Samuel "Sandy" Lindenbaum, who is counsel at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, is one of the city's most high-profile land-use attorneys. Over the years his clients have included some of the city's pre-eminent commercial and non-profit organizations, ranging from Carnegie Hall to Weill Cornell Medical College to the Macklowe, Silverstein and Solow organizations. More
In some South Florida circles, they are known as "the Other Trumps." Brothers Jules and Eddie, the sons of a South African tailor known as "Willie," have no financial, philosophical or even familial ties to Donald Trump. However, the Brothers Trump have quietly built an empire on luxury real estate development, one which includes Williams Island (named after their dad), an 82-acre posh preserve for the rich in Aventura; the 51-story Acqualina Resort & Spa in Sunny Isles; and Luxuria in Boca Raton, seaside condos that include flat-screen televisions in the bathrooms. More
While it is clearly too early to do a full autopsy on the Hamptons rental market, brokers say this season will likely go down as one of the toughest — and strangest — in recent memory. Though beachgoers just started making their way out to the Hamptons in force last month, it's already clear that the Great Recession has led to double-digit price declines in the Hamptons rental market, compared to last year. More
The reinvention of the High Line is a story 10 years in the making. It was in 1999 that two men who lived in the neighborhood, Robert Hammond and Joshua David, hatched the idea of transforming this rusting hulk (some might say eyesore) into an urban park. More
From broker to broke: A growing number of real estate firms are skimping on paying their bills and squabbling with agents over commissions, industry insiders say. Agents, vendors and customers are complaining that real estate firms, struggling to make ends meet in a slow market, are skipping payments, paying them late or bouncing checks. More
The jury's still out on the sales market, but Manhattan's notoriously hectic summer rental season is carrying on at its usual pace — financial crisis or not. Prices may be lower and incentives more plentiful, but summer is still the busiest time of year for rentals, and that hasn't changed, brokers say. More
Before the economy collapsed last September, hotel developers rushed to do deals in almost any Manhattan neighborhood, from the Financial District to the Lower East Side to the far West Side, trying to cash in on the surging demand for rooms. Now, as the local market suffers a double squeeze of plunging occupancy levels and thousands of additional rooms coming online, hoteliers and developers are facing the brutal reality that neighborhoods still matter a great deal in the Manhattan hotel business. More
In New York City real estate, unethical behavior is the elephant in the room: a subject brokers generally avoid. This month, The Real Deal delved into this most taboo of topics, shining a light on some of the industry's most unsavory practices and examining how the real estate downturn is impacting them in New York. More
As real estate brokers watch their incomes plummet in a vastly weakened market, experts say there's an accompanying increase in unethical behavior, from inflating asking prices to stealing buyers to making fake offers. While most brokers are well-behaved and cooperation is even improving on certain fronts, insiders say some agents, desperate to make deals, are committing more ethical violations. Buyers, too, are guilty of transgressions in their frenzy to get the best possible deal. More
While the entire commercial real estate scene is struggling, not all of that struggle is created equally. Some of it is coming in the form of giant chunks of empty space, the likes of which have not been seen in Manhattan for decades. Whether through relocations, downsizing or bankruptcies, huge swaths of office space on single city blocks remain unoccupied — creating, in some instances, the urban equivalent of massive dead zones. And the amount of available space is staggering. More
Over its 39-year history, Rockrose built itself into one of the biggest residential success stories in New York real estate. The company has 20 residential apartment buildings in New York City, mostly rental buildings, which include more than 5,000 units. In addition, Rockrose has five commercial office buildings in New York and six in Washington, D.C. More
No one personified the excesses of mid-2000s New York City quite like Michael Shvo. The slick-haired Israeli émigré burst onto the real estate scene in 1998, an audacious 20-something who quickly climbed the ranks of Manhattan's biggest sales firms before starting his own, self-titled new development marketing company. Much like the New York City condo market, Shvo's rise has been followed by an equally spectacular fall. More
The city is mulling over a proposal from the Real Estate Board of New York that would increase the value of 421-a negotiable certificates that are part of an affordable housing incentive program that gives 10-year tax abatements to owners and developers of residential apartments. More
With its veneer of wealth and privilege, the Hamptons may not seem like a hotbed of unethical real estate practices. But industry insiders say the very exclusivity that attracts the rich and famous allows questionable behavior to flourish — perhaps more than in any other real estate market in the country. More
In this month's Q & A, brokers, developers and finance specialists told The Real Deal that despite the fact that distressed asset funds have not been making the highly anticipated buys everyone was expecting, they will probably begin doing so at the end of 2009. And, they said, purchasing will really ramp up in 2010. More
The shuttering of several New York real estate brokerages, including Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy and JC DeNiro & Associates, has set in motion a game of musical chairs among brokers. While some agents are still scrambling for their next jobs, many seem to have quickly landed seats — even if the transition has been a bit hectic. More
While troubled projects have dominated the headlines, there are a number of condos sprinkled across New York City's skyline that have actually seen boosts in sales of late. After what was by all accounts a dead winter, life seems to have returned to the market for some new condominium buildings this spring — even if the numbers are still relatively small. More
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