November 2017 | The Real Deal

November 2017 Issue

Macklowe vs. Macklowe

Courtroom tales from real estate’s biggest divorce — and how it could disrupt an empire

Just after 5 p.m. on a recent Wednesday, Linda and Harry Macklowe packed up to leave the Tribeca courtroom where, for the previous seven hours, paid experts had testified in their $2 billion divorce. Linda exited first. Steeling herself for the tabloid photographer lying in wait, she stretched her lips into a wide, static smile. Harry — known to regale reporters with “take my wife”-style jokes — hung back, tapping… [more]

The Real Deal - November 2017

Full Screeen

Is Cushman’s new dynamo team delivering?

A year after joining the firm, Doug Harmon and Adam Spies are lagging behind their CBRE rivals and facing a tough market — but they are still notching major deals

When Doug Harmon and Adam Spies jumped to Cushman & Wakefield last year, it was seen… [more]

NYCHA’s private lifeline

As the city’s biggest landlord grapples with a $17 billion backlog, agency head Shola Olatoye is spending more time at the table with New York real estate players

The New York City Housing Authority’s Shola Olatoye has aggressively pushed for more face time with Ben Carson — the conservative HUD secretary… [more]

Nerves tested as luxe market loses footing — again

While optimism was in the air earlier this year, brokers are feeling jitters as the high end sees deals drag and prices drop

This past spring, Stribling & Associates broker Charlotte Van Doren landed an exclusive on a four-bedroom … [more]

Does Ashkenazy have an inside track at the Plaza?

With the majority stake of the famed hotel in play and global buyers circling, the Midtown-based firm could have a leg up on a legacy-defining purchase

After decades of buying and holding real estate in the five boroughs, Ben Ashkenazy scored an industry coup a few… [more]

Social media in sniper mode

Now trending on social for NYC real estate firms: Paid ads that pinpoint potential clients, factoring in everything from ZIP Codes to spending habits

Now trending on social for NYC real estate firms: Paid ads that pinpoint potential clients, factoring in everything from ZIP Codes to spending habits…. [more]

The Closing: Jay Neveloff

The high-profile real estate attorney on growing up with his wife, shooting guns and his bond with the Trump family

Jay A. Neveloff is a partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, where he chairs the real estate practice. A transactional lawyer with a catalog of marquee deals over three… [more]

Is Rockaway getting its moment in the sun?

New developments and a rezoning show signs of promise — but a far trek to Manhattan and another Hurricane Sandy could scare some away

Rockaway — the roughly seven-square-mile peninsula nestled between Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean — has had… [more]

Blockchain’s real estate break

Proponents of the technology, which enables digital currencies such as Bitcoin, say it can revolutionize real estate deals— but can it overcome its shady reputation?

In September, REcoin, a startup that billed itself as the “only cryptocurrency backed by real estate,” was busted for fraud by the U.S Securities and Exchange … [more]

The obscure investor who could sabotage NYC’s most ambitious planned condo tower

The battle between AmBase’s Richard Bianco and the project’s developers — Michael Stern and Kevin Maloney — has turned into a web of paranoia

For a giddy instant in 2013, … [more]

NYC’s property management powerhouses

Tallying the titans in the fiercely competitive sector — as city regulations mount and demand for white-glove services skyrockets

When Forest City tapped FirstService Residential to manage its 363-unit modular Brooklyn rental building at 461 … [more]

Stephen Meister:
The underdog’s lawyer

The scrappy NYC real estate litigator is handling some of the most contentious cases in the industry — with a dogged aggressiveness and far-right political leanings

Over his 25-year career in New York real estate litigation, Stephen Meister … [more]

A taxing endeavor

Several real estate heavyweights are backing a push to scrap the city’s property tax system, but it’s a sharp double-edged sword

The NYC Finance Department’s top deputy commissioner told a group of Albany legislators early last year that the city’s property tax — its largest single revenue generator — is a… [more]

Cornell Tech campus:
Massive, but mediocre

While many great achievements will undoubtedly come out of this new tech hive, great architecture is not likely to be
one of them

All New Yorkers should welcome the new Cornell Tech campus, which just… [more]

A crowded market and development glut are making lenders think twice

A slew of new office, condo and hotel projects — plus the influx of private lenders — is changing how deals are getting done, and who is doing them in the first place

The glut of commercial real estate… [more]

‘High volatility’ rules irk banks

Industry lobbyists are pushing Congress to loosen restrictions on banks, so they can issue more debt on commercial properties and development sites

Christopher Rosenbleeth, the law firm Stradley Ronon’s real estate chair, received some unusual news from a bank in 2015. The prospective lender on… [more]

The collapse of rental concessions

As vacancy rates rise, deal sweeteners are falling out of fashion with renters — only price cuts matter

n early September, Citi Habitats broker Jason Burke put his listing for a three-bedroom condo at 218 West 22nd… [more]

A wide open lane for commercial brokerage IPOs

Is Newmark’s latest IPO news just the tip of the iceberg for the firm and its biggest rivals?

Newmark Knight Frank took one step closer to joining the ranks of its publicly traded rivals late last month when it filed paperwork for its hotly anticipated initial public offering…. [more]

Editor’s note:
How to be a billionaire

Things are getting hairy for Harry. In our cover story this issue, we go inside the courtroom to bring you tales from real estate’s biggest divorce case — the battle… [more]

Features

Searching for returns — outside of NYC

As profits get harder to pencil out, a close-up of the other U.S. cities sucking up NYC investors

At the desk of:
Dan Garodnick

The City Council member on negotiating two deals for Stuy Town, “cutting through red tape” and his days studying the city’s underground infrastructure