WeWork employees speak up to management, NY condo buyers can stay anonymous after all

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

NJ Transit has no plan for shoppers to get to the new American Dream mall by means other than car. So the transit agency held a private meeting with manufacturers, planning companies, transportation providers, public transportation agencies and universities to ask them to come up with a transit solution. [Bloomberg]

Manhattan’s Community Board 10 voted to recommend the City Council reject a plan to add five 28-story mixed-use buildings to Harlem’s Lenox Terrace. Olnick Organization, which owns the complex of five 17-story buildings, wants to rezone the site to build five more towers. Lenox Terrace is between 132nd and 135th streets and Fifth and Lenox avenues. [Curbed]

Abingdon Square Partners has leased two connected warehouses in Boerum Hill, Commercial Observer reported. Abingdon signed a 30-year lease for 17,000 square feet on Third Avenue and Bergen Street, blocks from the Barclays Center. [CO]

Anonymous buyers can stay anonymous after all. In a stunning reversal, the state issued a memo this week clarifying that a law requiring LLC property buyers to disclose their identity does not, in fact, apply to condos. The shift follows an earlier guidance saying condos were subject to the law, which triggered panic in New York City’s real estate industry. [TRD]

With layoffs looming, WeWork employees call for humane treatment. In a letter to management, a group named the WeWork Coalition said employees did not want to be defined by the “scandals, the corruption, and the greed exhibited by the company’s leadership,” asking executives to give them a say in corporate decisions and policy. [NYT]

Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins

State Senate leader defends Long Island Democrats. Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins stood up for the six Nassau and Suffolk County Democrats in her conference after a tenant group attacked them for accepting campaign contributions from the real estate industry and for not being enthusiastic when they voted for the pro-tenant rent reform enacted in June. [Newsday]

A shuttered Sears store (Credit: iStock)

Retail woes continue as Sears announces more store closures. Nearly 100 more Sears or Kmart locations will close by February, leaving just 182 Sears or Kmart stores in operation — down from 425 in February. Five years ago the company had nearly 2,000 locations. [WSJ]

New York City residential buildings are using high-tech solutions to deal with deliveries. An average 200-unit building receives roughly 70 packages a day and it can take 12 to 20 hours for residents to pick them up, said one proptech CEO trying to address the issue with a locker system. [NYT]

New private school to open in Brooklyn. The Whittle School and Studios, a private school for Pre-K through 12th graders to open next year, will move into a new development above the Macy’s building in Downtown Brooklyn. [NYDN]

Long-sought labor concessions have backfired at NYCHA complexes. For years the public housing system sought more flexible hours from the union representing its janitorial workers. But when a pilot program was finally implemented, workers were unable to start their days because supervisors with the keys they needed were not on duty yet. [Politico]

News Corp’s revenue is down, but realtor.com parent Move showed growth. Move’s revenue grew 4 percent, a positive sign for News Corp as overall revenue declines. [Inman]

The median age of first-time home buyers has increased to 33, the oldest in records dating back to 1981, according to a National Association of Realtors report. The median age of all buyers also hit a new high, 47; in 1981 it was 31. [Bloomberg]

There’s more trouble for Industry City’s redevelopment plan. Sunset Park leaders are demanding the de Blasio administration discuss what investments the city can offer if a rezoning of the industrial campus were approved. The proposal has entered the city’s formal review process after being repeatedly delayed by other demands from the community. [Brooklyn Eagle]

Development plans threaten sports field popular with children. While developers are often quick to build high-end playgrounds, it’s old fashioned ballfields that many families crave. The demand has led to fierce competition across the city, coming to a head over development plans in Hudson River Park. [NYT]

The warehouse boom, powered by last-mile deliveries, is an outlier. Warehouse sales have bucked the cooling trend in New York City real estate, rising to nearly $1.7 billion during the first nine months of the year— more than double the total for the same period in 2016, according to a report from investment brokerage B6 Real Estate Advisors. [WSJ]

Long Island City hotel project lands $46 million construction loan. Sources say developer Teddy Li’s project will be a Staybridge Suites, targeting extended-stay and corporate travelers. [TRD]

William Shanahan (Photo by Studio Scrivo)

The Closing with William Shanahan. The CBRE investment sales powerbroker discusses his Bloomingdale’s days, his biggest NYC rival and selling $100B worth of real estate. [TRD]