City Apartments New York

Happy New Year

From all of us at The Real Deal, have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Streetscapes | The Brill Building: Built With a Broken Heart

The Brill Building was built as the Alan E. Lefcourt Building, in honor of the developer’s son, but the name didn’t last.

The Real Deal’s best of 2009

The year 2009 was a trying time to be a real estate broker, developer or investor, but it never lacked for news. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the industry watched in awe -- and sometimes horror -- as residential sales ground to a virtual halt, condo projects stopped in their tracks, office rents shrank and retail stores disappeared. Buyers at buildings like 22 Renwick sued to get out of their contracts, and some were granted the opportunity to back out of their contracts. Meanwhile, an amazing cast of characters -- from Kent Swig to Harry Macklowe to Lev Leviev -- publicly fought for survival. There were also glimmers of hope, from the opening of the High Line in June to the expansion of Halstead Property into Connecticut to the sale of Former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld’s sale 16-room co-op apartment at 640 Park Avenue for $25.87 million, almost $5 million more than he bought it for two years ago. Click here to see The Real Deal staff’s picks for the stories that most altered the New York City real estate landscape in 2009.

The Hunt: It’s O.K. to Hit the Snooze Button

Devin Scott’s goal was to waste as little time as possible getting to and from his office in the Flatiron district.

Jamaica Bay land designated for park usage

A 1.2-acrea swatch of land in Jamaica Bay is set to become a waterfront park, after initial plans to transform it into a space for private developments was scrapped. Trust for Public Land, a non-profit conservation group, purchased the land from Hudson Companies, which had planned to build 20 homes on the site. The group purchased the land for $1.925 million, with additional funds provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, before immediately donating it to the city for public use. Alan Ball, one of the owners of Hudson Companies, said that his group was happy with the outcome of the deal. "We had no debt on the property, and we could have held on to it pretty easily, so we said we might as well cut bait and move on," Ball said. "Moving this project to the Trust for Public Land was a very good thing to do."

Block by Block: A Quiet Pocket of SoHo

Against some odds, Crosby Street has managed its revitalization without losing its character.

Moinian Group sues to block Dwell95 auction

Developer Joe Moinian filed a lawsuit on Monday to block the scheduled auction of Dwell95, his luxury rental building at 95 Wall Street, however a last minute bankruptcy filing by the mezzanine lender has postponed the proceeding. Monian's Moinian Group, one of the city’s biggest real estate development companies, filed suit in New York State Supreme Court against Rubicon Finance America, which held a $42 million mezzanine loan on the 507-unit property in the Financial District. Moinian had a $227 million construction loan on the building from Credit Suisse-unit Column Financial, but the value of the property fell below the loan balance due to the 2008 economic downturn, which put the mezzanine loan into default, according to the complaint. Moinian alleges he reached an agreement with Rubicon and Credit Suisse to buy the $42 million mezzanine loan for $1 million, but he says on Dec. 10 that Rubicon agreed to sell $1.4 billion in loans, including the Dwell95 loan , to a joint venture firm that included FBE Limited and Lane Capital Management. Right after the sale, Moinian alleges that FBE and Lane Capital scheduled a Dec. 30 auction to foreclose on 95 Wall Street and basically deprive him of the chance to buy back the defaulted mezzanine loan.

Excelsior Athletic Club at East 57th Street files for Chapter 11 … and more

1. Rob Speyer makes it on the Post’s list of the year's biggest losers in business [Post]
2. Bloomberg’s environmental laws will force new buildings to use cleaner natural gas or oil [NYDN]

4. Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park will temporarily close tomorrow for renovations [Brooklyn Eagle]
5. Historic wall in Gowanus may not have been part of original Dodger’s stadium [NYDN]
6. New York officials saved $12 million by retooling leases for state agencies [ABC]
7. The “most littered sidewalk” in Park Slope is on 4th Avenue and Third Street [Brownstoner]
8. Mortgage rates end the year above 5 percent [Housing Wire]

