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Bloomberg “considering” London mayoral run

April 5, 2015, 7:00 am
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Michael Bloomberg and Boris Johnson

Michael Bloomberg and Boris Johnson

British conservatives are hoping they can borrow a piece of New York City – former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to be exact.

Unnamed friends of Bloomberg told the Sunday Times of London that the billionaire ex-mayor is “considering” running as the Tory candidate, according to the New York Post. London will elect Boris Johnson’s successor in May 2016.

While the transatlantic move seems unlikely, powerful Brits have already publicly endorsed the idea. Steve Hilton, an adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, is one such figure urging Bloomberg to run.

“It would be an incredible coup for London if Mike Bloomberg could be persuaded to run for mayor here,” Hilton said. “His kind of pragmatic, problem-solving leadership is exactly what London needs.”

Even Johnson has discussed the idea with Bloomberg, the London Times reported.

“Mike is an enormous friend of London. He’s a great contributor to the city. He’s got many supporters and admirers, of which Boris is definitely one,” a source said.[NYP | Sunday Times of London] – Christopher Cameron

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New York hipsters are being encouraged to move to Detroit

April 5, 2015, 8:00 am
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detroit-billboards-in-new-york

A Detroit billboard in NYC

New York residents may have noticed new billboards throughout the city encouraging them to move to Detroit. There’s one in Soho, another at the Ace Hotel in Midtown, and the other two billboards are in Bushwick. One example reads, “Detroit: Just west of Bushwick” while another says, “Detroit: Be left alone” below a rainbow.

“I think Detroit is a compelling place for people to be moving,” explained Philip Kafka of Prince Media Co., the boutique billboard company behind the campaign, to Business Insider. “I can do things there as a young guy that I could never imagine doing in New York or any other major market in the US.”

Kafka is currently opening a Thai restaurant along with a few partners in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood which will be called KATOI, and is trying to get people to work there. “We plan to hire between 15 and 20 people,” one of the co-partners in KATOI, Courtney Henriette, told Metro Times. “We are looking for general kitchen and service staff.”

Screen-Shot-2015-04-05-at-9.06

And while part of the campaign is to drum up awareness for the upcoming restaurant, New York-based Kafka said another, separate campaign is to encourage people — particularly artists and young creatives — to move to the financially troubled city. Kafka himself owns property in Detroit, and believes it is on the rise.

Screen Shot 2015-04-05 at 9.06.56 AM

“Every time people find a neighborhood in New York, ‘the man’ moves there,” he told us. “You always have to keep moving east or west. Bushwick was east of Williamsburg, which was east of the Lower East Side, and so on.”

Detroit, he says, is merely going a little west instead. Kafka also insists that the scene is becoming more hip and appealing to millennials.

Screen Shot 2015-04-05 at 9.07.15 AM

“Detroit is a lot more spread out than New York, so it’s hard to see what’s happening,” he said. “But once it’s connected and people see what Detroit is about, it’s new and unexpected.”

“It also has a great history, and we can never ignore that,” Kafka added.

Henriette agrees, and told Metro News that the right kind of New Yorkers will “recognize the value in Detroit.”

Time will tell whether the romantic billboards will encourage a new wave of residents to uproot from their tiny, overpriced apartments and make their way to Detroit, but for now at least it has it’s own hashtag #movetodetroit.

Screen-Shot-2015-04-05-at-9.07

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Robert A.M. Stern talks “poor doors” and De Blasio

April 5, 2015, 9:00 am
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Robert A.M. Stern and Bill de Blasio

Robert A.M. Stern and Bill de Blasio

Robert A.M. Stern, dean of the Yale School of Architecture, has designed some of the most exclusive buildings in – or coming to – New York City. Having designed 15 Central Park West, as well as a trio of super tall towers – 520 Park Avenue, 30 Park Place and 220 Central Park South – the 75-year-old architect gave the New York Post his two cents on class divides, “poor doors” and housing policy.

Asked what he thought of the loss of mixed-income building and the “current mutation to a rich door/poor dynamic,” Stern said, “It’s one of the most complicated problems we have to solve.”

Pressed on his opinion of the notorious “poor door,” Stern shrugged. “If they have a nice apartment and they can afford it and it is a safe building that’s well managed, they don’t have to enter the same lobby. I have no problem if they come in the same lobby with me either.”

