From left: Andrew Cuomo, Cory Zelnick, Jeff Winick and the Dexter House

The Real Deal has already revealed its picks for the Best of New York City Real Estate
2010 and a list of our top 10 hottest real estate topics of the year is on the way, but first, here’s what you thought. After the jump, there is a list of the 10 most popular Web stories
from TheRealDeal.com in 2010, ranked by number of page views between Jan. 1 and Dec. 26. Also be sure to check out our December issue for the year’s most popular stories
from the print magazine. [more]

45 West 139th Street

A $210 million loan secured by an 1,802-unit apartment complex in Harlem owned by Vantage Properties and Area Property Partners is likely to defaul [more]

45 West 139th Street

A $210 million loan secured by an 1,802-unit apartment complex in Harlem owned by Vantage Properties and Area Property Partners is likely to defaul [more]

Tenants who were harassed by landlord Vantage Properties will receive at least $1,000 each for “emotional hardship” as part of the $1 million settlement reached earlier this year between the company and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, DNAInfo reported. In total, Vantage, which was accused of threatening rent-regulated tenants with eviction, has agreed to a payment of up to $750,000 for tenants who prove they were harassed. Tenants will be able to apply for the settlement money through a claims administrator. Meanwhile, the Queens and Upper Manhattan landlord will be monitored by the Attorney General’s office over the next three years, has launched a tenants’ hotline and is in the process of starting a blog to showcase what it is doing in the neighborhood. [DNAInfo]

[more]

Queens landlord Vantage Properties was already hit with a $1 million settlement last month after the state accused the company of harassing its rent-regulated tenants, but it is not out of the water yet. According to the Daily News, Vantage has been in negotiations for over a month in a separate case in which tenants sued for abusive business practices. The 21 plaintiffs, who filed the class action lawsuit in 2009, are asking for between $1,000 and $5,000 each in civil penalties. Their attorneys said settlement discussions are still ongoing, though it remains to be seen whether a deal will come from it. Vantage declined to comment. The next court date is scheduled for April 13. [NYDN]

From left: Area Property Partners chairman William Mack and Vantage president Neil Rubler

As pressure mounts on underperforming commercial real estate in New York City, partnerships are likely to rely more heavily on legal minutiae to battle amongst themselves, legal experts said.

An expected lawsuit by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo against Vantage Properties could give ammunition to an equity partner of the major city landlord to restructure ownership or remove the landlord from its position in the partnership, legal experts speculated. [more]

From left: New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Neil Rubler, president and CEO of Vantage Properties

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced today that he would
sue Vantage Properties, one of the largest landlords of rent-regulated
housing in New York City, for allegedly harassing tenants. Cuomo said in a statement that he would sue to halt the alleged
harassment and seek monetary damages to tenants who were victimized. “[Vantage's] underhanded tactics displace long-time residents from
their homes and exacerbate the acute affordable housing shortage,”
Cuomo said in a statement. This is not the first time the office of the New York attorney general
has put pressure on a large city landlord. In December 2006, the office
of then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer hammered out an agreement with
Pinnacle Group, a landlord that was strongly criticized for evictions
and rent charges. The allegations against Vantage, headed by Neil Rubler, include trying
to evict tenants with claims that the apartment is not their primary
residence, and suing tenants in housing court for non-payment despite
receiving rent payments in cash. [more]