WeWork might limit Adam Neumann’s voting power, Thor Equities close to losing commercial property: Daily digest

A daily round up of New York real estate news, deals and more for September 12, 2019

Daily Digest Thursday

Every day, The Real Deal rounds up New York’s biggest real estate news, from breaking news and scoops to announcements and deals. We update this page throughout the day, starting at 9 a.m. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com

 

WeWork might curb Adam Neumann’s voting power. After much public criticism of the We Company’s S-1 filing, the firm is now considering changing Neumann’s voting rights, and removing his wife, Rebekah Neumann, from her current role in succession planning. [FT]

 

A Bronx politician’s developer ties are under scrutiny. City councilman Mark Gjonaj has allocated $1.4 million to a project from a developer whose relatives donated to his campaign. [Crain’s]

 

Thor Equities is facing eviction from a commercial property in Midtown. The landlord could lose another commercial property in New York if the owner of 545 Madison Avenue, Marx Realty, is successful in its bid to evict the firm. [Crain’s]

 

Forever 21 may be winding down, but Old Navy is only getting bigger. Fashion retailer Old Navy said it planned to open 800 new stores over an unspecified period as it prepares to split with Gap, its parent company. Old Navy has been outperforming its sister companies, Gap and Banana Republic. [WSJ]

 

Steve Croman and 566 Hudson Street (Credit: Google Maps, iStock)

Steve Croman and 566 Hudson Street (Credit: Google Maps, iStock)

Steve Croman is being sued for illegally deregulating apartments. The notorious landlord is facing a lawsuit for violating New York’s rent laws — a little over a year after he was released from prison on charges of tax fraud and mortgage fraud. [TRD]

 

Brookfield’s Ric Clark (right) and RXR Realty’s Scott Rechler (Credit: Getty Images and iStock)

Brookfield Property Group and other real estate firms have weighed into the gun control debate. Brookfield’s Ric Clark and RXR Realty’s Scott Rechler are among executives who have urged Congress to expand background checks on all guns sales and implement further controls to ensure weapons aren’t sold to potentially dangerous people. [TRD]

 

Blackstone says it has closed a $20 billion fund — the largest in real estate history. The company surpassed its own record of $15.8 billion, which it set in 2015. Blackstone has earned itself a reputation for bringing in double-digit returns on its “opportunistic” funds.[WSJ]

 

President Trump wants to the Fed slash interest rates below zero. He tweeted Wednesday that the Fed should slash interest rates to zero or below, raising questions about how negative rates would work, and what they would do for the economy. [NYT]

 

The Trump International Hotel and Tower is getting a name change, but not one residents wanted. Trump Tower residents who wanted the president’s name removed were left disappointed this week after the tower’s condo board voted unanimously to keep the Trump name on the building, while removing the word “tower” from the front entrance. [NYP]

 

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Senator Brad Hoylman and Billionaires' Row (Credit: StreetEasy, NY Senate)

Senator Brad Hoylman and Billionaires’ Row (Credit: StreetEasy, NY Senate)

Is the Pied-à-terre tax making a comeback? Manhattan State Sen. Brad Hoylman said he is committed to making the so-called pied-à-terre tax viable after the idea was shot down amid fierce opposition from the real estate industry just two months ago. He wants to have a bill ready by January. [TRD]

 

As his presidential campaign withers, Mayor de Blasio has a new battle on his hands. Greg Singer filed a lawsuit that claims the city blocked his attempts to renovate the old East Village public school he bought at auction in 1998. He claims that it’s for the benefit Aaron Sosnick, a wealthy Democratic donor who lives in a penthouse next door. [NYP]

 

The rental price for a studio in Manhattan reached an 11-year high last month. Rents in Brooklyn and Manhattan hit new highs in August — driven by a soft sales market and buyers “camping out” on the sidelines while they watched the market move. The latest rental report from Douglas Elliman also shows that concessions, an established mainstay that renters have come to expect, are slightly down. [TRD]

 

Actors Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig have sold their Manhattan apartment for $6 million. The celebrity power couple sold their three-bedroom home in the East Village for $6 million, which is the same price they paid for it back in in 2012. [NYP]

 

A new climbing gym in coming to Williamsburg. MetroRock is set to open a new site in Brooklyn after signing a deal for 10,000 square feet of space at Tavros Capital Partners and Charney Construction & Development’s the Dime, a new development at 263 South 5th Street. [CO]

 

Former Gov. David Paterson weighs into fracas over Lenox Terrace home. Amid fierce opposition from his neighbors, Paterson has offered his support to the Olnick Organization’s proposed expansion of Harlem’s famed Lennox Terrace apartments. [The City]

 

Guardant Health is vulnerable to WeWork’s valuation woes. While headlines about WeWork’s faltering IPO path have focused on SoftBank, another SoftBank-backed company, Guardant Health, may also be vulnerable. The company’s stock price dropped 7.8 percent on Wednesday following reports that SoftBank is urging WeWork to shelve its IPO. [Bloomberg]

 

Tenants’ requests for toxic mold clean up in NYCHA are sitting unresolved for months. More than 30,000 of requests for help ridding public housing apartments of toxic mold have gone unresolved for months as the city struggles to deal with the problem, according to an independent expert hired by the housing authority. While more than one-third of work orders have remained open for 200 days, one remained open for roughly a year and a half. [The City]

 

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have purchased an estate in Irvington. The A-list couple have traded up their Bedford Corners estate for a smaller offering in Irvington, New York, which they purchased for $4.5 million. [NYP]

 

FROM THE CITY’S RECORDS:

 

Residential sales:

Professional hockey player, Kevin Shattenkirk, bought a condo for $5.3 million at 91 Leonard Street in Tribeca. [ACRIS]

Compiled by Mary Diduch