P. Diddy sues landlord at Fifth Ave. flagship

P. Diddy is suing the landlord at his flagship clothing store, Sean John, at 475 Fifth Avenue for $2.5 million (see suit document after the jump). The suit alleges the landlord, 475 Fifth 09 LLC, never removed scaffolding which was erected in August 2006, leaving customers unable to view the storefront and costing P. Diddy $5 million in lost revenues at the once-bustling store. Christian Casey, the company which runs P. Diddy’s clothing line, said revenues at the flagship store have been cut in half because of the scaffolding and want the lease rescinded for an alleged breach of contract. Barclays Capital took back the building from developers Westbrook Partners and Joseph Moinian earlier this year. [TMZ] and [Courthouse News Service]

Boom and Bust: A Decade of Misadventures in Real Estate

From homeowners to investors, many would just as soon forget the past 10 years when the subject turns to housing. The decade that began with a stupefying run-up in home prices has ended with the government sorting through the wreckage of the worst housing collapse since the Great Depression.

For those who want to relive it, we offer here our list of 10 stories from The Wall Street Journal that chronicled the real-estate adventures and misadventures that characterized the 2000s.

Loan Stars: Why Calls Are Rising To Clip Fannie Mae’s, Freddie Mac’s Wings (07/14/2000)

First, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have loosened loan standards to capture more subprime and other higher-risk loans. Second, they’ve begun buying up staggering amounts of their own mortgage securities. While both practices juice their profits, they’re also potentially dangerous, and no one knows whether the methods used to manage those risks would hold up in a severe recession. And because the two companies have become such integral players in the nation’s financial system, there is concern that even a small setback could quickly cascade through the economy, setting off financial fires at other companies, or even lead to a taxpayer-financed bailout.

Shaky Foundation: Rising Home Prices Cast Appraisers In a Harsh Light (12/13/2002)

To many in the real-estate business, unreliable appraisals expose the shaky foundations of today’s hot housing market. Spurred by low interest rates, mortgages and refinancings are expected to rise 19% to a record $2.4 trillion this year. But with the economy stuck in low gear and sales slowing, many experts fear home prices could soon drop. If so, substantial blame may fall on the nation’s 40,000 residential appraisers — much as Wall Street securities analysts are being criticized for hyping overpriced stocks before the Internet bubble burst.

Acres and Pains: Growing Scarcity of Land Alters Home Economics (04/15/2003)

One of the fastest-growing cities in America, Las Vegas embodies a problem cropping up across the country. The nation has seen a rapid increase in demand for new housing in recent years, fed by fast population growth, new immigration and easier credit. But the land available for home building has grown increasingly scarce. Builders eager to capitalize on a historic building boom have already gobbled up many of the most desirable parcels and bid up the prices of remaining land close to urban areas, adding to recent fears of a painful housing-market correction. A backlash against builders by city councils and neighborhood groups, fed by worries about the effects of rapid development, has further restricted builders’ options.

As Prices Rise, Homeowners Go Deep in Debt to Buy Real Estate (05/23/2005)

Five years into a housing boom that has boosted U.S. home values an average of 50% and added an estimated $5.5 trillion to the total market value of residential real estate, many Americans no longer think of their home as just a place to live. Instead, it’s a cash machine that can be used to rapidly build wealth. To that end, a growing number of people are tapping into their home equity to invest in more real estate.

After the Boom: Housing Slump Proves Painful For Some Owners and Builders (08/23/2006)

For years, real-estate brokers and home builders promised that the soaring property market eventually would glide to a soft landing. These optimists predicted that home prices, which had more than doubled in parts of the country between 2000 and 2005, would continue to rise, but at a more normal pace of 5% or 6% a year. It isn’t working out that way.

Risk Management: As Home Owners Face Strains, Market Bets on Loan Defaults (10/30/2006)

Subprime lending has put as many as two million families into homes over the past decade, helping push the U.S. homeownership rate up to 69% from 65% — a major shift toward an “ownership society” that politicians of all stripes have touted as one of the nation’s economic successes. As the bets play out, they will show how much of that success is permanent, and how much a temporary phenomenon fueled by overly aggressive lending.

‘Subprime’ Aftermath: Losing the Family Home (05/30/2007)

Over the past several years, seven of the 26 households on the 5100 block of Detroit’s Outer West Drive have taken out subprime loans, typically aimed at folks with poor or patchy credit. Some used the money to buy their houses. But most already owned their homes and used the proceeds to pay off credit cards, do renovations and maintain an appearance of middle-class fortitude amid a declining local economy. Three now face eviction because they couldn’t meet rising monthly payments. Two more are showing signs of distress.

