Gary Barnett Making Monster Moves in Midtown Manhattan

Gary Barnett is having a moment in Midtown, and it’s not just about new construction.

Within days, the Extell Development founder popped up on two very different fronts: quietly locking up one of the most consequential development assemblages on Park Avenue and winning a court ruling that clears the way for him to potentially take control of a deeply distressed office tower owned by rivals SL Green and RXR.

Together, the moves underscore Barnett’s playbook in a market still working through pain: lean into prime locations, exploit dislocation and don’t shy away from conflict.

On the growth side, Barnett is in contract to buy 405-415 Park Avenue, air rights from Central Synagogue and is negotiating for the adjacent office building at 110 East 55th Street, according to people familiar with the deal.

Sellers were shopping the pieces for north of $500 million, The Promote first reported, and the combined site could support roughly 700,000 square feet with additional air rights. The assemblage sits just steps from JPMorgan Chase’s new 270 Park headquarters and near Citadel and Vornado’s planned 350 Park tower, placing it squarely in the corridor where trophy office capital is concentrated.

At the same time, Barnett is pressing his advantage on the other end of the market. A state Supreme Court judge this week denied SL Green and RXR’s attempt to block a UCC foreclosure auction tied to Worldwide Plaza, clearing the way for Extell to move forward after quietly acquiring the senior mezzanine debt.

The owners had argued the auction was a sham designed to hand Barnett the keys. The judge disagreed, emphasizing that sophisticated parties are bound by the contracts they sign.

Worldwide Plaza is a case study in office distress: roughly 40 percent vacant after Cravath’s exit, burdened by nearly $1 billion in senior CMBS debt and now headed toward a mezz sale where Extell is the only qualified bidder. Control of the debt would give Barnett enormous leverage over the 1.8 million-square-foot tower’s future.

Taken together, the Park Avenue assemblage and the Worldwide Plaza fight show Barnett operating on two tracks at once — assembling blue-chip dirt for the next cycle while using debt to pry opportunities out of this one.

In a bifurcated Midtown market, he’s betting both ends will pay off.

Gary Barnett isn’t the only one making news in New York City real estate this week. Here are other top stories of the week:

“Cheap hookers”: Email from Tal Alexander revealed in Hamptons accuser’s cross-examination

The third day of the Alexander brothers’ sex trafficking trial focused on the cross-examination of Maya Miller, a woman who accused Tal Alexander of raping her in the Hamptons in 2014.

Prosecutors allege Oren, Alon and Tal engaged in a conspiracy to commit sex trafficking from 2008 to 2021, including drugging and sexually assaulting women. The brothers have denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Also, check out the first episode of our documentary on the Alexander brothers.

Fictitious deals and phony emails: New Nussbaum filings lay bare alleged Ponzi scheme

Disgraced attorney Mark Nussbaum admitted in legal filings to diverting $336 million from his law firm’s escrow clients to real estate investor Mendel Steiner and his family between 2022 and 2025 as part of an alleged Ponzi scheme.

The filings reveal Nussbaum directly transferred $24 million to Steiner or his family’s companies, and an additional $68 million was routed to his family via Steiner’s companies, Aven Realty and Real Green Management, which also paid Nussbaum $104 million.

Carmel Partners buys piece of $500M UWS apartment portfolio

Ron Zeff’s Carmel Partners is buying into a $500 million multifamily portfolio that was pitched as an investment shielded from a potential rent freeze under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The investment firm is nearing a deal to buy MetLife’s minority stake in a five-building, 710-unit portfolio near Columbus Circle. Four of the five buildings are free market and the fifth is subject to an older 421a agreement under which an owner could raise rents by 47 percent before hitting legal rent limits.

Eli Karp sues Greystone, BBG over alleged “loan-to-own” appraisal scheme

Developer Eli Karp is suing lender Greystone and appraisal firm BBG, alleging they engineered a “loan-to-own” scheme by intentionally overvaluing his 271 Lenox Road apartment building.

The suit claims BBG’s 2019 appraisal of $46.2 million was used to lure Karp into a $34.5 million bridge loan; a subsequent 2024 appraisal valued the property at $29.6 million, which Karp uses as evidence of fraudulent inflation.

After defaulting, the property sold at foreclosure for $10 million, leaving Karp responsible for a $15 million personal guarantee.

He is seeking $16.6 million in damages for the alleged appraisal inflation and an additional $122 million from Greystone for lost opportunities.

Council revives two housing regulation bills, COPA remains vetoed

Finally, the City Council overrode 17 of former Mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes, including two housing regulation bills that set minimum percentages for homeownership and low-income units in city-financed projects.

The Council, however, did not override the veto of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, though the bill’s sponsor plans to reintroduce the measure.

Other vetoes reversed included measures to set minimum wages for building security guards, increase transparency in the co-op application process and create a city-run land bank.