The Commercial Observer - May 11, 2010

The lead indicaTorSam chandan ParsesMayor’s new Budget

leaSe BeaT717 Fifth avenue80 Pine Street ❯❯

May 11, 2010 The Weekly NeWspaper of NeW york’s CommerCial real esTaTe iNdusTry $7.00

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claSh oF The TiTanSdurst, Zuckerman and ross

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observer.com | the commercial observer2 May 11, 2010

4 The Week in Real EstateBy Roland Li, Dana Rubinstein and Eliot BrownThree heavies vie for private stake of One World Trade; SL Green does two deals with the Canadians.

12 Concrete ThoughtsBy Robert KnakalWhat’s been holding invest-ment sales back, and where they’re headed now.

14 The Lead IndicatorBy Sam ChandanThe mayor’s released his bud-get, complete with service cuts. Now what?

16 The Op-EdBy Steven SpinolaBe vigilant, real estate! A lot ahead as government at all lev-els tinkers.

18 CalendarBy Jotham SederstromThe week ahead in events.

19 Lease BeatBy Roland Li and Emily Geminder* 717 Fifth Avenue* 30 Orchard Street * 655 Madison AvenueAnd dozens more of the latest commercial leases in New York.

26 Observer Power 100Our annual list of the 100 most powerful people in New York real estate.

FASTERFORWARD

COLLIERS INTERNATIONALFIRSTSERVICE WILLIAMS IS NOW

in this week’s issue Vol. 2, no. 18

Jody and Douglas Durst, No. 8 in the Power 100.

ON THE COVER: Photo-illustration by Joe Zeff Design.

the commercial observer | observer.com May 11, 2010 3

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Jared Kushner, Publisher

Robyn Weiss, Associate Publisher

Kyle Pope, Editorial Director

Tom Acitelli, Editor

Eliot Brown, Dana Rubinstein, Staff Writers

Robert Knakal, Sam Chandan, Columnists

Jotham Sederstrom, Emily Geminder, Roland Li Contributing Writers

Nancy Butkus, Art Director

Tyler Rush, Production Manager

Chris Cronis, Copy Editor

Peter Lettre, Photo Editor

Lisa Medchill, Advertising Production

Christopher Barnes, President, Observer Media Group

Barry Lewis, Exec. Vice President, Observer Media Group

Brian Cohen, General Counsel

Steve Goldberg, Senior Vice President Sales

Ken Newman, Director of Classified Advertising

the week in real estate may 3 - may 10

Clash of the titans Over One world trade

In late April, the race to buy a stake of One World Trade Center narrowed to three old names in New York real estate.

The trio left to fight it out, down from an original six: Mort Zucker-man, Douglas Durst and Stephen Ross—the chairmen of Boston Properties, the Durst Organiza-tion and the Related Companies, respectively. Each has amassed a giant war chest intended to buy up new properties, and each pro-claims they covet the idea of being the public face for what will be the city’s tallest building.

The contest is less about the fi-nancials—each has offered around $100 million in a deal that could bring a greater return than a stan-dard equity stake—and more about bringing in a big name with the ability to score tenants and help guide construction for the government-developed building still largely known as the Freedom Tower.

According to multiple people familiar with discussions between the Port Authority, the tower’s developer, and the bidders, their respec-tive pitches have highlighted the following:

• Mr. Ross, the builder of the Time War-ner Center and owner of the Miami Dolphins, has positioned himself as a seasoned builder who works well with government and has an

international presence (Related has noted that it has offices in Chi-na and the Middle East.) He has partnered on the deal with David Levinson, chairman of L&L Prop-erties and a former office broker, and people involved say Mr. Ross has been an aggressive salesman.

• Mr. Zuckerman has pushed his experience as a national office developer and landlord, one who works extensively with govern-ment tenants—One World Trade is slated to be more than one-third filled with federal and state offices. He nearly put up a tower on Eighth Avenue this past cycle before one of the two anchor ten-ants dropped out, and he has a significant presence in Boston and Washington.

• Mr. Durst has advertised his company’s recent successes. He built and fully rented out two gi-ant midtown office towers, most

recently the highly successful Bank of Amer-ica tower in midtown. Mr. Durst tends not to do layoffs at his company, and thus the leas-ing and construction team that worked on Bank of America is still in place.

In effect, the Port Authority is looking for a building manager with a small stake—a household name in the real estate world who will be able to draw both international and lo-cal tenants.

“We really do want a private spokesper-son for this project, and we want to know that

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there’s going to be very significant allocation of time from these developers,” said Tara Sta-com, vice chairman at Cushman & Wakefield, the firm handling leasing for the tower and ad-vising on the developer sale. “This is a global icon, and we intend to brand it as such.”