The United States of Subprime — Data Show Bad Loans Permeate the Nation (10/11/2007)

As America’s mortgage markets began unraveling this year, economists seeking explanations pointed to “subprime” mortgages issued to low-income, minority and urban borrowers. But an analysis of more than 130 million home loans made over the past decade reveals that risky mortgages were made in nearly every corner of the nation, from small towns in the middle of nowhere to inner cities to affluent suburbs.

Housing Bust Fuels Blame Game (03/19/2008)

As the falling housing market shakes financial institutions and pummels Americans in an election year, the nation’s economic woes have surged to the top of voters’ minds. The timely question: To what extent are politicians and regulators at fault?

American Dream 2: Default, Then Rent (12/16/2009)

Thanks to a rare confluence of factors — mortgages that far exceed home values and bargain-basement rents — a growing number of families are concluding that the new American dream home is a rental. Some are leaving behind their homes and mortgages right away, while others are simply halting payments until the bank kicks them out. That’s freeing up cash to use in other ways.

Curbed Awards: Curbed Awards ‘09 Neighborhoods: NIMBYs, Rants, And More!

Lost Neighborhood Landmarks of the Year

4) Amato Opera, East Village. Another de-brick in the wall on the new-fangled Bowery.
3) Cheyenne Diner, 33rd/Ninth. Under the cover of darkness in September, Hell's Pantry lost a little piece of its soul.
2) Tavern on the Green, Central Park. Closing tonight, to reopen—who knows when, and who knows with what name. But maybe with edible food.
1) Astroland/Astroland Rocket, Coney Island. Wrote one observer of the incident, "It was a sad day, for even the sky was crying." The sound was later determined to be Joe Sitt laughing.

Threatened Neighborhood Landmarks That Are Somehow Still Standing

4) World's Fair Pavilion, Queens. Seriously, how is that thing still standing?
3) Holiday Cocktail Lounge, East Village. Its 90-ish year old owner and bartender sadly passed, but somehow a second Chipotle on St. Mark's Place was avoided, for now.
2) St. Vincent's Hospital O'Toole Building, West Village. Christopher Hitchens writes, "Go and have a look while you can, because it is again menaced with demolition, along with perhaps a cluster of other West Village buildings, in order to make room for a monstrous alteration to Seventh Avenue, at just the point where the greatest number of quirky and individual streets converge." What he said.
1) Daniel Goldstein's Apartment Building, Atlantic Yards Footprint. The dude abides.

Best New Neighborhood Cultural Landmark
Take a trendy, hipster-infested neighborhood, say, Williamsburg. Combine with emergent trends towards butchery, artisanal oil, and locavorism. Combine with warehouse/aged aesthetic. Find wooden mallet and hit self in head several dozen times. Voila: the Brooklyn Kitchen Labs and The Meat Hook.

The Most Epic Bike Lane Battles of the Year
3) Grand Street, Chinatown/Soho. (Highlight: mayoral smackdown!)
2) Kent Avenue, Williamsburg. (Highlight: punk'd!)
1) Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg. (Highlight: clowns!)

Here Now, A Complete List of New, Noncontroversial Bike Lanes
1) Allen Street, Lower East Side. (Go figure.)

Most Awesomely Absurd Public Art Projects of the Year

3) This Madison Square Park colorific explosion.
2) Canal Street's LentSpace.
1) Amphibious Architecture!!!!!!

The NOT IN MY BACKYARD Award for Outstanding NIMBYism
To the residents of the neighborhood of Tribeca, who simultaneously managed to stop plans to relocated some new bus parking while also avoiding new affordable housing. Oh, and you're still not welcome at Nobu.

Top 3 Reasons To Keep Hating NYU
3) Potential Governor's Island Expansion. Don't worry, it's aspirational!
2) New Signage Erected Near Village's Silver Towers. Upside: more exacting dog urination.
1) Provincetown Playhouse Mishaps. Mr. Contractor, tear down that wall!

Random Reader Neighborhood Rant of the Year
A Soho resident told us in no uncertain terms that everything's going to hell in the neighborhood: "I could chat with you for hours about the problems that are leaking off of Canal St. onto neighboring streets...particularly Howard Street in SoHo! It's atrocious! The people who come to sell fake bags, and others who sell whatever they can steal from cars by laying blankets down on the sidewalk are ruining the neighborhood! People are constantly urinating on our block.... it reeks!! I would love it if you could draw attention to this problem!"

