Knickerbocker Village, a Depression-era affordable housing development in the Two Bridges section of the Lower East Side, has come under new ownership, according to a deed that appeared in the city register Wednesday.
L+M Fund Management, an affiliate of Larchmont-based L+M Development Partners, officially scooped up the 1,600-unit complex from Manhattan-based Stellar Management for $84.5 million April 25 after a 2022 lawsuit reportedly derailed the long-planned sale, records show. It's unclear for how long Stellar had owned the complex, and it was previously owned by Apollo Global Management until 2007, records show. Some tenants at the 10-20 Monroe St. development — one of the first in the country to receive federal funding — fought the takeover because they argued it would encourage the new owners to kick out old tenants for higher-paying renters, The Real Deal reported.
But the suit was dismissed many months ago, according to the tenants' attorney, Seth Miller, a partner at the firm Collins, Dobkin & Miller LLP, and the documents have now been signed. Under the new deal, which was executed by the Knickerbocker Village Tenants Association, L+M Fund Management and the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 100% of the rental units across the 12-building complex will remain permanently affordable. And unlike the structure under previous ownership, existing tenants will not be subject to arbitrary rent increases, according to James Yolles, a spokesman for L+M Fund Management.
Yolles added that the deal will "provide urgently needed capital improvements."
For new residents moving into the complex, rents will be offered at a range of income restrictions with an average of 80% of the area median income, which for a family of three is $111,840. L+M Fund Management also secured nearly 400 Section 8 vouchers for the development's lowest-income residents, Yolles said. And the firm plans to put $55 million toward renovating the sprawling, red-brick development, including by adding Americans With Disabilities Act accessible entrances, replacing the roofs and upgrading both its heating and electrical systems, he said.
Stellar Management did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
More than 1,650 law school graduates are on their way to practicing law in New York after passing the New York State Bar Examination in February.
With 3,962 test-takers, the overall pass rate clocked in at 42%, up 2% from last year. That share is significantly higher for first-time test-takers who attended American Bar Association-approved law schools, with that subset of examinees passing at a rate of 71%.
Whether a student studied law at an ABA-approved law school in New York or elsewhere in the U.S. did not translate to significant discrepancies in success on the state-specific exam.
Of the 418 graduates of New York law schools who took the exam for the first time in February, 72% passed, outperforming their 338 counterparts from out-of-state ABA-approved law schools by just 3%.
Pass rates on the New York exam were much lower for foreign-educated candidates, though. Approximately 1,900 applicants fell into that category, just 35% of whom passed. First-time foreign-educated examinees fared fairly better with a pass rate of 45%.
Repeat test-takers also fared worse. Of the 2,575 repeat examinees, just 33% passed.
The bar is administered twice a year, typically in July and February. The summer exam is always the more popular option because more students graduate in the spring, and the prevailing wisdom is to take the exam as soon after graduation as possible. Less than half as many people who took the July 2023 bar exam in New York took the February 2024 exam.
The overall pass rate for the July 2023 exam was 66%, with first time test-takers from New York's ABA-approved schools passing 83% of the time, trailing out-of-state counterparts by 5%.
New York City is looking for creative ways to repurpose outdoor pool space during the fall and winter. The city’s Parks Department on Thursday issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI), seeking innovative ways to reimagine six outdoor pool decks for recreation, services, programming, and concessions during the off-season, from October through March. “Our [...]
The post NYC looks to activate outdoor pool space during the off-season first appeared on 6sqft.
Crain's hosted its second annual Women of Influence luncheon on May 1 to recognize some of the city’s leading ladies. The event, held at the Marriott Marquis, brought together a group of more than 250 to celebrate this year’s 11 individual honorees, including Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City; Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters; Michelle Morse, the city’s chief medical officer; and FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.
Crain’s also recognized women and organizations who were nominated as mentors, rising stars and women-forward workplaces for their role in building a business community where women can grow.
Among the honorees was actress and labor leader Fran Drescher, whose keynote speech encouraged the crowd to embrace qualities like empathy and vulnerability that are typically discouraged in leadership positions.
Law firm Sullivan & Worcester has relocated its Midtown office and leased 20% less space.
The firm with 52 New York-based attorneys moved to 1251 Sixth Ave. from 1633 Broadway, a short walk away on West 50th Street.
The new space at 42,000 square feet is smaller but has a view of Rockefeller Center and a “fun and collaborative” environment, managing partner David Danovitch said. The rent is also lower than at 1633 Broadway, though Danovitch wouldn’t say by how much. More importantly, the office is a touch closer to Grand Central Terminal.
“We wanted to be a bit more centrally located, a little bit easier to get to,” he said.
Law firms have become prime tenants for office landlords with space to fill. The firms typically don’t pay top dollar but do tend to fill up the middle floors of office towers. A return-to-office survey by the Partnership for New York City last fall showed law firms had average daily attendance of 65%, the same as finance and the most of any profession except real estate, at 75%.
Several major law firms may call the movers in the years ahead, including Willkie Farr & Gallagher, whose lease for 300,000 square feet at 787 Seventh Ave. expires in 2027. Ropes & Gray’s lease for 330,000 square feet at 1211 Sixth Ave also expires in 2027. Also looking for space are Goodwin Procter and Covington & Burling, both located in the New York Times Building on Eighth Avenue across from the Port Authority bus terminal.
