The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

A&E buying Queens portfolio for $119M

Posted: 25 May 2018 02:34 PM PDT

A&E Real Estate Holding is in contract to buy a six-building multifamily portfolio in Queens’ Flushing and Elmhurst neighborhoods for $118.5 million, sources told The Real Deal. The Midtown-based multifamily giant is purchasing a total of 428 apartments from Treetop Development and the Weinroth family in three separate transactions, which are all expected to close around the same time in the next two or three months, sources said. The addresses are 41-40 Denman Street in […]

A Q&A with Kimco Realty’s David Jamieson

Posted: 25 May 2018 12:45 PM PDT

The stock market hasn’t been kind to REITs lately, and open-air shopping center operator Kimco Realty is no exception. Shares have fallen about 36 percent over the past 12 months, according to its Q1 2018 earnings report. Yet other metrics show that the New York-based company, which owns interests in 475 open-air shopping centers in the U.S., is otherwise doing quite nicely. Occupancy rates of its holdings — comprising about 81 million square feet — […]

Is this tax break for commercial properties really a kickback?

Posted: 25 May 2018 12:15 PM PDT

State and local governments are vying for a federal subsidy intended to encourage energy-efficient technology in commercial properties. The application of the benefit, however, has some wondering: Is it a tax break or really just a kickback? As part of the Energy Policy Act in 2005, 179D offers tax deductions to property owners who incorporate green technology into their buildings. Since public agencies don’t pay income taxes, they can transfer the tax break to a […]

DOJ launches criminal probe into cryptocurrency manipulation

Posted: 25 May 2018 11:45 AM PDT

Federal investigators have opened a criminal probe into whether traders are manipulating the price of cryptocurrencies, just as the real estate industry has begun experimenting with Bitcoin and others. The Department of Justice is focusing its probe on illegal practices that can influence the prices of currencies like Bitcoin, according to Bloomberg. That includes “spoofing,” or flooding the market with fake orders to goad other traders into buying or selling and “wash trading.” Wash trading […]

Co-op board battles are dragging out renovations and repairs for years

Posted: 25 May 2018 11:28 AM PDT

Co-op board disputes with owners over renovations and repairs are dragging on years. The battles can delay changes and rack up costs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Ana Martinez-Sanchez, for example, is dealing with bills for repairs at her Fifth Avenue apartment that have been in dispute for 18 years. As a result, she’s left without a working bathroom: The board barred her from bringing in her own plumber to fix leaking pipes or filing […]

The top NYC real estate events next week

Posted: 25 May 2018 10:10 AM PDT

Next week there is only one real estate event in New York City. On June 3 through June 5, join the NYU School of Professional Studies’ Jonathan M. Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism as it hosts its 40th Annual NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the New York Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway. Attend and hear from hospitality’s elite. Jonathan Tisch of Loews Hotels is the chair of […]

Save the date: The Real Deal’s annual Miami Showcase and Forum on October 25

Posted: 25 May 2018 09:40 AM PDT

The Real Deal’s fifth annual South Florida Real Estate Showcase and Forum is shaping up to once again be the biggest industry event in the region. Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 25 and join us at our new location at Mana Wynwood for a full day of programming, networking and viewing the latest real estate projects and products. Our 2017 event featured a roster of key players in the South Florida real estate market […]

If the market crashes again, who will be holding the bag?

Posted: 25 May 2018 09:10 AM PDT

From the Archives: On Oct. 3, 2008, Daniel Herzberg, a British expatriate in Spain, called his bank, the Icelandic Landsbanki, to ask if his money was safe. He had read reports about financial difficulties, but got an encouraging reply and told his wife “everything will be fine.” Four days later, his account was frozen and the bank was nationalized. Herzberg’s fate, reported in the Wall Street Journal at the time, was not unusual. When the […]

Knotel takes four floors at building that Isaac Chetrit plans to replace with skyscraper

Posted: 25 May 2018 08:38 AM PDT

Knotel is continuing its leasing tear with a new deal at Isaac Chetrit and Sioni Group’s Garment District building, which the developers are planning to eventually replace with a skyscraper as tall as 1,005 feet. The flexible-office provider signed for 23,000 square feet across four floors at the 21-story office building at 989-991 Sixth Avenue, a spokesperson for Knotel confirmed to The Real Deal. The lease covers floors four, 11, 16 and 17, the representative […]