As for Mayor Bill de Blasio, Stern remains suspicious:

“I think the mayor is a very well-intentioned man in many respects. Sometimes, I think his intentions are naively realized. […] We have these housing projects all over the city which were the best in the world when they were built in the 1930s to the ’50s, but they did isolate low-income people away from the city and certainly away from people of other income groups. […] I’m very suspicious of the efficacy of these ideas.” [NYP] – Christopher Cameron

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Two athletes list their SoFla homes: Kevin Durant, Asante Samuel

April 5, 2015, 10:00 am
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Kevin Durant and his 900 Biscayne Bay condo

Kevin Durant and his 900 Biscayne Bay condo

From the South Florida Website: Two athletes just put their South Florida homes on the market: basketball celebrity Kevin Durant and former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel. [more]

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Sharif El-Gamal sued for alleged illegal rental

April 5, 2015, 11:00 am
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Sharif El-Gamal and 69 Leonard Street

Sharif El-Gamal and 69 Leonard Street

Developer Sharif El-Gamal is accused of illegally renting a Tribeca gallery for months. The landlord alleges that El-Gamal racked up safety violations from the city and caused at least one resident to leave.

El-Gamal and his brother, Adham El-Gamal, are “sophisticated” real estate players, claims landlord GG1 LLC in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit, who should have know better than to use the ground floor retail space at 69 Leonard Street for religious gatherings and “loud parties.”

They are also accused of holding “religious classes” for children in a basement that didn’t have proper fire exits, according to the New York Post. The FDNY even issued a violation.

El-Gamal is best known for stirring up controversy with his plans to develop a Muslim community center near the World Trade Center. He is currently developing an Islamic museum at the same site, at 51 Park Place, and an adjacent luxury condo tower at 45 Park Place.

El-Gamal denies renting space in 69 Leonard, but GG1 claims he used a “front” company “to shield [his] own personal liability with respect to [his] illegal conduct.” GG1 is seeking $372,000 in damages. [NYP] – Christopher Cameron

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Big makeovers of miniscule backyards

April 5, 2015, 12:00 pm
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Renovated backyards

Renovated backyards

From Luxury Listings NYC: If you are lucky enough to have a backyard in NYC, it’s likely no bigger than a few hundred square feet. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pack in a lot of style. Here are four backyard design inspirations from around the world via Dwell. [more]

 

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Sagaponack estate lists for $45M

April 5, 2015, 1:00 pm
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71-jared-lane

71 Jared Lane and Dick Grasso

An 8.7-acre property in Sagaponack has hit the market asking $45 million.

The estate belongs to Richard Grasso, former head of the New York Stock Exchange. The 7,000-square-foot house features seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms, according to Curbed.

And while the house sits on 1.9 acres, the listing includes are four vacant pond-front building lots between 1.4 and 1.9 acres each.

Sotheby’s Frederick Butti has the listing. [Curbed] – Christopher Cameron

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Iconic GV pub faces yet another legal hurdle

April 5, 2015, 2:00 pm
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86 Bedford Street

86 Bedford Street

Legendary West Village speakeasy, Chumley’s, is facing yet another legal roadblock on the path to reopening.

The bar — a favorite dive of literary giants like Norman Mailer and F.Scott Fitzgerald — closed back in 2007 when work at an adjacent building caused a shared wall to collapse.

Since then, attempts to reopen have been repeatedly blocked by lawsuits from noise-sensitive neighbors.

Last Augest, a Manhattan judge has tossed a lawsuit that attempted to block Chumley’s at 86 Bedford Street from reopening. Nearly 50 locals argued that the bar attracted noisy, late-night patrons. They are now appealing the case, according to the New York Post.

They argue that because the bar was closed for more than two that it loses its right to be grandfathered into the location.

“It’s not the old F. Scott Fitzgerald crowd,” said lawyer Barry Mallin, who represents the neighbors. “It’s the bridge and tunnel crowd and they’re very, very noisy.”

Nevertheless, the bar is going “full steam ahead” on construction and could reopen “before the fall,” said William Poppe, a lawyer for owner Jim Miller. [NYP] – Christopher Cameron

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April 6, 2015, 4:30 am
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St. Patrick’s Cathedral looks to change air rights transfer rules

April 6, 2015, 5:00 am
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From left: St. Patrick's Cathedral and Central Synagogue

From left: St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Central Synagogue

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is talking to the city in hopes of changing the rules regarding air rights transfers from landmarked buildings. 

The Archdiocese of New York, together with St. Bartholemew’s Episcopal Church and Central Synagogue, are hoping to sell their air rights to developers who own properties that are not directly adjacent to the landmarked houses of worship, according to the Wall Street Journal. St. Patrick’s, which is surrounded by tall buildings and has trouble finding a spot to transfer its rights to, has about 1.2 million square feet of development rights.

