Tribeca's Independence Plaza North residents hope Stuy Town ruling applies to them
November 06, 2009 10:00AM
Indepdence Plaza North in Tribeca
Across town from Tishman Speyer's Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, residents of Independence Plaza North at 80 North Moore Street in Tribeca are hoping the recent rent-stabilization ruling applies to them, too. At the 1,339-unit I.P.N., a case brewing since 2005 argues that tenants' rents should be stabilized because their landlord received tax abatements through the city's J-51 program. The state's highest court recently ruled that the investors owe $200 million to Stuyvesant Town residents who were overcharged on their rents for the same reason. Stephen Meister, an attorney who represented the Real Estate Board of New York in the most recent Stuyvesant Town appeal and also represents I.P.N.'s landlord, Laurence Gluck, said the cases are quite different. In I.P.N.'s case, the city mistakenly continued to grant Gluck tax breaks for two years after he removed the building from the Mitchell-Lama middle-class housing program in 2004, Meister said. After he stopped receiving the abatement, Gluck repaid roughly $17,000. In April, the I.P.N. case was turned over to the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, which expects to issue an opinion no earlier than January. [Downtown Express]
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Comments
Anonymous
The following is excerpted from Mother Jones Magazine regarding Laurence Gluck and Riverton (Gluck is the guy who bought 16 Mitchell-Lama middle income complexes and has taken or is attempting to take them out of the Mitchell-Lama program, oust the long-term tenants, and charge everyone market rate). Gluck owns Independence Plaza. "It all sounds like a classic tale of the bust except that, unlike ordinary people caught up in foreclosure proceedings, Gluck and his partners have made a fortune off Riverton Houses. Just as homeowners often take out some extra cash when they refinance a property, team Gluck pulled out $67 million—the high-roller version of cash at closing. A homeowner would be on the hook for that extra cash, but Gluck's group purchased Riverton through a limited liability shell company, which allows it to shelter its refinancing windfall in case of a default. Minus the down payment, the partners walk away with nearly $42 million. The Riverton deal exemplifies a strategy known as predatory equity."
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
And now this article says......"the city allowed the owner to repay the amount (all $17,879.42 of it) and retroactively declared that the property never received them." .......Did he pay someone in the city off to be able to do this?
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
sick of that mother jones article. enough
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
sounds like the tenants of IPN have the same lawsuit as Stuy Town, and the tenants should win too.
Comment #4 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
I heard owner did a cheap renovation on IPN.
Comment #5 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
#3 are you pro-predator?
Comment #6 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
Sounds like a shnook.
Comment #7 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
#6 - all large deals are done with private equity, and all private equity whether it's invested in real estate, car companies, or Disneyland is designed to make as much money as possible - you just don't understand private investing - it's clear to the readers of this blog that your have no idea what you're talking about.
Comment #8 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
#6 - all large deals are done with private equity, and all private equity whether it's invested in real estate, car companies, or Disneyland is designed to make as much money as possible - you just don't understand private investing - it's clear to the readers of this blog that your have no idea what you're talking about.
Comment #9 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
#8 proofread your posts!
Comment #10 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
I lived in IPN for a year back in 2004-2005. They raised my rent 25% one year so I moved out. It's definitely not a "luxury" apartment building. The management is mean. I think this guy is getting what he gave. Kharma!
Comment #11 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
Hey....I think #6 makes total sense. Just because someone can manipulate laws doesn't mean it's ethical.
Comment #12 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
#12 - what's unethical about a landlord trying to make money?
Comment #13 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
#10 Are you really going to the grammar police on a real estate blog? Ideas are what we discuss here. Find another blog to discuss grammar.
Comment #14 Posted By: Anonymous 11/06/09
Anonymous
#13 yeah sure...make money at any cost. you're a hell of a guy...i can tell. i think #12 is right on!
Comment #15 Posted By: Anonymous 11/07/09
Anonymous
#16 - explain how landlords can make money at any cost. Please I'm waiting. If landlords can charge whatever they want then why did rents fall by more than 20% in one year? Your arguments don't make sense. If they can't control their revenues then maybe they can control their expenses? Hmmm.... that doesn't work either - real estate taxes up 70% in since 2002 - annual water/sewer of double digits multiple years in a row, oil prices that can't be controlled etc etc. Landlords don't control their revenues nor do they have control over the majority of their expenses. Landlords charge as much as people are willing to pay. What business doesn't do the same? Why do you expect landlords to rent an apartment for less than its worth?
Comment #16 Posted By: Anonymous 11/07/09
Anonymous
yikes dude...you are too simple minded. you sound like you don't know what YOU'RE talking about. #17 you are scary not too smart.
Comment #17 Posted By: Anonymous 11/08/09
Anonymous
The sense of entitlement of renting New Yorkers knows no bounds.
Comment #18 Posted By: Anonymous 11/09/09
Anonymous
The sense of entitlement of Republican landlord-type New Yorkers is evil, stupid, and narcissistic.
Comment #19 Posted By: Anonymous 11/10/09
Anonymous
ewwwww! Meister is the kind of lawyer that will cheat and lie just to win. We need to rid NYC of these kinds of vermin Meister lawyers.
Comment #20 Posted By: Anonymous 12/14/09
Anonymous
Meister is lying. Gluck knew full well he was taking tax abatement money. The fact that there was an abatement was on the title. Throw these guys in jail for perjury and fraud.
Comment #21 Posted By: Anonymous 12/17/09
Anonymous
Hmmm . . . while the IPN case runs its course through the legal process to an inevitable conclusion/solution, the real sad part is how a leading city housing agency official colluded to pave the way to let it happen, The same official appointed by the current white house administration to run the federal housing agency HUD - Shaun Donovan. It scares me to think of what's capable at the federal level when we see what has transpired at the local gov't level at IPN from the same official. Is this gonna be Halliburton housing run amuck in the coming years? Stay tuned . . .
Comment #22 Posted By: Anonymous 12/18/09
Anonymous
hey all these sleazy guys like Meister and Gluck are in trouble. i'll bet thay all have offshore accounts and are not paying their taxes. time to look into their business practices. the stink of criminality is in the air.
Comment #23 Posted By: Anonymous 12/23/09
Anonymous
Meister and Gluck-two patronizing blowhards whose day will come, and they'll end up humbled.
Comment #24 Posted By: Anonymous 12/24/09
Anonymous
meister and gluck = madoff
Comment #25 Posted By: Anonymous 01/06/10