For Messrs. Durst and Zuckerman, the re-cent history of bidding on major public proj-ects may be troubling: Mr. Ross tends to win.

Related, which seems to bid on most every large development going on in the city, edged out Mr. Durst to win control of the 26-acre West Side rail yards in 2008, and then tried to woo the tenant Mr. Durst had signed to his los-ing bid: Condé Nast. In 2005, Mr. Ross bested a bid by Mr. Zuckerman to expand Penn Station into the Farley Post Office, a project that also envisioned a new office tower.

The three also once courted a single tenant in a contest a decade back, according to a New York Times article then: All three offered plans to build a tower for Random House. Again, Mr. Ross won.

Here, however, he has less experience than the other two in building office towers—al-though his partner, Mr. Levinson, owns sig-nificant office space—and he also has far more going on elsewhere, which could prove a dis-traction.

The next stop for the developers: the Port Authority board. The authority, which expects to take a loss on the tower given its tremen-dous $3.2 billion cost, expects that the teams will each present to board members before its June meeting, when it hopes to make a selec-tion. —Eliot Brown

SL Green Covers Deals with Maple Leaf

SL Green, New York’s largest commer-cial landlord, has found some deep-pocketed funders north of the border.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages a staggering $123.9 billion in pension money, is SL Green’s joint investment partner in two of the three significant transac-tions that the REIT announced on May 10.

SL Green is selling a 45 percent interest in 1221 Avenue of the Americas to the fund for $576 million; and the fund is taking a 45 percent stake in 600 Lexington Avenue, the scraper SL Green just bought from the Cali-fornia-based Hines for $193 million. SL Green also announced a deal to acquire from Shoren-stein Properties 125 Park Avenue, overlooking Grand Central, for $330 million.

The $500 million in net proceeds that SL Green said it expects to make from the 1221 Avenue of the Americas interest sale will be used in the purchases of 600 Lex and 125 Park.

In a statement, SL Green’s CEO Marc Holli-day made a point of acknowledging the firm’s new partnership with the Canadians: “In the case of 600 Lexington Avenue, we hope that this transaction marks the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship with CP-PIB.”

The beginning of a beautiful friendship? —Dana Rubinstein

the week in reaL eState

Stat of the Week

Echo in the Flatiron

With just under 40 million square feet of inventory, the Flatiron submarket is by far the largest in Midtown South. With few Class A buildings, it has been the 25 million–square–foot Class B segment (second largest of the 14 submarkets in Manhattan) that has been the neighborhood’s engine. That engine has sputtered lately, with the Class B vacancy rate climbing to 16.2 percent in April, up 100 basis points from March and the highest figure in 15 years.

What’s responsible? Reed Elsevier adding 68,000 square feet of sublease space to the 113,000 feet it already had on the market at 360 Park Avenue South. The Class B Flatiron asking rent, not surprisingly, has taken a nosedive, closing April at $39.60 a square foot, 27.1 percent off the record high of $54.30 set in June 2007.

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East Harlem Project Under Way

Construction started on the first phase of a $700 million multiuse development in East Har-lem, The Real Deal reports. The development, at the corner of 125th Street and Third Avenue, will include 800 housing units, 600 of which will be for low- and middle-income families; 50,000 square feet of retail space; a 98,000-square-foot hotel; and 250,000 square feet of office space. The development has received funding from private investors as well as from the city’s De-partment of Housing Preservation and Develop-ment and the State Department of Housing and Community Renewal.

Report: Hotel Revpar Rising

Manhattan hotel occupancy will increase to 84.4 percent in the next five years, accord-ing to a report by The Real Deal. Revenue per available room, or revpar, will rise to $303 in 2015, after a decline of 6.5 percent this year and 0.5 percent next year. The report used data from the consultancy HVS.

Billy Macklowe Going Solo?

Billy Macklowe is reportedly planning to leave his position running Macklowe Proper-ties, the decades-old concern formed by his father, Harry, that has experienced several financial setbacks in recent years, including the loss of the GM Building. Several sources

told Crain’s that the younger Mr. Macklowe has been scouting office space and recently reached a deal to rent at Tower 56 at 126 East 56th Street—a tower the Macklowes once owned.

JLL Tapped for 350 Madison

Jones Lang LaSalle was selected as the leasing agent for 350 Madison Avenue, a 400,000-square-foot office and retail tower. Available spaces range from 70,000 to 7,000 square feet. Landlord Kenscio Properties is renovating the property, adding a new exte-rior curtain wall and a waterfall in the lobby. Eric Reimer, Barbara Winter, Gregory Green and Mercedes Fernandez of JLL will handle the property.