Zaniest Hotel-vs.-Neighbors Noise Wars

3) Thompson LES. Whattya mean we weren't invited to the pool party?
2) Jane Hotel. A battle so fierce, it needed its own blog.
1) The Cooper Square Hotel (above). When we recline in old age and think back on the neighborhood activists vs. The Man fights that we enjoyed most, it's even odds that this one'll top the list.

Probably The Only Thing We'll Remember From This Year Anyway

Dumpster Pools!

And with that, we're turning the lights out on 2009. Thanks to everyone who read, tipped us, commented, and in general contributed to our best year yet. Catch you in the next decade.

U.S. hotel industry reports multiple declines

The U.S. hotel industry has finished off 2009 on a sour note, posting declines in occupancy rates, average daily rates, and revenue per available room for the week ending Dec. 26, according to data from Smith Travel Research. In year-over-year measurements, occupancy fell 5.4 to 33.8 percent, average daily rate slipped 8 percent to $85.78, and revenue per available room, or revpar, for the week dropped 13 percent to finish the year at 29 percent. New York posted the second largest average daily rate decrease nationally, falling 15 percent to $198.92. In Florida, Orlando and Tampa-St. Petersburg were two of five markets to post revpar decreases that exceeded 16 percent, falling 18.3 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively. TRD

In many markets, it may be time to buy

While some contend that the new year will bring continued declines in home prices, Wall Street Journal reporter Brett Arends said he believes that now is the time to buy. "There's always people saying things are going to get worse… I'm not predicting that things will turn around tomorrow or next week," Arends told the Wall Street Journal. "However, the simple reality is… real estate is cheap." By looking at data over the last four decades on house prices, mortgage rates and average earnings, Arends said, current home prices are comparatively inexpensive. It's not all blue skies though: New York and other high-price markets still require caution, Arends said. Amir Korangy, publisher of The Real Deal, told CNBC yesterday that buyers shouldn't feel the need to rush because home prices are unlikely to dramatically increase in the near future.

Living In | Cedarhurst, L.I.: Portrait of a Village at 100

Because of an influx of new residents who are primarily Orthodox Jews, Cedarhurst, L.I., has been undergoing a transformation.

Major multi-family landlord sues HPD over Section 8 increases

One of the largest operators of affordable multi-family housing in Upper Manhattan and the boroughs is suing the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development for at least $4 million for lost income tied to deferred rent increases in subsidized housing vouchers at three apartment complexes in East Harlem. New Jersey-based Urban American Management, through its affiliate Putnam Holding, claims that the city agency breached a contract by delaying approval of rent increases for a special class of Section 8 subsidized housing vouchers in the three complexes. In addition, the petition filed in New York State Supreme Court Monday claims HPD bowed to pressure from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and revoked approved rent increases that were between 3 and 23 percent to the apartments with tenants holding enhanced Section 8 vouchers at the three complexes.

Why a Deposit Isn’t a Rent Payment

Can a security deposit be used as the last month's rent?

When the Bank Loses Documents

The bank holding the mortgage on our Manhattan co-op has lost our stock certificate and proprietary lease.

Getting Out of a Lease

How much do you have to do to get out of our lease amicably?

“Fire sale” at 30 Lincoln Plaza prompts lawsuit against Milstein

A group of tenants at Milstein family condominium conversion 30 Lincoln Plaza has filed a lawsuit against the sponsor and the attorney general, claiming a “fire sale” of units in the building resulted in an “egregious miscarriage of justice” against tenants. Facing a December 2008 deadline for the offering plan to be declared effective, Milstein slashed prices for non-tenants, selling units for 40 to 60 percent less than the prices tenants had paid, according to the suit, filed Dec. 21 in New York State Supreme Court. The suit, which reveals the “vastly reduced prices” of units in the building (see accompanying chart after the jump), offers a glimpse into the challenges faced by developers after the financial crisis of 2008. The suit claims that the condo offering plan “unlawfully discriminated” against tenants and failed to adequately disclose certain material risk factors, and that declaring the plan effective was “erroneous” and “an abuse of the attorney general’s discretion.” In the suit, tenants asked that the attorney general rescind the approval of the amendment that declared the plan effective. The suit was filed by tenants Vera Salnikova and Scott Petepiece, and an unspecified number of members of the 30 Lincoln Plaza Ad Hoc Tenants Committee.