“As much flexibility as possible is needed to give these stranded landmarks the opportunity to sell some of their development rights,” David Brown, the archdiocese’s director of real estate, said at a recent conference, according to the newspaper.

The city’s rules regarding the transfer of air rights from landmarked buildings stems from a program created in 1968. Under the program’s current rules, air rights transfers from landmarked buildings have to go through the city’s public review process.

Landmarks often don’t have available sites to transfer the rights to, while developers were hesitant to go through the formal review process. Only three new projects have been built with transferred air rights since 1990, according to the Journal. [WSJ] — Claire Moses

 

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26 contracts signed for $4M or more last week

April 6, 2015, 5:30 am
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From left: The penthouse at 158 Mercer Street and Jon Bon Jovi

From left: The penthouse at 158 Mercer Street and Jon Bon Jovi

The New York City luxury market saw 26 contracts for $4 million or more signed last week.

Jon Bon Jovi’s $37.5 million penthouse at 158 Mercer Street was the biggest contract, according to the Olshan Realty luxury report. His Soho unit, which originally listed for $42 million in 2013, includes six bedrooms, two kitchens, two fireplaces as well as three landscaped terraces. The roughly 7,450-square-foot duplex also includes a screening room, 11-foot ceilings and arched windows. Bon Jovi bought the unit for $24 million in 2007.

The second largest contract last week was an apartment at the Plaza Hotel for $19.9 million. The apartment originally listed for $25 million in August. The three-bedroom unit includes a maid’s room, four-and-a-half bathrooms and a formal dining room. The unit spans 4,283 square feet. The owner paid $12 million for the apartment in 2009.

The third week of March saw 27 contracts signed for $4 million or more. [Olshan Realty] — Claire Moses

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The dirt on NYC’s soaring land values

April 6, 2015, 6:00 am
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NYC-Land-Prices

(Credit: Noah McDonough)

From the April issue: Much ink has been spilled about the skyrocketing price of New York City land. Judged against almost every real estate measure in the market, land prices are through the roof — and that’s even as values for co-ops, condos, rentals and office space are soaring. [more]

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Luxury rentals offer residents special perks

April 6, 2015, 6:30 am
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From left: A Manhattan nightclub and the Instrata Lifestyle Residences

From left: A Manhattan nightclub and the Instrata Lifestyle Residences

New York’s renters are increasingly getting the V.I.P. treatment.

Developers of luxury rentals are persuading their tenants, as well as attracting new ones, by offering perks that include a private tour of Central Park, premier seats at a basketball game or access to Manhattan nightclubs, the New York Times reported.

“If you want to increase the likelihood of tenants renewing, you really have to give them something more,” Rob Neiffer, a director at Invesco Real Estate, told the newspaper. Invesco owns the Instrata Lifestyle Residences, a portfolio of luxury rental buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The buildings include free wine tastings for residents at a local wine shop as well as an in-house event coordinator, according to the Times.

The special amenities are supposed to give residents the idea that they’re getting an experience that can’t be found elsewhere.

The special privileges help justify Manhattan’s rising rents. The median monthly rent in Manhattan rose 8.9 percent to $3,375 in February, the newspaper reported. New amenities include perks that take place outside of the buildings, such as tickets to museums and access to invitation-only parties.

“We’ve always done ‘meet your neighbors on the roof deck,” Michael Fazio, founder of Abigail Michaels — a company that provides concierge services to developers and management companies — told the Times. “In the last two years, it’s become more and more sophisticated.”

Last year, the Related Companies offered residents in some of the developer’s luxury developments V.I.P cards that would help them bypass lines at nightclubs in the Meatpacking District. Residents can also use that card to make last minute reservations at busy, popular restaurants. [NYT] — Claire Moses

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The Wrap: A tour of the forgotten places on Coney Island, what you didn’t know about the Time-Life Building … and more

April 6, 2015, 7:00 am
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The Time Life building in a recent episode of Mad Men

The Time-Life Building on an episode of “Mad Men”

1. Take a tour of these forgotten places on Coney Island [Forgotten NY]
2. Tax deductions for renters and owners in NYC [BrickUnderground]
3. Smorgasburg returns for the season [Gothamist]
4. Brooklyn Heights businesses use Clinton for their marketing [NYT]
5. Barry’s Bootcamp to open on the Upper West Side [Crain’s]
6. John Loscalzo is the best kind of neighborhood blogger [NYO]
6. Things you didn’t know about the Time-Life Building [Gothamist]

— Claire Moses

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The week in luxury: A map of NYC’s priciest apartment sales

April 6, 2015, 7:30 am
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Brookfield refinancing 245 Park Avenue for $1B

April 6, 2015, 8:00 am
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CEO of Brookfield Property Partners Ric Clark and 245 Park Avenue

Brookfield Property Partners is increasing its Bank of China loan on 245 Park Avenue to $1 billion.