J.F.K. Warehouse Groundbreaking

Developer Vista Realty Partners is set to break ground on the first industrial ware-house project at Kennedy Airport in more than a decade, reports The New York Times. The air cargo warehouse, which may include office space, will be up to 110,000 square feet on 5 acres on the northern edge of the airport. Asking rents are around $13 per square foot. The industrial market around Kennedy is one of the strongest in the world, according to Co-Star Group.

THE WEEK in REaL ESTaTE


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Midtown at No. 26

London’s West End remains the world’s most expensive office market, but Hong Kong’s Central Business District has risen to second place, according to CB Richard El-lis. Tokyo’s Inner Central is third, Mumbai is fourth and Moscow is sixth. Midtown Man-hattan is just 26th globally, with occupancy costs at $64.51 per square foot. Overall, costs are down 4.6 percent over the 12 months end-ing on March 31. Latin America, led by Brazil, was the only region to increase in costs over that time period.

New School’s New Building

The New School will build a $353 million, 16-story building, the school’s largest con-struction project in Greenwich Village, re-ports The New York Times. The brass-and-glass tower will be at Fifth Avenue, between 13th and 14th streets, with lecture halls, an auditorium, academic spaces and a 600-bed dormitory. The school does not expect much opposition, since it is building on a site that it owns and will not have to demolish private property.

Bonds for Harlem Hotel

Former NFL star Emmitt Smith plans to build a hotel in Harlem, and city officials sup-port awarding $19.8 million in federal tax-ex-empt bonds to fund the project, reports The Wall Street Journal. The project, a 200-room luxury hotel and retail project at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue, would cost $80 million. The New York City Capital Resource Corp., controlled by Mayor Bloomberg, concluded the development team should get financing. A hearing will be held in June, followed by a for-

mal vote. Construction must being by the end of the year to qualify.

Gosin Buys Hauspurgs’ Estate

Newmark Knight Frank principal and CEO Barry Gosin bought the Westchester estate of Eastern Consolidated’s founders, Peter Haus-purg and Daun Paris, for $9.4 million, reports The Real Deal. The 26-acre parcel includes three residential buildings, a pool and a two-story pool house at 617 Croton Lake Road in Bedford Corners. Mr. Hauspurg said the property was too big for him and his wife after their children moved out. The deal closed on April 8.

JLL Poaches Cushman

The top Cushman & Wakefield investment sales team of Richard Baxter, Scott Latham, Ron Cohen and Jon Caplan (pictured l-r) jumped to a similar role at Jones Lang La-Salle. At the same time, Cushman announced that Andrew Merin, a vice chairman of the firm and one of its leading investment sales brokers, would expand his team’s coverage into Manhattan.

tHE wEEk iN rEaL EStatE A LOOK FORWARD

City Sees

Flat Office rents through ’11

Within the Bloomberg admin-istration’s proposed budget, released May 6 for the fiscal year starting July 1, there are some prognostica-tions about the office market for the next year: Rents have hit bottom and will stay flat, as vacancy will rise and then fall.

From the budget summary, created by the Office of Management and Budget:“While employment losses are expected to subside in 2010, there is significant risk that

additional supply will cause the market to stay soft. As a result, vacancy rates will average 12.9 percent in 2010 and only gradually improve in 2011, remaining at an elevated level in the out-years as new supply comes on line. The increased vacancy rate has already caused asking rents across the primary market to fall from an average of $85 per square foot in mid-2008 to $62 per square foot in the first quarter of 2010.

“As vacancy rates stabilize in 2010, asking rents are not expected to fall significantly go-ing forward, but increases are not likely either. Even though the commercial rental market appears to be nearing its trough, commercial sales are expected to improve only slightly compared to the dismal performance in 2009, when only five transactions valued at over $100 million were recorded. Weak credit markets and a general aversion to commercial real estate investment will keep investors at bay in the near term.” —Eliot Brown


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Robert KnakalColumnist

ExEcutivE Summary➤ Sales decline was caused by sup-ply constraint as discretionary sellers withdrew. ➤ They’re returning as advantageous loan terms for distressed properties burn off or mature.➤ The volume of 1031 exchange pur-chases is increasing—another sign of sales volume rising.➤ Sales activity could increase by at least 40 percent this year.

We in the investment-sales sec-tor are painfully aware of the anemic sales volume our mar-

ket experienced in 2009. The number of sales diminished from its peak by 74 percent, and the total dollar vol-ume of sales was off by 91 percent. By any measure, these figures represent-ed record lows for at least 26 years and, perhaps, longer. The perception held by many observers was that this lack of volume was caused by either a lack of demand or a very wide “bid-ask spread,” indicating that the level of expectation of buyers and sellers was sufficiently far apart to bring a halt to trading activity.

