Steve Schwarzman questions WeWork’s valuation, the state is coming for LLCs: Daily digest

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An investor is trying to sell his half of a 30-foot tall piece of bedrock for $3 million. Thanks to the Inwood rezoning, approved last year, developers can now build an apartment building where there is an ice age boulder currently stands. [NYT]

After a data breach last week stunned observers, Corcoran isn’t the only firm worrying about cybersecurity. You can expect more data breaches and cyberattacks, industry insiders say. Last year, the FBI found that 11,000 people lost more than $150 million on attacks aimed at real estate. [TRD]

Fosun International scored a $1.025 billion refinancing for 28 Liberty Street. The debt, provided by HSBC and Deutsche Bank, was negotiated by a team from CBRE including  James Millon, Tom Traynor and Ethan Gottlieb for Fosun. [CO]

De Blasio is out of the presidential race. The NYC mayor began his campaign in May, but had little support from the five boroughs. During his short campaign, numerous crises arose with the city’s infrastructure and campaign finance scandals dampened the Park Slope politician’s hopes for the highest office in the land. [NYDN]

Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman (Credit: Getty Images)

Steve Schwarzman is also puzzled by WeWork’s valuation. The Blackstone Group co-founder, whose massive real estate company is worth “a few billion dollars,” said WeWork’s business model is tied to the health of the economy — which is fine, until “the world collapses.” “I sort of went, what? How do you get this?” he said Wednesday of WeWork’s pre-IPO value. “It doesn’t seem right to me given what they’re doing.” In recent days, WeWork’s valuation has fallen from $47 billion to $15 billion. [Bloomberg]

Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senator James Skoufis (Credit: Getty Images, NY Senate)

Albany is coming for anonymous LLCs. A new law signed Friday requires anonymous entities involved in real estate deals to disclose the identities of all owners, managers and agents. While the bill was largely aimed at addressing the issue of abandoned homes upstate, the change marks a greater step toward transparency — a trend some state lawmakers want to continue. [TRD]

As candidates spurn industry money, one Manhattan DA contender sees real estate cash pour in. Of the $29,850 Assembly member Dan Quart has raised, $19,400 comes from real estate. HFZ Capital’s Ziel Feldman donated $9,900. [City & State]

President Trump is suing Cy Vance — and his own accounting firm. The move is a response to the Manhattan district attorney’s attempt to get Trump’s tax returns in connection with a probe of the $130,000 in hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. [NYDN]

Rent reform is propelling a new wave of New York and California investors to Miami (Credit: iStock)

Rent reform is sending multifamily investors south. New York’s sweeping rent-reform law passed in June dialed back landlords’ ability to increase rents. Illinois and California are following suit, so some landlords are looking to South Florida for investment opportunity. Beyond the appeal of not having rent regulation, the Sunshine State has a strong rental market and low supply. [TRD]

A Queens landlord is fined $17,000 for threatening to call ICE on a tenant. A judge found Dianna Lysius sent multiple texts threatening to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement if her tenant Holly Ondaan didn’t stay current on rent. Lysius plans to appeal the ruling. The number of housing discrimination inquiries made to the Human Rights Commission spiked last year. [WSJ]

Brookfield’s Ric Clark and an aerial view of the Greenpoint Landing development site (Credit: Google Maps)

Developers including Brookfield are penalized for making improper donations to the mayor. Greenpoint Landing Developers, Brookfield Financial Properties and Toll Brothers must pay a combined $65,000 in fines for donating $125,000 to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s fundraising organization while having business interests in front of the city. [TRD]

Sales of existing homes were up 1.3 percent in August, surprising economists. Sales were expected to fall 1.1 percent. Economists say the uptick, the first year-over-year gain in 17 months, is a sign that low mortgage rates are luring buyers to the market. [WSJ]

The “King of FiDi” just snagged $250 million in financing. Nathan Berman’s Metro Loft Management refinanced the construction loan on its 553-unit residential conversion at 20 Broad Street with funds from a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management. [PincusCo]

Some real estate investors worry that the rise of telecommuting spells trouble for expensive cities like New York. A survey of 23,000 new home shoppers last year found that 30 percent work from home at least part-time and 13 percent are full-time telecommuters. [NYT]

The renovation of Apple’s flagship store is finally complete. The iconic glass cube reopens Friday. It’s now nearly double its previous size, has a stainless steel spiral staircase and the outdoor plaza has been landscaped. [MacRumors]

Compiled by Georgia Kromrei