The loan on the block-long office tower in Midtown was previously $800 million, the New York Observer reported. The deal will provide Brookfield with an “additional cash-out advance,” and the loan-to-value ratio on the property will remain below 50 percent, a source told the newspaper.

The original Bank of China loan on 245 Park Avenue in November 2010 was one of the largest commercial mortgages on a single property to have been secured at the time post-financial crisis. It was also the largest loan ever made by Bank of China’s New York City branch at the time.

Tenants in the 1.7 million-square-foot tower include Major League Baseball, Wisdom Tree Investments, Heineken USA and Angelo Gordon & Co. [NYO] — Tess Hofmann

 

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City to hold tax lien sale in May

April 6, 2015, 8:30 am
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New York’s homeowners will have to pay their unpaid property taxes before May 15, or they could be at risk of losing their properties.

The city is holding a tax lien sale on May 15, when it will sell off unpaid property tax bills, water bills and other unpaid charges against properties to investors, according to the New York Post. Investors can then hike up interest rates, which in turn could force families into foreclosure, according to the newspaper.

This year’s lien sale list includes 24,181 properties, 16,121 of which are single-family homes, condos and co-ops, according the Center for New York City Neighborhoods.

Last year, the city sold 2,729 tax liens for one- to three-family homes at an average of $12,000, according to the Post. Between 2009 and 2012, between 4,000 and 5,000 liens were sold each year. Value for those years ranged from $70 million to $110 million per year.

Homeowners are often not aware that they can negotiate a payment plan with the Department of Finance by calling 311. Some groups — such as senior citizens and veterans — are eligible for exemptions.

“The most important thing is that folks figure out how to resolve the outstanding debt now, before it goes into the lien sale,” Christie Peale, executive director of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, told the newspaper. [NYP] — Claire Moses

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Revealed: Inside JDS and PMG’s 111 West 57th Street

April 6, 2015, 9:00 am
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111 West 57th Street Interior

111 West 57th Street interior view (Credit: Property Markets Group)

The interior of JDS Development and Property Markets Group’s super-skinny 111 West 57th Street has been revealed.

A rendering of a living room at 111 West 57th Street

A rendering of a living room at 111 West 57th Street

The building will stand 80 stories tall when completed and include 60 residences starting at $14 million, according to New York YIMBY. The renderings show the building’s sweeping views over Central Park as well as perimeter walls wrapped in terra cotta and bronze.

A rendering of the entrance at 111 West 57th Street (Credit: Property Markets Group)

A rendering of the entrance at 111 West 57th Street (Credit: Property Markets Group)

The spire — the world’s skinniest residential tower — will stand 1,428 feet tall, which is a slight increase from the previously reported height of 1,421 feet. [NY YIMBY] — Claire Moses

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April 6, 2015, 9:30 am
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Related, Ponte to build 107-unit rental in Tribeca

April 6, 2015, 9:45 am
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460 Washington

Jeff Blau (credit: STUDIO SRIVO) and 460 Washington Street in Tribeca

The Related Cos. and Ponte Equities are building a 10-story rental property at 460 Washington Street in Tribeca.

The 107-unit building, located between Watts Street and Canal Street, is being designed by BKSK Architects, and 20 percent of the units will be affordable, according to the New York Observer. Ismael Leyva Architects is the architect of record and responsible for designing the apartment interiors.

The project, slated for completion by early next year, will feature a gym, lounge and party space, rooftop garden, underground parking, and a day care facility.

The units will have “wonderful river views” facing the West Side Highway, BKSK partner George Schieferdecker told the newspaper, adding that the building’s design with have “two very distinct sides to it” – a “glass and metal” façade on the side facing the Hudson River, and a take on Tribeca’s “older brick, big-windowed manufacturing buildings” on the opposite side.

Related’s first filed plans for the project in 2012. Department of Buildings filings showed plans for a building with just over 140,000 square feet.

Last year, the developer also purchased a six-parcel development site in Tribeca from Ponte, a major landlord in Tribeca, for $115.3 million. Related subsequently announced plans for a 46-unit, 152,000-square-foot condo building at one of the parcels, 268 West Street. [NYO] — Rey Mashayekhi

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