It has been my opinion, however, that this lack of volume was caused more by supply constraint than a lack of demand or the oft-mentioned bid–ask spread. There were simply not many properties for sale. Nor-mally, the supply of available prop-erties for sale is fed by discretion-ary sellers. As value began to drop in 2007, these discretionary sellers withdrew from the market. When this happens, distressed sellers usu-ally swoop in to fill the void and add supply to the market. This did not happen in numbers anywhere near what most participants in the mar-ket were expecting.

Fortunately, today we are seeing a loosening in the supply of prop-erties for sale, as distressed assets are beginning to flow in a tangible way, and discretionary sellers are returning to the market. In order to understand why this dynamic is occurring, we should take a look at what caused the supply constraint.

There was never a doubt in any-one’s mind that New York City was chock-full of investment

properties that were fundamentally

underwater. These properties had mortgage-debt balances in excess of their value. Based upon the average reduction in value, from the 2007 peak, of 32 percent and the very high total loan-to-value ratios that were obtainable in 2005 through 2007, in both the sales and refi-nancing markets, Massey Knakal estimated that ap-proximately 15,000 prop-erties were in this nega-tive equity or distressed position. This total repre-sented about 9 percent of the stock of 165,000 New York City properties we track on an annual basis.

On these 15,000 dis-tressed properties, there was approximately $165 billion of mortgage debt, we estimated. Based upon current standards, with today’s values and loan-to-value ra-tios, a conservatively underwritten market would have only $65 billion in debt on these properties. While this may be reality, it is clear that $100 billion will not come out of the market in the form of losses.

The reasons for this include the facts that (1) some of these proper-ties can still cash-flow at 110 percent or 120 percent loan-to-value ratios; (2) some owners have alternative sources of capital and, if they want to own the asset on a long-term ba-sis, can feed a property that is in a negative cash-flow position; and (3) some lenders will modify loans to al-low the existing owners to hold on. Because of these possibilities, we expect total losses to reach $30 bil-lion to $40 billion. About $15 billion in losses have already been realized, so we should have $15 billion to $25 billion to go.

So why haven’t we seen a more significant flow of these distressed assets in the market? The answer: Everything that has happened from a regulatory perspective has al-lowed lenders and special servicers (who are the primary holders of dis-tressed assets) to avoid having to deal with their problem properties. Changes to FASB’s mark-to-market accounting rules are one of the is-sues; another is significant modifica-tions to REMIC guidelines that pro-vide servicers and special servicers

much more latitude in dealing with underwater CMBS loans. Bank regu-lators are allowing portfolio lenders to hold loans on their balance sheets at par even if they know the collater-al for the loan is worth only 60 cents on the dollar. And many transac-tions that are fundamentally under-

water are still hanging on by a thread due to advan-tageous mortgage terms. These include interest-only periods during which no amortization is added to the debt service pay-ment; interest reserves upon which distressed as-sets can stay current even without sufficient current net income; and interest rates floating over LIBOR, which opened the morn-ing of May 10 at 34 basis points.

For example, I analyzed a portfo-lio for a client of mine last week who paid about $100 million for a port-folio a few years ago. The total debt is about $85 million and, today, the properties are worth about $65 mil-lion. Even with a $20 million nega-tive-equity position, the portfolio is cash-flowing because the debt is

floating at 150 over LIBOR. Consid-ering the mortgage rate is 1.84 per-cent, it is not difficult to see how pos-itive cash flow is obtained. Mortgage maturity becomes a critical factor in the fate of these properties. At ma-turity, no lender will extend and pre-tend at such a low interest rate.

As these advantageous loan terms burn off or these loans mature, it will trigger steps likely to bring dis-tressed assets to market. We are al-ready seeing this occur in a substan-tial way.

Consider that Massey Knakal’s Special Assets Group has completed the valuation of nearly 1,200 pieces

of underlying collateral for suspect loans on behalf of lenders and spe-cial servicers thus far in this cycle. From September 2008 through Sep-tember 2009, we obtained just 12 disposition assignments within this sector. Since then, we have been re-tained to sell 78 distressed assets. These assignments have included note sales, short sales and REO sales. Clearly, this increase in distressed-asset flow is palpable.

The reasons for this increased flow are numerous. Profits at banks have been enormous,

as the Fed’s highly accommodative monetary policy is allowing for the recapitalization of the banking in-dustry. These profits have allowed lenders to incrementally write down bad loans, making it less pain-ful to dispose of distressed assets.

