Americold Board Rejects Activist Investor’s Attempt to Oust Chairman
Americold Realty Trust’s board voted to renominate Chairman Mark Patterson, rejecting activist investor Sieve Capital’s call for his removal over alleged problematic boardroom behavior and ties to the SEC‑investigated Paramount Group. The proxy statement, sent ahead of the May shareholder meeting, affirmed Patterson’s leadership despite concerns about his external board service. Americold, the second‑largest cold‑storage REIT, continues to grapple with a heavy debt load and soft demand, which has driven its stock down roughly 70% since 2021. The board also opposed a shareholder proposal to amend bylaws allowing director removal without cause.
The Daily Dirt: Has NYC Real Estate Crushed Artists?
A viral 19‑page essay by NYC artist Josh Kline blames soaring real‑estate prices for squeezing artists out of the city, but the piece oversimplifies the economics. The article argues that demand‑driven supply shortages, not wealth transfers, are the primary driver...
Midtown Office Tower that Traded in Online Auction Headed for Resi Redo
The 23‑story Midtown office tower at 135 West 50th Street was purchased for $8.5 million on the Ten‑X online auction, a 97% discount from its 2006 $332.5 million price. Thakkar Developers plans to convert the 925,000‑square‑foot building into 550‑700 residential units while...
Duplex at 740 Park Ave Trades for $38M
A duplex in New York’s iconic 740 Park Avenue sold off‑market for $38 million, more than double the $20.5 million price paid in 2019. The price surge likely reflects a $6‑$6.5 million renovation, though details remain undisclosed. The 7,500‑sq‑ft unit features five bedrooms, five...
Trump Not Done Fighting Civil Fraud Case in New York
Donald Trump’s legal team filed an appeal to overturn a New York court ruling that found he inflated real‑estate values, ordering him to pay $355 million plus interest. The appeal follows a Substack post by former fixer Michael Cohen, who said he was...
Costs for Rent-Stabilized Landlords Outpaced Inflation, Board Says
The New York Rent Guidelines Board reported that operating costs for rent‑stabilized landlords rose 5.3% last year, more than double the 2.7% overall inflation rate. Energy and insurance expenses led the surge, pushing the five‑year cost increase to 31%. To...
David Werner Buying Hell’s Kitchen Office Building for ⅓ of 2018 Price
David Werner is set to acquire the 311 West 43rd Street office tower in Hell’s Kitchen for just over $40 million, roughly a third of the $131 million DivcoWest paid in 2018. The 193,000‑square‑foot building, previously anchored by WeWork, is expected to be converted into...
FARE Act Adding to “Landlord Strangulation,” One Owner Says
The New York FARE Act, effective June 2024, shifted the broker fee from tenants to landlords, prompting tenants to move more frequently. Landlords now absorb roughly a month’s rent as a broker commission, raising turnover and vacancy costs for rent‑stabilized...
New York Latest State to Consider Law on Private Listings
New York Assemblymember Michaelle Solages introduced legislation that would bar private real‑estate listings unless sellers sign a written disclosure acknowledging the reduced exposure and price risks. The bill mandates that agents post the property on a publicly accessible website within...
Massive Bank of America Renewal Leads NYC’s March Office Leases
Bank of America signed a 20‑year, 600,000‑square‑foot expansion at 1 Bryant Park, bringing its total footprint in the tower to 2.44 million square feet. The deal topped March’s office leasing activity in New York City, followed by sizable commitments from AI firms,...
NYC’s Top Deals: Brooklyn Retail Buildings Trade for $36M
On April 7, 2026, New York City recorded 227 real‑estate transactions totaling $304 million, highlighted by a $35.5 million commercial deal for three Myrtle Avenue properties in Brooklyn, including a one‑story retail building. Residential activity remained robust, with a $6.9 million condo purchase on Fifth Avenue...
UES Cinema May Fade to Black as Owner Puts Site up for Sale
Reading International is putting its 1001 Third Avenue site on the Upper East Side up for sale, targeting roughly $50 million. The 8,000‑square‑foot lot houses the 24,000‑square‑foot Cinema 123, part of the Angelika Film Center chain, and could be redeveloped for up to...
