Judge okays trial for Max Capital’s Hochfelder

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts A judge ruled today that Adam Hochfelder, founder and chairman of commercial landlord Max Capital Management Corp., will go to trial on fraud charges in a case alleging he misrepresented the value of his real estate holdings to extract loans from business partners, banks and even family members. The decision today will allow prosecutors to move forward on charges against Hochfelder, a noted New York City office building owner. Max Capital Management holdings have included 237 Park Avenue and the Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue. Hochfelder once claimed to own $2.7 billion in properties and used that false information to garner millions from unsuspecting lenders, the New York Times reported. The next hearing on the case is set to begin Jan. 15. Hochfelder was first arrested in August 2008 and now faces 58 counts of criminal activity, such as fraud and grand larceny.

Construction database lawsuit ramped up

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts Reed Construction Data has amplified the claims in its lawsuit against McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, which Reed alleges used several fake companies to access its database, according to the Associated Press. The original suit, filed Oct. 8, claimed that since 2002, Construction Dodge, another construction database company, posed as Reed customers in order to review the latter company’s information. The revised complaint, however, now claims that thousands of Reed project documents were obtained through the fraud and that Construction Dodge made erroneous claims, which stated that its product was better than Reed’s. The complaint now includes allegations of fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, misappropriation of confidential information and unfair competition.

Construction database lawsuit ramps up

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts Reed Construction Data has amplified the claims in its lawsuit against McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, which Reed alleges used several fake companies to access its database, according to the Associated Press. The original suit, filed Oct. 8, claimed that since 2002, Construction Dodge, another construction database company, posed as Reed customers in order to review the latter company’s information. The revised complaint, however, now claims that thousands of Reed project documents were obtained through the fraud and that Construction Dodge made erroneous claims, which stated that its product was better than Reed’s. The complaint now includes allegations of fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, misappropriation of confidential information and unfair competition.

Gotham West project draws ire from parents

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts A potential Hell’s Kitchen development by Gotham West has community activists and parents riled. The project, which would occupy most of a square block between 44th and 45th streets and 10th and 11th avenues, would add 1,200 apartments to the neighborhood, but would also displace the 100-year-old P.S. 51. Parents of students enrolled at the school say they’re worried the project could force kids into crowded facilities, while significantly reducing the amount of play space in the neighborhood. State Senator Tom Duane is particularly concerned about the reduction of playground space, commenting that “it will be half the size of the current playground for twice the amount of students.” The City Planning Commission has until Jan. 29 to vote on the proposed development.

Penthouse owner comes home early from vacation to find doorman taking nap in guest room … and more

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts 1. Penthouse owner comes home early from vacation to find doorman taking nap in guest room [Curbed]
2. Sales launch at Gowanus condo building at at 232 Seventh Street [Brownstoner]
3. Famed event planner and socialite David Tutera places Manhattan home on market [Realestalker]
4. City may reinstitute plan to make NYC homeless pay rent to stay in shelters [Indypendent]
5. Council member-elect targets DOB inspections [NYDN]
6. Potential buyer could save 60-year UES mainstay Gino [NYT]
7. Skate park under Brooklyn Bridge to be closed for four years due to overpass painting [Gothamist]
8. Controversial District 20 school rezoning plan in Brooklyn approved [Post]
9. East Hampton’s Sea Spray Cottages to go up for auction in February [Curbed, 2nd item]
10. New tax legislation could be gamechanger for mortgage investors [Housing Wire]
11. $5B cut from Port Authority capital budget [NYO]

Park Avenue gets pounded

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts From the December issue: If the last 12 months have served as a humbling recalibration of the entire U.S. economy, then there is perhaps no urban office district more representative of America’s fall from opulence than the commercial stretch along Park Avenue in Midtown. For decades, it was the province of the financial titans, including JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers and UBS, whose paychecks and egos were matched, in part, by Park Avenue’s astronomical asking rents in its premier buildings. But now, much like its former white-gloved denizens, Park Avenue is an empty shell of its former self. The Park Avenue submarket -- which runs from Grand Central to 59th Street -- has fallen harder and faster than any other Manhattan submarket over the past 12 months. According to Cushman & Wakefield, from October 2008 to October 2009, average asking rents dropped 34.7 percent, from $108.57 per square foot to $70.85 per square foot. By comparison, overall asking rents in Manhattan fell 22 percent during the same period.

Landlord pleads guilty in $6M Bronx sale

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts A Bronx property owner pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to charges that he fraudulently sold a commercial building for $5.9 million earlier this year, authorities said. According to prosecutors, Mark Benun, 35, partnered with another company to buy the building at 67-79 East 161st Street in 2006 for $9.5 million. Benun, who brokered the deal, was given a 25 percent interest in the property, while the other investor, identified in city property records as Lido Realty of Brooklyn, held a 75 percent interest, according to the US Attorney in Manhattan. Despite his minority interest, Benun sold the property in February 2009 for $5.96 million using forged deed and mortgage documents, prosecutors said. Following the bogus sale, Benun wired at least $450,000 to other bank accounts, and in addition withdrew about $1.4 million which he used to buy gold bars in Manhattan. TRD

Fitch downgrades Moinian and Sitt Asset Management office towers

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts Fitch downgraded a group of securitized loans from Wachovia Bank that includes a Flatiron office tower owned by Joseph Moinian and a Midtown office tower owned by Sitt Asset Management. The ratings agency downgraded eight loans by Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust series 2005-C19, citing concerns about declining cash flows and commercial real estate values. One Moinian loan is backed by the developer’s 13-story office tower at 50 West 23rd Street in the Flatiron District. The building was 97 percent occupied as of October and has a debt service coverage ratio of 1.52 percent as of June, according to Fitch. A building with a ratio of less than 1 is considered to have negative cash flow. In June, the building’s broker, Newmark Knight Frank, renewed the 64,000-square-foot lease for a magnet school, called the Manhattan Village Academy for lower rent, following more than a year of negotiations.