As we have been in the downswing of the cycle for more than two years now, we are seeing advantageous loan terms burning off, prompting action. Many foreclosure actions are beginning to run their course, allow-ing lenders to offer deeds on their distressed assets. Note sales are also gaining in popularity, as lenders and special servicers are becoming in-creasingly frustrated with the cum-bersome foreclosure process in New York. This can take two, three or even four years to complete. Lenders and special servicers that operate in states like Texas and Georgia, where the foreclosure process can be com-pleted in 30 to 90 days, can’t fathom the length of the process here. When they become aware of the significant recoveries possible relative to col-lateral value, a note sale becomes an easy decision.

While we are seeing a solid in-crease in the supply of distressed assets, we believe this flow could in-crease substantially if interest rates rise. Many economists argue that the Fed’s exit from the marketplace would increase rates. When the Fed ceased its asset-buying program, which created $1.25 trillion of mort-gage-backed securities and treasury sales, we saw the 10-year T-bill rise from about 3.5 percent to more than 4 percent. About two weeks ago, the Fed announced that a second meth-od of exit would begin soon, as it em-barks on a program to sell nearly $1

trillion of assets over an extended pe-riod. This would normally exert up-ward pressure on rates.

Today, the 10-year has settled back down at 3.6 percent, as the turmoil overseas in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain has created a flight to safety, and the U.S. T-bill is at the top of that list. It will be interesting to see if the recent announcement of an E.U. bailout abates some of this de-mand for quality and safety.

The fundamentals within the mar-ket appear to be improving, as posi-tive absorption in residential and commercial buildings have caused concessions to be reduced, and rents have appeared to stabilize. These improving fundamentals have cre-ated incentive for some discretion-ary sellers to add to the supply of available properties for sale. We are seeing the results of this discretion-ary selling reflected in the increase in 1031 exchange activity. Distressed selling produces no 1031 activity, as there is simply no equity to rein-vest. Discretionary selling produces residual equity, which produces ex-change transactions. This activity had all but evaporated over the past couple of years, but has come roar-ing back based upon the return of discretionary sellers to the market.

The increases in the supply of properties available for sale, from both distressed and discretionary sellers, have thus far been met step-for-step by the excessive demand present in the market. New York families and high-net-worth inves-tors, both domestic and foreign, have been joined by a resurgence of institutional capital, creating tre-mendous demand. Now, 1031 buyers have joined the party.

These dynamics bode well for the balance of 2010 and substantiates the projection we made at the end of last year, that sales activity would increase by at least 40 percent this year. This would be a welcome oc-currence for those of us who lived through 2009 and rely on transaction volume for our livelihood.

[email protected]

Robert Knakal is the chairman and founding partner of Massey Knakal Realty Services and has brokered the sale of more than 1,050 properties in his career.

Discretionary sellers return! Sales activity picks up; further evidence: 1031 exchanges

Spring Thaw

Today, the 10-year T-bill has settled back down at 3.6 per-cent, as the turmoil overseas in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain has cre-ated a flight to safety.

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ExEcutivE Summary➤ Mayor’s proposed $62.9 B. FY 2011 budget included cuts and higher fees for services. ➤ City expenses for the current year projected to be $523 million lower than forecast.➤ The mayor has not pushed for tar-geted tax increases on higher incomes to go along with the cuts.➤ He’s right to have not: High-income New Yorkers can split the city.

The dramatic and often trag-ic events unfolding in Greece have highlighted that the cur-

rent debt crisis is not isolated to the world’s private borrowers. In Europe and in the United States, governments at all levels are having to grap-ple with the consequences of long-standing fiscal mis-management just as house-holds and commercial real estate investors are ad-justing their own balance sheets.

While recent weeks’ at-tention has been focused on Europe and the poten-tial for the Olive Belt’s cri-sis to spill over into global financial markets, our own fiscal challeng-es have been coming to a head on a smaller scale here at home. In the shadows of Greek protests and the stock market roller-coaster ride, the budgetary hurdles still facing New York City were made apparent last week, when the mayor kicked off the next fiscal year’s budget debate.

Our city faces a deficit for the up-coming fiscal year, and our elected officials must determine how to close the gap. And so the mayor’s $62.9 billion fiscal year 2011 budget pro-posal, unveiled May 6, includes myr-iad cuts to city services and higher fees for a host of public services. The city’s teaching rolls may lose as many as 6,400 educators through a combination of attrition and layoffs. In sum total, the budget proposal re-duces city expenditures by just over $600 million, or 1 percent of current spending.

As the mayor’s office has been quick to point out, the city’s pre-dicament follows in part from even deeper cuts in Albany. Grappling with a gaping $9 billion budget shortfall, the governor has proposed a $1.3 billion reduction in state sup-port for the city. The state’s new fis-cal year began on April 1, but dis-agreements in the state capital have precluded passage of a budget in the Legislature. The state has been op-erating under emergency spending

bills since the March 31 deadline for a formal budget. Governor Paterson has threatened to furlough state em-ployees.