Nathan Berman, Idan Ofer Paying $100M for Next Office-to-Resi Conversion
Nathan Berman’s Metro Loft Management and Idan Ofer’s Quantum Pacific Group have signed a contract to purchase the 1 Whitehall Street office tower in Manhattan’s Financial District for just over $100 million. The partners intend to convert the building into rental apartments, adding...
Clipper Equity Taps Familiar Friend to Refinance Flatbush Development
Clipper Equity, led by David Bistricer, secured a $170 million refinance from MF1 Capital for its 354‑unit multifamily project at 2366 Bedford Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The new loan replaces a $140 million construction loan and funds the completion of a four‑building...
New York City’s Top Retail Leases in March
New York City’s ten largest retail leases signed in March were heavily weighted toward the Plaza District, with five of the deals located in the iconic building. Eateries accounted for half of the top ten, as four restaurants and a...
Empire State Realty Trust Continues Williamsburg Spree
Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) purchased a commercial condo at 127 Kent Avenue for $46 million, adding 21,400 sq ft of office space at roughly $2,100 per square foot. The deal is part of an aggressive 2024 Williamsburg expansion that includes a planned...
“Last Milking”: How “Rough and Dirty Operators” Profit From Failing Buildings
The piece exposes a niche of investors snapping up New York rent‑stabilized buildings at roughly $30,000 per unit, betting on a "last milking" strategy that extracts cash while neglecting upkeep and eventually defaulting on mortgages and taxes. The 2019 Housing...
Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz Sell Brooklyn Townhouse for $12M
Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz have sold their Cobble Hill townhouse at 22 Strong Place for $11.8 million, more than doubling the $6.75 million they paid in 2017. The four‑story, 6,600‑square‑foot brownstone, which was repaired after a 2022 fire, was listed quietly...
Nelson, JPMorgan Take 2nd Shot at Selling LES Rental
Nelson Management and JPMorgan are marketing the 19‑story, 256‑unit Two Bridges building at 275 South Street for over $180 million, leveraging a 30‑year Article XI tax abatement that caps property taxes at 5 percent of income through 2055. The asset, purchased for $115 million...
Mexican Billionaire Is Mystery Tenant Behind 9 West Record Office Lease
Mexican billionaire Gonzalo Hevia Baillères, founder of AI logistics firm Lok, signed a record $327.50 per square foot lease for 5,063 sq ft at 9 West 57th Street. The 10‑year deal, executed through his holding company HBeyond, sets a new Manhattan office rent benchmark. It...
NYC Multifamily Filings Spike to 12-Year High
Developers submitted plans for 11,984 multifamily units in March, the highest monthly total in twelve years and the second‑largest in two decades. The surge was driven mainly by new construction, with 11,189 units across 137 applications, plus 795 units from...
RXR Files Supersize Plans for 175 Park Supertall
RXR and TF Cornerstone have filed plans for a 95‑story, roughly 3 million‑square‑foot supertall at 175 Park Avenue next to Grand Central Terminal. The mixed‑use tower will combine office space, a hotel, retail, bike storage and a bar, with construction slated to...
Antitrust Lawsuit Fallout Fails to Dent New York Agent Commissions
More than a year after antitrust lawsuits targeting New York broker commissions, rates have held steady at roughly 5.7% of the purchase price—about 2.9% for listing agents and 2.8% for buyer agents. The litigation and subsequent rule changes forced agents...
Doomed to Fail: Why Rent Guidelines Board Always Gets It Wrong
The New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) is set to decide a uniform rent increase for roughly one million rent‑stabilized apartments, with the mayor advocating a zero‑percent freeze. Recent RGB data shows a 6.2% rise in net operating income...
LISTEN: Who Is Left Holding the Bag for Josh Schuster?
Silverback Development founder Josh Schuster pleaded guilty to a securities‑fraud scheme that stole more than $10 million from investors tied to a $150 million luxury condo at 250 East 21st Street. The fraud involved pledging the same project interests to multiple backers and creating a...
