From left: Lever House and its courtyardOccupy Wall Street protesters are only about 3,500 days away from being able to claim Zuccotti Park as their own under “adverse possession.” According to the New York Times, for that reason, the popular Lever House office tower’s courtyard at 390 Park Avenue will be closed by owner RFR Realty this Sunday.

“Adverse possession” is an ancient concept that essentially allows someone who uses another person’s property for a long period of time to claim possession if the rightful owner never challenges it. The concept was more widely practiced with farm land. Today, the claim can only be made on property that goes unchallenged for at least 10 years. [more]

The state agency responsible for regulating real estate licenses has sanctioned nearly 170
New York City residential and commercial real estate brokers and agents in recent years,
including professionals at high-profile firms such as the Corcoran Group, Prudential
Douglas Elliman, RFR Realty and Winick Realty Group.

More than 200 brokers and salespersons based in New York City were identified
as having committed violations ranging from unintentionally retaining an unearned
commission to operating without a broker’s license, according to nearly 100 consent
orders, mostly filed by the state between 2009 and March 2011.

The Real Deal obtained the consent orders through a Freedom of Information
Law request made earlier this year. The publication reviewed the 905
pages of documents detailing nearly 180 consent orders statewide and
created a searchable spreadsheet for the 95 New York City cases (see
document here or
after the jump), along with links to the original DOS documents (after the jump) [more]

From left: Rosen and Schrager

From the January issue: Now that their split is official, financier Aby Rosen and hotel impresario Ian Schrager are wasting little time moving on.

Rosen acknowledged publicly for the first time last month that he had reached a deal to buy his ex-partner out of the Gramercy Park Hotel, the troubled boutique project the pair sank $200 million into renovating during the frothy pre-crash days. Then he issued a news release touting the new additions he has planned on his own for the 185-room high-end hotel, including a redesigned culinary operation headed by famed restaurateur and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer.

Schrager, meanwhile, is actively searching for the site of his “next big thing” and is “in the early stages” of evaluating a hotel within 10 blocks of the Gramercy, said one industry source who asked to remain anonymous. [more]

Aby Rosen and 451 Lexington Avenue (building photo credit: PropertyShark)

Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty sold a two-story corner retail property at 451 Lexington Avenue at 45th Street in Midtown for $28.7 million.

A Connecticut-based buyer identified as 451 Lexington Realty went into contract on the purchase Nov. 2 and closed Nov. 30, city property records published today show.

RFR Realty bought the 13,585-square-foot property in 1992 for an undisclosed sum. A one-story portion of the property is leased to fast food-restaurant Sbarro while a two-story portion is leased to McDonalds. There are three other tenants as well. [more]

Developer Aby Rosen has purchased back the defaulted $18 million loan on his 66 East 55th Street, sources told Crain’s. That’s the building that houses the Core Club, a members-only social club that counts a number of real estate bigwigs in its ranks and costs a reported $15,000 per year. Rosen defaulted on the loan, which was being marketed by special servicer Helios, in early 2009. [Crain's]

From left: Lever House, the Seagram Building

Despite two of the most expensive leasing deals of the year closing in
recent weeks, the Manhattan office market has still not turned the
corner, said Robert Sammons, managing [more]

A 500,000-square-foot office tower at 757 Third Avenue, owned by Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs’ RFR Realty, has seen its $126 million loan go to a special servicer, according to the New York Post. While the loan on the office tower on the corner of 48th Street, had been facing “imminent default,” according to a remittance report filed earlier this month, RFR did not indicate that the situation was that dire. The company, whose portfolio includes several high-profile properties, including the Seagram Building and the Lever House, had sent the loan “into special servicing so it could be restructured,” according to a spokesperson. The building’s debt is part of a large securitization package that includes 108 different properties, with Bank of America serving as the trustee. Although it was not immediately clear how much vacant space remains in the building, reports indicate that the property is largely leased-out. [Post, 1st item]

[more]

A 500,000-square-foot office tower at 757 Third Avenue, owned by Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs’ RFR Realty, has seen its $126 million loan go to a special servicer, according to the New York Post. While the loan on the office tower on the corner of 48th Street, had been facing “imminent default,” according to a remittance report filed earlier this month, RFR did not indicate that the situation was that dire. The company, whose portfolio includes several high-profile properties, including the Seagram Building and the Lever House, had sent the loan “into special servicing so it could be restructured,” according to a spokesperson. The building’s debt is part of a large securitization package that includes 108 different properties, with Bank of America serving as the trustee. Although it was not immediately clear how much vacant space remains in the building, reports indicate that the property is largely leased-out. [Post, 1st item]

[more]

From the February issue: The high volume of leasing in recent months, fueled in part by tenants signing early renewals at sharply reduced prices, could come back to bite the market next year, some industry experts said. Tenants with two and three years remaining on their leases — and sometimes even four years — are signing renewals early, said Bruce Mosler, CEO and co-chairman of commercial services firm Cushman & Wakefield. “We are seeing, I think, a push to market … to take advantage of the capitulations in rents,” he said. “Which I think is creating demand in this market, and I think it will [reduce] demand in ’11 … unless we see some job growth again.” However, some brokers did not expect the same elevated levels this year. “I don’t think January will continue at the same level,” Howard Rosen, regional managing director at commercial firm Grubb & Ellis New York, said in an interview. “As far as I am concerned, the jury is out, and I don’t see job creation in Manhattan.” [more]

Troubled high-profile projects such as Related Companies’ Moynihan
Station and Solow Development’s East River site were among the city’s
developments with the highest lobbying expenses in 2008, a review of
city records by The Real Deal shows. Developers and real estate associations paid more than $11.5 million in
lobbying expenses to law firms and consulting companies, with the
Related Companies topping the list last year with $898,104 in payments
for all its projects citywide, the analysis of data from the City Clerk
Web site reveals. Among its expenses, Related paid $300,817 for lobbying for the delayed
Moynihan Station, while Solow paid $466,384 for the East River
development site, out of a total of $556,384. Solow is facing lawsuits
from lenders at the project. Forest City Ratner, which spent a total of
$555,741 on lobbying efforts, spent $500,741 on Atlantic Yards, which
has been delayed by successive lawsuits.
[more]