Governor Paterson’s office has questioned whether the mayor’s pro-posed cutbacks are necessary. Hard hit by the downturn on Wall Street, and as a result of the proposed state funding cut, the city would face an even larger spending pullback were it not for its relatively more disci-plined management of the public fi-nances to date. In 2008, the city had a cumulative surplus of $8 billion, built up during six years when city operations were in the black.

Although not meeting the requests of every con-stituency, the mayor has been a very able steward of our public purse when few others can say the same. And he has remained pru-dent through the down-turn: Total city expenses for the current year are projected to be $523 mil-lion lower than forecast in January. The city is in im-measurably better health than during the fiscal crisis

of 1975 and the creation of the Mu-nicipal Finance Assistance Corpora-tion (MAC).

To ensure that the city can ulti-mately return to fiscal balance, the mayor has had to embrace

politically unpalatable reductions in services, including the aforemen-tioned pruning of the teaching ranks. And while cuts to libraries, seniors centers and fire companies have served to contain the city’s shortfall, they have not been matched with corresponding tax increases.

Given the current political cli-mate, the absence of targeted tax in-creases for high-income earners and profitable financial-services firms has prompted suggestions of bias. On Friday, The Wall Street Journal quoted City Councilman Brad Land-er as saying that “the mayor is ask-ing children, seniors and families to do all the sacrificing. … The only people the mayor is not asking to share in the sacrifice are the Wall Street banks and hedge funds that cause[d] the economic mess to be-gin with—he’s taking great pains to defend them.”

Mr. Lander’s viewpoint is not unique to this cycle. In his trea-tise on local public finance, “How to Have a Fiscal Crisis,” eminent Wharton finance professor Robert Inman described a recurring theme in the life of our nation’s most ven-

erable cities: “Stagnant or declin-ing private economies create unique pressures on local public officials: hard-pressed taxpayers, concerned investors, worried public employ-ees, and needy residents each make their claim to a share of the shrink-ing real resource base.”

But the mayor is right to avoid seeking an increase in taxes on the city’s highest income earners. While it may seem intuitive that our most well-heeled citizens should contrib-ute even more to the public purse, economics and history show us that following this intuition will under-mine the city and its tax base. Even when imperfectly mobile, house-holds and firms respond to increases in local taxes by locating to other ju-risdictions. Redistributive taxes can-not be implemented at the local lev-el without some loss of the tax base. Mayor Bloomberg describes this readily observable economic phe-nomenon in clear terms: “At some point, you drive them out.”

The New York Fed’s Andrew Haughwout, along with Professor Inman and other colleagues, de-scribes the need for forethought in considering tax increases for high income earners, pointing out that “… elected state and city officials must

recognize the reality of city revenue constraints. A city’s revenue capac-ity is limited by the mobility of its residents and firms.”

In New York City, the mobility of wealthy households is very high given a plethora of options—from Westchester to Connecticut to New Jersey—where the tax-for-service trade-off may be more favorable giv-en any family’s particular circum-

stances. And so in their analysis of the re-

lationship between taxes and rev-enues in New York City, Philadel-phia, Houston and Minneapolis, Mr. Haughwout and his colleagues con-clude that “tax increases unmatched by tax-financed, compensating ser-vice benefits for taxpayers—wheth-er property owners, consumers, or firms—will drive those taxpay-ers from the city. Property values fall, business sales decline and the city’s job base shrinks. To protect city economies, a dollar of taxes paid must be matched by a compensating dollar of public services received.”

At least at the local level, taking from Peter to give to Paul may leave us all wanting.

[email protected]

Sam Chandan, Ph.D., is global chief economist and executive vice presi-dent of Real Capital Analytics and an adjunct professor of real estate at Wharton.

Service cuts abound—understandably—in Bloomberg’s $62.9 B. proposal

The Mayor’s New Budget and the Next Moves

At least at the local level, tak-ing from Peter to give to Paul may leave us all wanting.

THE lEad iNdicaTor

Sam ChandanColumnist

Michael Bloomberg.


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ExEcutivE Summary➤ There are signs of recovery in the New York real estate market.➤ But there are still signs of strug-gle, including higher vacancies and a dearth in financing.➤ Government actions on FIRPTA, 421a and wages could hinder or help nascent recovery.

New York City’s real estate market has shown signs of recovery from the global

economic crisis that rocked our city and industry at the end of 2008. However, our return to the prosperity of a few years ago fac-es serious challenges, as the failed bombing in Times Square and the Dow’s nearly 1,000-point plunge last week should remind us.

Government actions in our control, from tax policy to business regula-tions, could propel or derail our recovery. It

is essential that our industry continues to be vigilant—in Washington, in Albany and in City Hall—on legislative matters to promote

a business climate that encourages new investment and economic ac-tivity.