Rosen Partners Head Sues Upper East Side Condo Board over Oil Spill
Jack Rosen, head of Rosen Partners, sued the neighboring condo board at 30 East 85th Street for $40 million, alleging an oil spill from a fuel delivery on Jan. 13, 2025 contaminated his Upper East Side townhouse. The spill allegedly stemmed from a...
Despite Sluggish Start, Manhattan Office Leasing Rallies to Strong Quarter
Manhattan office leasing rebounded in Q1 2026, reaching 11.8 million square feet—a 3.4% year‑over‑year gain and the strongest first quarter since 2014. Average asking rent rose to $77.55 per square foot, up 2% quarter‑over‑quarter and 4% year‑over‑year. The surge was anchored...
West Village Double-Wide Nabs $70M Signed Contract
A West Village megamansion at 105‑107 Banks Street secured a signed purchase contract exceeding $70 million, translating to roughly $5,400 per square foot. The 13,000‑square‑foot residence merges two historic townhouses and features six floors, an elevator, a gym, screening room, and...
Activist Investor Seeks to Oust Americold Chair Mark Patterson over “Problematic Boardroom Behavior”
Activist investor Sieve Capital is urging Americold Realty Trust to remove chairman Mark Patterson, citing his controversial tenure on the board of the scandal‑tainted Paramount Group. Patterson’s involvement in loans to his own robotic‑garage venture and his governance role at...
City Council to Mamdani: No Need to Raise Property Taxes
New York City Council unveiled a $6 billion savings plan that would avoid a 9.5% property‑tax hike and prevent tapping the city’s reserves to close a $5.4 billion two‑year budget gap. The proposal hinges on revised revenue forecasts, competitive bidding for Department...
Aron Stark’s Comeback Arrives in Union Square
Aron Stark, a New York City landlord with a criminal record, has submitted plans for a 12‑story, 29‑unit residential building at 100 East 16th Street in Union Square. The site, currently a two‑story structure owned by T30 Capital, was purchased for $11.2 million in October 2024,...
Baruch Singer’s Midwood Office Project Faces Foreclosure
Baruch Singer’s 10‑story, 215,000‑square‑foot office and yeshiva project in Midwood, Brooklyn, faces a foreclosure lawsuit from lender Parkview Financial, which claims Singer owes at least $125 million. The suit alleges Singer missed the October 2023 completion deadline and failed to lease...
Top Resi Brokers, Firms Navigate Luxury’s New Battlegrounds: Rankings
New York City’s luxury residential market rebounded in 2025, delivering record‑breaking sales such as a $129 million Manhattan condo and multiple $80‑$90 million deals. A severe shortage of new‑development inventory—down to a ten‑year low—has intensified competition and driven price per square foot...
Summit Closes Deal for Pinnacle Portfolio, Concluding Fight with Mamdani
Summit Properties closed on a portfolio of more than 5,100 rent‑stabilized New York apartments for $451 million, ending a protracted bankruptcy battle initiated by Pinnacle Group. The acquisition includes $30 million earmarked over five years to remedy a surge in housing code violations,...
TRD PolicyPro: City Council to Form Co-Op and Condo Caucus
The New York City Council is launching a co‑op and condo caucus to protect affordable home‑ownership and oversee Local Law 97 carbon‑emission rules. Governor Hochul’s SEQRA reform faces criticism for adding prevailing‑wage and affordability mandates that could slow housing approvals. State...
Gary Barnett Taps Andrew Chung as Extell Co-CEO
Gary Barnett has named Andrew Chung as president and co‑CEO of Extell Development, pairing the condo‑building titan with a developer known for pioneering last‑mile warehouse projects. Chung brings deep institutional investment experience from Carlyle and his own Innovo Property Group,...
New Plans Filed for One of Hudson Yards’ Last Big Dev Sites
Prospect Development Group’s Konstantin Gubareff filed plans for a 34‑story, 450‑unit residential tower at 460 Tenth Avenue in Hudson Yards. The 232,000‑sq‑ft building includes 17,000 sq ft of commercial space, a 40‑car garage, and rooftop amenities designed by Fogarty Finger. The site,...