These contractors logged the most work on NYC hotels the last 5 years

Posted: 25 May 2018 07:41 AM PDT

Smaller or less-known firms emerged as the dominant players in the hotel and mid-sized multifamily markets on The Real Deal‘s latest ranking of most active general contractors. For mid-sized multifamily projects, with 25 to 199 units, a few affordable housing builders topped the list. Mega Contracting Group, an Astoria-based firm that does a lot of supportive and affordable housing work, was the No. 1 contractor, with 1.6 million square feet. Joy Construction, which also builds […]

The racial disparities are significant in mortgage rejections

Posted: 25 May 2018 07:15 AM PDT

For millions of Americans hoping to buy or refinance a home, it’s a crucial make-or-break question: Will the lender say yes to our mortgage application, turn it down or charge us a higher interest rate than we need? Surprisingly, large numbers of loan applications don’t make it. Roughly one of every nine loan applications (10.8 percent) to purchase a home — and more than one in four applications (26.4 percent) for a refinancing — were […]

Trinity closes on $81M acquisition of Park Slope building

Posted: 25 May 2018 06:58 AM PDT

Trinity Place Holdings has closed on its $81 million purchase of the mixed-use building at 237 11th Street in Park Slope. The building stands 12 stories tall and contains 105 units, and leasing started in August, according to Trinity. The residential portion of the building is now about 63 percent leased, and the property includes 6,264 square feet of retail as well, part of which is leased to Starbucks. Trinity purchased the building from Adam […]

Developer broke $625K deal to buy out UES rent-stabilized tenants: lawsuit

Posted: 25 May 2018 06:26 AM PDT

A pair of rent-stabilized tenants on the Upper East Side are suing a developer for reneging on an agreement to pay them $625,000 for moving out of the building. Tenants Avi and Fern Abramoff, who are married, have lived at 12 East 88th Street since 1979, according to the lawsuit. Los Angeles developer Leo Pustilnikov bought 12 of 24 apartments in the building last year from Simon Baron Development for $10 million, and offered the Abramoffs […]

Existing home sales in US fell in April

Posted: 25 May 2018 05:30 AM PDT

The number of sales of previously owned homes in the country dropped in April thanks to factors including low inventory, rising prices and higher mortgage rates. The National Association of Realtors found that sales of existing homes dropped 2.5 percent from the prior month in April, hitting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Year over year, sales dropped by 1.4 percent, while the median sale price went up […]

Developers’ latest tactic to woo buyers? History lessons

Posted: 25 May 2018 05:11 AM PDT

Developers are turning to history to attract buyers to their condominium conversions, asking architectural historians to help give more context to their buildings and the architects who designed them. The Chetrit Group, for instance, commissioned writer Thomas Mellins to delve into the history of its building at 49 Chambers Street, which was originally built in 1912 for the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, according to the New York Times. Architect Raymond Almirall designed it with an H-shaped […]

A peek at all the new development coming to Roosevelt Island

Posted: 25 May 2018 04:30 AM PDT

Between Cornell Tech and Hudson and Related’s eighth residential tower at Riverwalk, Roosevelt Island is slated to see nearly 1 million square feet of development by 2020. “There’s been a lot of stuff brewing,” said Adelaide Polsinelli, a real estate broker with Eastern Consolidated who is marketing two commercial condo units on Roosevelt Island. “And now it’s coming to fruition.” Check out more about ‘Roosevelt Island’s revamp’

Spanish-language TV network growing to 61K sf at BK Navy Yard

Posted: 25 May 2018 04:00 AM PDT

HITN, a television network geared toward Hispanics, is more than doubling its presence at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The nonprofit is expanding from 21,000 to about 61,000 square feet at the navy yard’s Building 292, according to Crain’s. This expansion includes roughly 15,000 square feet of rooftop space and is meant to boost the size of the network’s production facilities, let it produce more original content and handle filming, editing and broadcasting for other companies. […]