New York City’s unemployment rate declined in March to 10 percent from 10.2 percent, and job losses ap-pear to have abated. Further, our job losses (169,000, according to New York City’s Office of Management and Budget) were significantly low-er than the 250,000 projected last year, resulting in a less significant impact on our local economy.

According to the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO), these fewer job losses are partly the result of structural changes in the composition of our local employ-ment. Health and education com-

prise a larger share of our city’s employment and appear comparatively recession-proof.

Industry must watch actions in D.C., Albany and downtown

How Government Could Muck Up the Recovery

tHe op-ed paGe

Steven SpinolaGuest

Columnist

tweet weekBy RolaNd li

it’s all about the numbers this week: world-wide office rents, listings, housing permits and employment.

CB Richard ellis (@cbrenyc) ranks the world’s office properties.

Office Rents survey: Midtown Manhattan is North America’s most expensive office market; ranks 26th worldwide http://bit.ly/aPsnCf

7:22 AM May 5th via TweetDeck

Cushman & wakefield (@Cushwak-eNyC) refinanced a hotel.

CWSG has arranged a $212M refi for a 9-hotel portfolio http://tinyurl.com/269jfhc

7:03 AM May 5th via web

Massey knakal (@masseknakal) has new listings.

Listing: 111 Fulton Street, New York, NY - Vacant Financial District commercial condo with 19,102 SF...http://bit.ly/bXIz4v


Check out the video tour of 198 W.10th St. - a Greek revival brownstone located in the heart of the West Village... http://bit.ly/ckVkSq


ReBNy (@rebny) looks at housing per-mits.

Manhattan’s 326 new housing permits issued in March is the borough’s highest monthly total in the past 9 months.

11:30 AM May 7th via HootSuite

Only 1,005 new housing permits were issued in 1Q10, it seems unlikely that new housing per-mits will match last year’s annual total of 5,953.

8:30 AM May 7th via HootSuite

eastern Consolidated (@eastern-consol) sees sublease space disappearing.

More than 1.1 million square feet of sublease space was removed from Manhattan’s office market in the first quarter http://bit.ly/bDvh64


Newmark knight Frank (@New-markkF) tackles unemployment.

USDOL reported 444,000 initial #unemploy-ment claims for week ending May 1, a decrease of 7,000 from last week. http://tiny.cc/z9xbi


Follow us on Twitter @commercial_nyo.


Our economy and the real estate market are still frag-ile. Many parts of our econ-omy are still suffering from devastating impacts of the national recession. We are not expected to return to the employment levels of 2008 for another three years.

Also, the Federal Reserve’s financial-stabilization package has lessened the recession’s impact on New York.

Modest job growth is returning to our city. Employment figures for March indicate a growth of 28,000 jobs (not seasonally adjusted), the second month in a row of growth. The positive change in employment will slowly trickle through our local economy. An important indicator of an improving office market has been the steady decline of available sub-let space. This has helped stabilize the vacancy rate (13.5 percent) and the average asking rent ($50.41) in Manhattan. We have begun to see some owners increase asking rents for high-end space. However, we will need sustained employment growth for more significant office leasing and rent increases to occur. New York’s office market remains the strongest in the nation, according to the mayor’s executive budget docu-ments released last week.

As tourists continue to flock to our city, hotel occupancy levels re-main high, and leisure and hospi-tality employment continue to rise. These visitors and an improving economy have contributed to the improvement we are seeing in the

retail market. In March, national re-tail sales were up 7.6 percent over last year and up 1.6 percent month on month. New York City retail em-ployment in March was up 1.4 per-cent year on year. Similarly, April’s consumer confidence index was at its highest since September 2008. As a result, REBNY’s Spring Re-tail Report notes that average ask-ing rents have started to increase in most of the retail corridors we sur-veyed. Likewise, homes sales in New York City in the first quarter of 2010 are up 52 percent over the past year, signaling that economic activity is returning.

Our economy and the real estate market are still fragile. Many parts of our economy are still

suffering from the devastating im-pacts of the national recession. We are not expected to return to the em-ployment levels of 2008 for anoth-er three years. The budget deficits at the national, state and local level and the prospect of higher taxes are casting a cloud over our recovery.

Office rents are down 25 percent from the peak, and vacancy rates are nearly twice as high today from the peak of the market, in 2008. Large of-

fice-building sales have been virtual-ly nonexistent for the most part since 2008, and financing has been largely unavailable for these transactions, which have in the past generated significant transaction tax revenue. In 2009, New York City transaction (transfer and mortgage recording) tax revenue was $1.25 billion, down

$2 billion (62 percent) from 2007. To avoid losing the momentum

we are generating, we need to make sure that government proposals to address budget deficits do not de-press our nascent recovery. REBNY has been engaged in a wide range of

legislative matters to sustain eco-nomic growth.

