Shvo, Boymelgreen named in suit against 20 Pine Street
August 19, 2008 01:54PM By David Jones
20 Pine, The Collection
Developer Shaya Boymelgreen and marketer Michael Shvo are facing a lawsuit from a Brooklyn-based buyer that alleges they exaggerated sales figures and completion dates at 20 Pine, The Collection, and then refused to rescind a contract to buy 10 apartments.
The suit, filed last month by 20 Pine Realty in New York State Supreme Court, alleges that 20 Pine Realty entered an agreement to buy 10 condo units at 20 Pine Street in January 2006 and deposited $819,500 to hold the apartments.
20 Pine Realty lists its location at 519 Flushing Avenue in Brooklyn. The New York Secretary of State's records do not list any principals at the firm, which organized as a limited liability corporation in January 2006.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Yoram Nachimovsky, could not be reached for comment.
The suit claims that the plaintiff tried to walk away from 20 Pine Street during the initial seven-day rescission period, but was turned down and was told the building would still be completed on schedule.
The suit alleges that Boymelgreen told the plaintiff that hard contracts had been signed for 140 of 409 apartments, that nearly all the purchasers were planning on living in the building and that the entire building would be ready for occupancy by January 2007.
The plaintiff claims that by the end of 2007, it attempted to contact Shvo and the developer regarding the status of 20 Pine Street, but was ignored.
"The principal indicated that he was having problems with his primary investor and would no longer honor his commitments to the plaintiff," the suit alleges.
The suit also claims that an agreement was reached to close on the apartments by July 1, but agents for Boymelgreen refused to offer the sponsor a chance to inspect the apartments. He also claims he was told that lenders would not provide financing for the purchases and that he would not be able to place tenants in the apartments without prior approval.
The plaintiff claims that he suffered more than $2 million in losses due to delays.
In a counterclaim filed earlier this month, attorneys for Boymelgreen and 20 Pine Street allege that the developer was ready to close on the apartments and that the plaintiff tried to rescind the contracts "without sufficient cause and justification."
A spokeswoman for Shvo declined comment on the case. Boymelgreen and attorneys for 20 Pine could not be reached for comment.
20 Pine has been one of the highest-profile condo developments in Lower Manhattan since Boymelgreen teamed up with Armani/Casa in 2006 to convert the former Chase Manhattan headquarters into luxury condominiums.
City records show that the first apartments closed in April, with Deutsche Bank executive Christopher Beaudet buying unit 2706 for $1.32 million.
Court records show that a judgment in state Supreme Court in May ordered the developers to refund a deposit of $229,500 plus interest to Jamilah-Nadeh Holdings after 20 Pine Street officials failed to appear at a closing.
In June, Cooper Square Realty was named as the management company for 20 Pine.
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Comments
Anonymous
i've worked with both boymelgreen and shvo. couldn't have happened to a more sincere group of folks in the world. cough. cough.
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 08/19/08
Anonymous
Let's see.....Dark, dingy apartments that look NOTHING like the renderings & sales literature, CHECK. Deliver product almost 2 years late, CHECK. Still no lobby, CHECK. Don't finish project and focus elsewhere, CHECK. Don't live up to mega hype, CHECK. Looks like we are in good shape.
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 08/19/08
Anonymous
THIS BUILDING IS NOT GOING TO SELL QUICK AT ALL FROM THE PRICE THAT THEY STRUCTURED
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 08/19/08
Anonymous
i bought a unit in this building and am currently living there. its nice and everything, but the plaintiff is right on all counts.
Comment #4 Posted By: Anonymous 08/20/08
Anonymous
shmegma started selling his personal properties because he can't afford to pay for them (he keeps them for various men AND women who live in them rent free for favors - his 'VP Business Development' won't deny his gorgeous residence in the Bryant Park Tower that he lives in for free, so long as he keeps shmegma's gay secret). after countless artwork pieces bought at christie's last year that he couldn't afford, and his hamptons estate bought on credit and currently in default...
Comment #5 Posted By: Anonymous 08/20/08
Anonymous
I also live in the building. Granted, some of the apartments are dark, depending on which way they face, which is true in just about every single building in Manhattan. The lobby and amenities are not finished, however, the apartments are very close if not exact to the model. They are beautifully crafted with wood, tile and stone finishes not found in most new construction. The price point is in line with luxury buildings in this neighborhood and far less (price per sq foot) than other buildings in Manhattan, especially new construction, where it's not uncommon to pay $2,000 per sq foot vs $1,100 at 20 Pine.
Comment #6 Posted By: Anonymous 08/20/08
Anonymous
"The Real Deal reserves the right to delete any comment it finds to be rude, obscene, racist, sexist, bigoted, irrelevant or repetitive, as well as inappropriate comments about anyone's personal appearance."
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Comment #16 Posted By: Anonymous 08/20/08
Anonymous
I also live in this building. The units are as advertised in terms of design and finish and are far superior to other units we saw in the district most at a much higher price per square foot. I can understand that anyone who bought into these units early to flip them are extremely upset with the delays that saw the evaporation of the demand/price appreciation. I agree progress is slow on completing these units and the amenities.
Comment #17 Posted By: Anonymous 08/21/08
Anonymous
It's not a good investment... It's currently almost impossible to rent the units there...nobody wants to pay the rents to live in an unfinished building... Boymelgreen and Shvo are not delivering what they tried to sell...
Comment #18 Posted By: Anonymous 08/25/08
Lo
They marketed to the wrong people thats all.
Comment #19 Posted By: Lo 09/05/08
Anonymous
Investors are unhappy but that will change if they can afford to hold it for a couple of years. 20 pine will be the sexiest building downtown when finished. Renters, however, couldn't be happier. The price they're getting, if dealing with a good broker, are far away from your regular rental market. Owners are paying double the amount of what they can get from renters in this market so they will go down on price in order to get something now before they don't get anything at all. It's true, amenities are not done and everything is delayed, but you can't complain about the apartments themselves. In my opinion, they're great and are built solid. Not like the average rental where they use their designs to mask the cheap materials they used to build it. I find, that the tenants that are aware of the building's delay are very happy with what they get. Sad for the others that were told by there brokers that the "building should be done in "2 weeks" just to make the deal. Good building overall.
Comment #20 Posted By: Anonymous 01/07/09