm rooms for exchange students and rented out apartments to Marriott for use as extended-stay hotels, violating local zoning laws. [more]

Yair Levy, 225 Rector Square

Anglo Irish Bank filed a motion in New York State Supreme Court earlier this month to complete foreclosure proceedings against Rector Square developer Yair Levy and place the troubled Battery Park condominium conversion on the auction block for sale to a new investor. Anglo Irish originally filed suit in February alleging that Levy defaulted on a $165 million mortgage loan to convert the 304-unit rental building at 225 Rector Place, and failed to pay millions of dollars in contractor’s fees, common charges and PILOT payments to the Battery Park City Authority, which controls the ground lease under most, if not all, Battery Park buildings. Levy later tried to preempt the foreclosure suit by filing a countersuit in Nassau County, where he resides, alleging that Anglo Irish forced his property into default by holding up construction dollars. That case was later consolidated into the foreclosure suit filed by Anglo Irish.  More

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Tensions have reached a fever pitch at the Rector Square, the
foreclosed Battery Park City condominium, as the court-appointed
receiver and Related threaten to sue a majority of the building’s unit
owners who are refusing to pay more than $300,000 in retroactive common
charges and PILOT payments. Related, the building’s new managing agent, warned in a letter obtained
by The Real Deal that the receiver, Manhattan-based trust attorney
Michael Miller, would be forced to file suit against more than 40
delinquent unit owners if they failed to pay thousands of dollars in
newly assessed charges. [more]