The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Buildings inspector charged with bribery at Queens work site

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 02:30 PM PST

A city Department of Buildings inspector was charged with soliciting a cash bribe from a construction company that was issued a stop-work order over safety violations at a Queens site. Francesco Ginestri visited the site in late July, after a previous inspector had ordered work halted there, federal prosecutors said Wednesday in announcing the arrest. During the inspection, Ginestri handed a piece of paper to a construction worker, which had a handwritten question, asking whether

Real estate industry calls sewage-overflow bill “extreme”

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 01:44 PM PST

The City Council is pushing a bill to limit how much asphalt can cover a development site, but real estate professionals say it ignores the realities of building in the city. The measure, sponsored by Queens Council member Costa Constantinides, would cap the percentage of material that doesn’t absorb rainwater, such as asphalt or concrete, covering building sites. For future projects, no more than half of a lot could be impermeable, according to the bill.

BRP Companies seeks rezoning for huge Bed-Stuy development

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 01:10 PM PST

A huge new rental project may be coming to the site of a former Brooklyn nursing home. BRP Companies, one of the city’s biggest affordable housing developers, has filed a rezoning application for 270 Nostrand Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the former site of CABS Nursing Home, Bklyner reported. The facility closed several years ago and was in the process of being demolished as of 2019. BRP is seeking to build a 14-story rental building on the

Education entrepreneur relists East Hampton estate for $95M

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 12:10 PM PST

The founder of Avenues: The World School has relisted his 11.2-acre East Hampton estate with a major price cut as he faces a potential forced auction to repay debts to his former company, according to the Wall Street Journal. Chris Whittle, who left the posh private school company in 2018, is now asking $95 million for the property. It hit the market in 2014 for $140 million, but has been off the market for a

German lender forecloses on East Side Marriott hotel

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 11:00 AM PST

How do you say “unhappy marriage” in German? Frankfurt-based DekaBank moved this week to foreclose on the former New York Marriott East Side hotel at 525 Lexington Avenue. The German lender claims a $53 million outstanding mortgage loan, which came due in July, according to court records, remains unpaid. The Midtown property’s owner, Lexington Avenue Hotel, is a limited partnership between DekaBank subsidiary Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH, which owns an 85 percent stake, and Ashkenazy

Indoor dining returns today — and can soon go later

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 10:30 AM PST

New York City is known as the city that never sleeps, but that hasn’t been the case since the pandemic began — particularly for restaurants and bars, which have been operating under a 10 p.m. curfew. But that’s about to change: Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that bars and restaurants can stay open until 11 p.m., an hour later than before. The change will take effect Feb. 14. “Our decisions are based on science and

Carolina Panthers owner to buy $73M Palm Beach mansion

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 10:00 AM PST

Billionaire David Tepper, founder of Appaloosa Management and owner of the Carolina Panthers, is in contract to buy a $73 million mansion in Palm Beach. It’s unclear whether Tepper will relocate to Palm Beach, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the deal. He moved to Florida from New Jersey in 2015, prompting Garden State lawmakers to say its top tax was scaring off the wealthy. Tepper returned to New Jersey last

Tishman Realty strikes bulk condo deal with Elad Group

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 09:30 AM PST

In a sign of the increasing pressure faced by Manhattan’s condo developers, the Elad Group is selling a large block of the remaining units at its Hell’s Kitchen new development for roughly $90 million. It’s believed to be one of the first big new-development bulk condo deals of the cycle, and could foreshadow more deals of its kind as sponsors look to move on from challenged projects. Elad, headed by Israeli businessman Yitzhak Tshuva, is

Bob’s Discount Furniture to open on Staten Island

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 09:00 AM PST

Bob’s Discount Furniture is coming to Staten Island. A 10,000-square-foot store at 2385 Richmond Avenue will be the retailer’s first “innovative experience center,” which will allow customers to digitally explore furniture styles. It will be the 140th Bob’s Discount Furniture store in the U.S., 16th in New York state and first on Staten Island. The retailer signed a 10-year lease at the location. Terms were not disclosed. Peter Ripka of RIPCO Real Estate represented Bob’s

Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman nabbed Brooklyn home right before pandemic

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 08:30 AM PST

Actors and longtime partners Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman quietly bought a Clinton Hill brownstone last year, weeks before the pandemic hit. The purchase closed in January 2020 for an undisclosed price, the New York Post reported. The property on Classon Avenue last changed hands in 2016, when the previous owner paid $2.2 million for the four-bedroom, five-bathroom abode. The four-story home, which is configured as a two-family property, features views of the iconic New

Koch buys Las Vegas casino development

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 08:08 AM PST

UPDATED, Feb. 12, 2021, 2:44 p.m: The real estate arm of Koch Industries is betting big that the casino industry will come roaring back after the pandemic. Koch Real Estate Investments purchased a Las Vegas casino development that was previously slated to become a $3.1 billion 3,780-room resort project led by Steven Witkoff. That project was slated for completion in 2022, but has been stalled. The price Koch paid was not disclosed. Koch will partner

Senior living facilities entice new residents with Covid vaccine

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 07:01 AM PST

Senior living facilities looking to assure prospective residents of their safety — and boost their occupancy levels — are offering Covid-19 vaccines as an amenity. They face an uphill battle. Twenty percent of residents who contracted the coronavirus in assisted living facilities died, compared to the percent of the general population, the New York Times reported. And occupancy rates at those communities plummeted 6.8 percentage points in 2020, dwindling to just 80.7 percent by the

De Blasio to revive property tax reform

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 06:30 AM PST

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday he will revive his stalled property tax reform effort before leaving City Hall. At a state Senate hearing, de Blasio committed to restarting hearings on fixing the oft-derided system and producing recommendations before the end of his term, Gotham Gazette reported. Only two days earlier de Blasio had repeated an excuse that the pandemic “derailed” property tax reform, which he has been identifying as a priority throughout his seven

Grace Kelly’s former Upper East Side mansion returning to market

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 05:45 AM PST

An Upper East Side building with a storied past is about to hit the market. The 35-foot-wide property at 51-53 East 73rd Street, which was owned by Grace Kelly before she became European royalty, is slated to list next month. Built in the 1880s, the building is between Park and Madison avenues, two blocks from Central Park. Until recently, the property was split between rental apartments and medical offices, though all tenants have been gone

Here’s what tenants are paying at Silverstein’s 120 Wall Street

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 04:00 AM PST

In 1992, Silverstein Properties’ 120 Wall Street became the first New York property to be designated an “association center,” providing financial incentives to not-for-profit tenants as part of a city initiative to keep them from leaving an increasingly expensive Manhattan. A lot has changed in Lower Manhattan in the three decades since, as the submarket has emerged as a major destination for tech and media tenants migrating from Midtown. Silverstein’s building has welcomed a number