Brooklyn Luxury Market Ends March with a Thud
Brooklyn’s luxury real‑estate market posted a sharp slowdown in the week of March 23‑29, with only 13 contracts signed and total volume dropping to $38.5 million – the lowest since early January. The median asking price held at $3 million, but homes lingered...
Kaufman Astoria Studios Draws Pre-Foreclosure Suit
Deutsche Bank has filed a pre‑foreclosure suit against the 500,000‑square‑foot Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, alleging a $359 million loan default. The loan, originally $340 million taken in 2021, was guaranteed by Michael Hackman, whose partnership with Hackman Capital also bought the...
Broad Street Development Recapitalizes FiDi Conversion
Broad Street Development has secured approximately $250 million to recapitalize its 80 Broad Street office‑to‑residential conversion in Manhattan’s Financial District. The financing includes $175 million in construction debt from Derby Lane Partners, with private‑equity firm PCCP and One Investment Management...
New Real Estate Investment Under Attack: Battery Storage
Staten Island Councilman Frank Morano introduced a bill demanding live data feeds and annual independent inspections for large outdoor battery storage facilities, arguing existing FDNY oversight is insufficient. The proposal comes as New York City’s fire department already enforces rigorous...
The Daily Dirt: Trouble Behind the Glass at 1 St. Mark’s?
Manhattan’s 1 Saint Mark’s Place office tower, a 60,000‑square‑foot speculative development acquired by Real Estate Equities Corp (REEC) for $29 million in 2018, has finally been completed after a turbulent financing saga. A $70 million rescue refinance from Parkview Financial in 2022 kept the...
Court Temporarily Blocks NYCHA, Related’s West Chelsea Redevelopment — Again
The New York State Supreme Court’s appellate division issued a restraining order that temporarily blocks NYCHA’s demolition of the Fulton and Elliott‑Chelsea Houses, halting the West Chelsea redevelopment. NYCHA intends to appeal the injunction, which follows a lawsuit alleging the plan...
Drew Barrymore Looks to Sell Westchester Home
Actress‑talk‑show host Drew Barrymore has put her 12‑acre Westchester estate on the market for $5 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. She bought the 7,300‑square‑foot property two years ago for $4.4 million, and the home now lists at $687 per square...
Lenders Backed Big Manhattan Office Towers in February
Lenders poured over $2.5 billion into Manhattan’s top‑tier office assets in February, with Brookfield and Olayan each securing $800 million refinancings and Vornado obtaining a $525 million loan. The deals featured higher‑interest rates near 5.9 percent but were backed by strong occupancy and fresh...
Columbus Circle Duplex Sells for over $18M After Bidding War
A 3,500‑sq‑ft duplex at 25 Columbus Circle sold for $18.3 million, slightly above the $18 million asking price but below the $18.8 million the seller paid in 2013. The sale followed a bidding war after the unit, listed since 2018 at nearly $29 million,...
NYC’s Top Deals: Pontiac Land Group Sells MoMA Tower Condo for $13M
Pontiac Land Group’s flagship condo at 53 West 53rd Street sold for $12.8 million, under its $15.3 million asking price, marking the day’s top residential transaction. The largest commercial deal recorded was a $126.4 million sale of four mixed‑use properties across Brooklyn, the Bronx and...
Vornado Scoops up McDonald’s, Air Rights to Bulk up Penn District Tower
Vornado Realty Trust bought a Midtown McDonald’s for $12 million and secured 66,000 sq ft of air rights for roughly $9.2 million, expanding its Penn District site. The acquisitions add tens of thousands of buildable square feet, enabling a taller, denser residential tower that...
Former Vornado Exec to Face Embezzlement Trial in April
Former Vornado Realty Trust leasing executive Jared Solomon has been indicted on federal fraud charges for embezzling more than $9.5 million over a 15‑year period. Prosecutors allege he created fake brokerage firms, submitted fraudulent invoices, and funneled the proceeds into a...
Rent Guidelines Board Says Buildings’ Net Income Climbed by 6%
The Rent Guidelines Board released its annual Income and Expense Study showing net operating income for rent‑stabilized buildings rose 6.2% nominally (about 2.2% after inflation) between 2023 and 2024. Gains were uneven: Manhattan’s core districts posted a 10% increase, while...