New York-area home prices still to plunge?

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts While the rest of the country looks forward to a bit of a respite in the hard, grinding slide of property prices, New Yorkers will enjoy less relief in 2010. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com, said prices are still inflated compared to rents, eroding the possibility of price improvements in the near future. The New York City metro area ranked 84th-worst out of the 100 markets in his forecast, with the 2009 median home price of $416,730 expected to fall another 15.63 percent, ahead of his national forecast range of 5 percent to 10 percent. Rounding out the regional duds, Nassau County in Long Island ranked 76th, with the $368,260 expected to drop 13.14 percent and Newark, N.J. was No. 71, with the $367,380 median slated to drop 11.29 percent. [Fortune via CNN Money] 

Willets Point draws developers’ bids

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts The New York City Economic Development Corporation received 29 preliminary proposals from developers for the potential 62-acre Willets Point District redevelopment project in Queens, according to an announcement released today. Seth Pinsky, president of the EDC, said that the panel is enthusiastic about the proposals received for the project, which will include 5,500 residential units and will create 18,000 construction jobs. “The quantity and quality of these responses are strong indicators that the development community has confidence in the successful redevelopment of Willets Point despite current economic conditions,” Pinsky said in a written statement. The development, situated between Queen’s Flushing and Corona neighborhoods, will be the first “green neighborhood” in the city, according to Pinsky. TRD

Opening and closing: La Casita opens, BBQ Chicken closes … and more

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts
In the Financial District, the Soda Shop has shuttered in the Cosmopolitan Hotel at 125 Chambers Street. In Chinatown, pastry chef Victoria Howe has launched an underground bakery called the Chinatown Cake Club in her three-bedroom Chinatown apartment. In Tribeca, popular Indian restaurant Tamarind has opened a location at 99 Hudson Street. A specialty cocktail bar is coming to 114 Franklin Street in the former Grace space. On the Lower East Side, Red Velvet Lounge, which will serve cocktails and cupcakes with cocktail flavors, will open today at 174 Rivington Street. A restaurant specializing in different meatball varieties may open at 84 Stanton Street. Bakery Pain d'Avignon's will open in the old Roni-Sue space in the Essex Street Market. In the East Village, a Subway sandwich shop will open in the former Downtown Music space at 342 Bowery. A French restaurant will open in the former Ama space at 48 Macdougal Street. Cuban eatery Cienfuegos will be coming to the corner of Sixth Street and Avenue A. Michael Huynh might open a taco joint in the former Australian space on St. Marks Place and Avenue A.

Lenz argues condo market unchanged

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts

Once shunned in the down market, pricey condos could be making a comeback. Dolly Lenz, vice chairperson at Prudential Douglas Elliman, and Chloe Malle, a reporter with the New York Observer, debated the issue on CNBC. Lenz argued that buyers are looking at real estate as a long-term investment, but aren’t necessarily climbing over one another to make deals. “We’re seeing a few bidding wars, but that’s not really the norm,” Lenz said. “People are looking at ‘where do I want to live?’ [and] ‘where do I want to be five years from now?’” Malle, on the other hand, said that big financial salaries are ratcheting up condo sales again, even if the kinds of homes being sold differ from the boom years. “This year bonuses are projected to be tantamount to bonuses in 2007,” Malle said. Even so, she added, buyers are “looking for more sound investments.” Reports have surfaced that condo sales are picking up, despite seasonal trends that are typically unfavorable to the winter months.

Only 4 percent of applicants receive permanent modifications: Treasury Dept.

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts Only 31,382 troubled homeowners have received permanent mortgage modifications through Obama’s federal program, while nearly 30,650 people in trial modifications have been denied as of Nov. 30, according to a recent report released by the U.S. Treasury Department. Since the program launched in the spring, a total of 759,058 trial modifications were started, but only 4 percent of them became permanent ones. “Our focus now is on working with servicers, borrowers and organizations to get as many of those eligible homeowners as possible into permanent modifications," said Phyllis Caldwell, chief of the Treasury's Homeownership Preservation Office. The lack of permanent modifications has created concerns that the $75 billion plan will fall far short of the federal mortgage modification plan introduced this spring to help up to four million delinquent homeowners.

Condo sales picking up speed

December 11th, 2009    Posted in Manhattan Real Estate Brokers, Manhattan Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real-Estate, apts New York City condos are seeing unseasonably high buyer interest, with buildings like RAL Companie's One Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Rushmore reportedly seeing more interested buyers in part because buyers feel the market has stabilized. After a new sales team, the Developers Group, took over at One Brooklyn Bridge Park Oct. 1, 20 new contracts were signed, with more than 100 visitors coming to look at the waterfront development each week, according to the Daily News. At the Rushmore, which has reportedly been experiencing buyer backouts, Extell Development said that 12 apartments have gone into contract over the past two months and that 11 more are in negotiation. Gary Barnett, Extell’s president, told the Daily News that buyer sentiment has improved, which is helping to move units. “The overall market has picked up, people have a better feeling that New York real estate is starting to steady,” Barnett said. “There is no new inventory, and buyers who have been looking know a good opportunity.”