State agency tied up in $266M real estate debacle

A lack of oversight and risk management are being blamed for a $266 million real estate deal that’s gone sour, leaving the State Board of Administration with a gaping hole in its budget. Although four reports between 2000 and 2007 allegedly warned of the agency’s high-risk real estate deals, the SBA invested $266 million in Manhattan apartment complexes Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, which have been stricken with depleted funds. Responding to the agency’s financial blow, SBA executive director Ash Williams said that his group would try to grow from the error. “We will identify mistakes made, learn our lessons and move on,” Williams said.