Cravath Swaine & Moore is moving this summer to 2 Manhattan West from Worldwide Plaza, a hefty blow to the Eighth Avenue building.
Sullivan & Worcester’s new office building is owned by Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan. The 54-floor tower’s lobby includes an artist-authorized replica of a tapestry by Pablo Picasso.
Danovitch said the goal is for the new office to replace Boston as the firm’s largest. The firm is contemplating an expansion into Hong Kong.
“New York is the gateway for what we’re trying to do,” he said.
A billionaire developer who for years has been ensnared in legal trouble for allegedly defaulting on loans now must give up his stake in a Madison Avenue office building that will be auctioned off in two weeks, according to a court notice last month.
Ben Ashkenazy, who heads Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., recently had his ground lease at 635 Madison Ave. foreclosed on as a result of a lawsuit brought in 2021 by plaintiffs Wilmington Trust and Miami-based property management company LNR Partners after Ashkenazy failed to make payments. The court issued a judgment of $99.7 million, and the property will be sold at auction May 15, according to a New York state Supreme Court ruling.
The 150,000-square-foot building at the corner of East 59th Street is home to medical offices as well as retailers Baccarat, Suit Supply and Montblanc, according to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. The tenants were not named in the suit and will not be affected by the foreclosure, according to court records.
SL Green, billed as New York's largest commercial landlord, had owned the 1950s-era, 19-story building before selling it to L&L Holding Co. for $153 million in 2018, city records show. But Ashkenazy still owned the property's ground lease through 2048.
Next door at 625 Madison Ave., Ashkenazy found himself in a similar situation a few years back. Following another foreclosure auction, SL Green was able to seize the entire property after initially owning just the physical building while Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. controlled the land underneath it. The full price SL Green paid for the property could not immediately be determined by press time, but Crain's reported last year that the commercial landlord was able to acquire it in part after purchasing Ashkenazy's $195 million loan he had borrowed against the property. And then late in 2023 SL Green sold the Midtown tower for $632.5 million in what was one of the largest deals of the year, Crain's reported at the time.
The plaintiffs' attorney, Scott Tross, a partner at the New Jersey-based firm Herrick, Feinstein LLP, declined to comment, and attempts to reach both Ashkenazy and his attorneys were unsuccessful.
A billionaire developer who for years has been ensnared in legal trouble for allegedly defaulting on loans now must give up his stake in a Madison Avenue office building that will be auctioned off in two weeks, according to a court notice last month.
Ben Ashkenazy, who heads Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., recently had his ground lease at 635 Madison Ave. foreclosed on as a result of a lawsuit brought in 2021 by plaintiffs Wilmington Trust and Miami-based property management company LNR Partners after Ashkenazy failed to make payments. The court issued a judgment of $99.7 million, and the property will be sold at auction May 15, according to a New York state Supreme Court ruling.
The 150,000-square-foot building at the corner of East 59th Street is home to medical offices as well as retailers Baccarat, Suit Supply and Montblanc, according to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. The tenants were not named in the suit and will not be affected by the foreclosure, according to court records.
SL Green, billed as New York's largest commercial landlord, had owned the 1950s-era, 19-story building before selling it to L&L Holding Co. for $153 million in 2018, city records show. But Ashkenazy still owned the property's ground lease through 2048.
Next door at 625 Madison Ave., Ashkenazy found himself in a similar situation a few years back. Following another foreclosure auction, SL Green was able to seize the entire property after initially owning just the physical building while Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. controlled the land underneath it. The full price SL Green paid for the property could not immediately be determined by press time, but Crain's reported last year that the commercial landlord was able to acquire it in part after purchasing Ashkenazy's $195 million loan he had borrowed against the property. And then late in 2023 SL Green sold the Midtown tower for $632.5 million in what was one of the largest deals of the year, Crain's reported at the time.
The plaintiffs' attorney, Scott Tross, a partner at the New Jersey-based firm Herrick, Feinstein LLP, declined to comment, and attempts to reach both Ashkenazy and his attorneys were unsuccessful.
Leases
Leather goods company inks showroom lease near Empire State Building
Address: 366 Fifth Ave., Manhattan
Landlord: Joseph P. Day Realty
Tenant: Mundi Westport Group
Lease size: 10,800 square feet
Lease length: 12 years
Asking rent: $58 per square foot
Asset type: Retail
Brokers: Newmark’s Brian Waterman, Lance Korman and David Waterman represented the tenant. Colliers’ Michael Joseph, Aidan Campbell and Jordy Elardo represented the landlord.
Sales
Controversial multilot Spice Factory site in Crown Heights changes hands
Address: 124 Montgomery St., Brooklyn
Seller: Daryl Hagler
Buyer: Yitzchok Schwartz
Sale price: $64 million
Asset type: Development site
Read more about the deal here.
Financings
Unique Developers secures financing for Williamsburg and Borough Park sites
Address: 291 Kent Ave. and 1055-1065 63rd St., Brooklyn
Owner: Yidel and Mayer Hirsch
Lender: Levon NY MXXIV LLC
Loan amount: $16.5 million
Asset types: Retail and office
Planned 131-unit Mount Eden tower scores construction financing
Address: 1351 Jerome Ave., Bronx
Owner: Sam Rubin
Lender: Popular Bank
Loan amount: $45 million
Asset type: Multifamily