Demolition of Deutsche Bank building may miss latest deadline

Since the city approved the demolition of the Deutsche Bank building two months ago, workers have only deconstructed two floors from the remaining 26 stories, raising doubts that the demolition will meet its latest deadline set for the end of 2010. If the demolition is not complete by then, it would cause further delays at other construction projects at the World Trade Center site. Officials at the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. said they are pushing the contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, to safely speed up work at the 130 Liberty Street project, but a timetable has not yet been set for completion. The building's demolition, which was initially expected to occur by 2005, has faced numerous delays, as the expected costs for the deconstruction have steadily climbed.

Curbed Awards: Curbed Cup ‘09 FINALS: Meatpacking District vs. Williamsburg!

It's voting time in the annual Curbed Cup, our yearly award to the New York City neighborhood of the year. This year, four neighborhoods faced off in the semi-finals. Here now, the finalists meet to determine the winner.

Finals Matchup: The vote for Neighborhood of the Year comes down to Buzz versus Bust. In yesterday's buzz bracket vote, the resurgent Meatpacking District held off the Upper West Side by the narrowest of margins (vote tally: 334-322). That puts MePa up against the bust bracket winner, Williamsburg, for all the glory. Highlights from each respective neighborhood this year can be found after the jump, but if you're ready, get your vote on. Voting closes at sunset on Sunday.

NEIGHBORHOOD HIGHLIGHTS 2009
MEATPACKING DISTRICT
· The High Line opens! World peace is at hand! [Curbed]
· Standard Hotel opens! Humans unite, copulate in full public view! [Curbed]
· Another awesomely giant building will rise near the Standard! [Curbed]
· Also plotting a MePa arrival: The Whitney!
· A little place called THE BOOM BOOM ROOM opened [Eater]
· And pop-up stores just popped up everywhere [Racked]

WILLIAMSBURG
· When developers move out, squatters move in [Curbed]
· Warehouse 11 became the face of new development failure [Curbed]
· Naturally, the backlash to the Williamsburg backlash began [Curbed]
· And wait! A few developments are actually selling! [Curbed]
· Brooklyn Bowl opening merges bowling, fried chicken obsessions [Eater]
· Sure sign of nabe on the rebound: pharmacy wars! [Racked]

Stuy Town to open up vacant units to new tenants

Stuyvesant Town could see dozens of new tenants in the new year, according to a statement released today from a spokesperson from Tishman Speyer. About 100 vacant apartments at the residential rental complex will be available for rent beginning Jan. 4 and will be assigned to current rent-stabilized tenants as well as those who have sat on the development's waiting list. These new tenants will have similar contracts to those who already live in rent-stabilized units, according to the written statement. "As is the case with current residents, each new resident will be afforded the rights of automatic lease renewal and succession rights available to rent-stabilized tenants," the statement read. The move comes after a New York State Court of Appeals ruled in October that Tishman Speyer did not have the right to deregulate rent-stabilized apartments in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. The management company has seen its reserve fund dwindle in recent months and in our August issue, The Real Deal named Tishman's purchase of the housing development one of the worst deals made since the credit crunch. TRD

East Harlem Big-Box Bashing: The gang at Streetsblog, apparently no…

The gang at Streetsblog, apparently no fans of Costco, have handed out their "Streetsie" for Worst City Agency to the NYC Economic Development Corporation for supporting "suburban-style development" like the new East River Plaza big-box mall in East Harlem: "These are utterly hostile environments for anyone who doesn't get around in a car, subsidized by taxpayers and located in neighborhoods with very high asthma rates. How does it all fit with PlaNYC and the vision of a more sustainable city? It doesn't. Not one bit." [Streetsblog]

Residential Sales Around the Region

A comparison of recent residential sales by region and price range.

Do you think the residential market has bottomed out given the rise in contract activity but falling prices?

The Real Deal is looking for your feedback on market-related issues. Please comment below. This question was sent by Sofia Kim, head of research at Streeteasy. If you have questions you'd like posted, please e-mail news@therealdeal.com.