Related’s Jeffrey Brodsky and Jeff Blau

In the midst of a major health kick, Related Companies has prohibited smoking in all of its rental apartments — not just across the city, but across the nation, the New York Times reported. The rule will affect a total of 40,000 rentals as it gradually goes into effect.

The new measure appears to be the first from a landlord to have such a broad reach. Last month, residents of Zeckendorf Towers, the condominium complex near Union Square, became the largest building in the city to ban smoking. [more]

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Several big-name developers are clamoring for the right to develop three separate sites at Brooklyn Bridge Park, Crain’s reported. [more]

51 Astor Place and the IBO’s Doug Turetsky

Cooper Union, the Downtown university that recently announced it would start charging students tuition for the first time, received two tax breaks for real estate it has leased to Minskoff Equities and the Related Companies — raising eyebrows at the Independent Budget Office, Crain’s reported. The parcels are located at 51 Astor Place and 22-36 Astor Place, respectively. [more]

From left: Gary Barnett, a rendering of One Hudson Yards, and Stephen Ross

A property swap deal between the Related Companies and Extell Development on Manhattan’s West Side is now in contract, the New York Post reported. [more]

Related’s Jay Kriegel

Jay Kriegel, a senior advisor at the Related Companies, has raised $50,000 in donations for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s mayoral campaign in the last two months, acting as an “intermediary” for other donors, the Village Voice reported.

An “electoral loophole” allows individuals who would otherwise be subject to donation caps to bundle gifts from multiple people, akin to a municipal-level super PAC, or political action committee, the Voice said, citing reporting from the New York World. [more]

A rendering of Hudson Park & Boulevard (Credit: Hudson Yards Development Corporation)

A new city-owned park being built on Manhattan’s far West Side is being supported by neighborhood developers and landlords, but the Related Companies, whose 26-acre Hudson Yards project kisses the park’s southern edge, is refusing to contribute dues, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Executives at Related told people working on the park that the company is already responsible for bankrolling the maintenance and operations of more than 12 acres of open space on the Hudson Yards site, according to the Journal. Paying dues for the park, the executives believe, would amount a form of double taxation. [more]

Willets Point rendering

UPDATED, 10:22 a.m., May 11: Queens Community Board 7 will hold a public hearing on Monday to discuss the Related Companies and Sterling Equities’ Willets Point and Willets West development plans, as part of the city’s public review process of the 62-acre Queens project, according to a blog operated by advocacy group Willets Point United. [more]

From left: Stephen Ross, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates

Related Companies’ Stephen Ross has pledged to donate half of his $4.4 billion fortune to charity, the New York Observer reported.  [more]

Cover of South Florida Market Report

The May issue of The Real Deal includes a free copy of the South Florida Market Report, which provides a behind-the-scenes look at the most important real estate markets in the Sunshine State. Inside you’ll find out who the top condominium developers are in South Florida, as well as the latest on commercial, residential and retail markets. And don’t miss our one-on-ones with Kevin Maloney of the Manhattan-based Property Markets Group and Vanessa Grout, who heads up Douglas Elliman’s South Florida operation. Finally, get up close with the Related Companies’ man in South Florida, Jorge Pérez, and find out his takeaway from the housing crisis.

Construction at Hudson Yards (Image c/o Related Companies)

Hudson Yards was expected to earn $283 million in revenue by the end of 2012 but actually earned only $170 million, leaving the city in a bind over its infrastructure investments in the megaproject, according to a New York City Independent Budget Office report seen by the Wall Street Journal.  [more]