In Washington, we have called for amendments to the Foreign Invest-ment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRP-TA), which imposes a gains tax on non-U.S. buyers of real estate. Elimi-nating the gains tax on such transac-tions would provide more liquidity in the market. The proposal to tax the profits distributed to the entity that arranges funding and manages a real estate project, usually the gen-eral partner, at the ordinary income tax rate, not at the capital-gains rate, would impose higher taxes on this crucial real-estate–related activity. This proposed change in the “car-ried interest tax” would weaken our recovery.

In Albany, as part of the budget negotiations, the governor has pro-posed legislation that would de-fer 50 percent of certain tax credits that would be used or refunded over the next three years. This deferral would apply to almost all tax cred-its, including brownfields, rehabili-tation of historic properties, green buildings and low-income housing. This deferral is effectively a tax in-crease and could jeopardize the de-velopment of numerous projects

whose funding has been contingent on the receipt of the credits. We also need Albany to extend the 421a par-tial tax exemption program for new residential construction. We are rec-ommending modest amendments to provide a catalyst for developments stalled since 2008; to induce the con-version of obsolete office buildings to residential use; and to offer build-ing owners a reduction in taxes for keeping low-income units in 80/20 projects permanently affordable.

At City Hall, the City Council in-troduced a bill that would mandate the payment of a prevailing wage to building workers if a developer re-ceives any tax benefit from the city. This bill would seriously undermine the value of the tax exemption that is critical to new development and ma-jor renovation projects.

As the real estate market slowly improves, it will continue to need the help of government to lower taxes, remove restrictions for investment and provide the needed stimulus for the economic activity that does so much to fund the services that are crucial to our city’s future.

Steven Spinola is the president of the Real Estate Board of New York.

the Op-ed page


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By Jotham SederStrom

WedNeSday, may 12Even five years ago, hauling a

gaggle of successful real estate pro-fessionals to an abandoned elevat-ed freight railroad would’ve been a recipe for disaster. But when the New York Commercial Real Estate Women descend on the High Line for a private tour of Manhattan’s newest park, expect nothing short of glamour. … With most brokers pub-licly acknowledging that the worst of the recession is behind them, it seems a bit odd that yet another real estate group is hosting yet another forum about the downturn. But give the folks at the B’nai B’rith Real Es-tate Unit a break when they host its “Surviving and Flourishing in the Downturn” seminar. After all, it’s the only thing anybody really wants to talk about, right? … Referrals, short sales and getting more bang from your listings will be discussed—by real estate trainer Debra Asher, no less—during this seminar hosted by Charles Rutenberg Realty and Continental Home Loans as part of its Professional Education series. … When, in 1975, the New York State Supreme Court struck down Grand Central’s landmark status, the Municipal Art So-ciety and Jacqueline Kenne-dy Onassis went into action, sparking a campaign that would eventually save the vaunted ter-minal from becoming an office tower for Penn Central Railroad. So it’s no surprise that each Wednesday the talented MAS guides return to the scene of near disaster for an informative tour of the terminal’s magnifi-cent Beaux-Arts interiors.

[New York Commercial Real Estate Women High Line tour, Ganesevoort Entrance at Wash-ington Street, 6 p.m., register at www.nycrew.org/events; B’nai B’rith “Surviving and Flourishing in the Downtown” seminar, Cornell Club, 6 East 44th Street, noon, call Aracelis Kuilan at 212-885-7239 or email her at [email protected] for more info; Continental Home Loans “Real Es-tate Professional Education” series, Holiday Inn at MacArthur Airport, 3845 Veterans Memorial Highway, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., 8:30 a.m., call 516-575-7500 for more info; Munic-ipal Art Society Grand Cen-tral walking tour, meet at info booth, main concourse, Grand Central Terminal, 12:30 p.m., www.mas.org]

thUrSday, may 13What do Six Flags Amuse-

ment Park and the entire country of Greece have in common, besides be-ing tourist magnets? Well, for starters, both entities

know a little bit about bankruptcy, which is among the subjects to be discussed when the New York Soci-ety of Security Analysts convenes for a mirth-filled seminar on invest-ing in distressed and defaulted debt and the basics of bankruptcy. Pull up a chair, Greek President Karolos Papoulias! … Juicy nuggets abound when the Real Estate Board of New York hosts its regular “Inside Se-crets of Top Brokers” seminar. … Apparently the first glimpse of sun-light inspired not a few office-dwell-ing real estate professionals to train their eyes on the High Line, Manhat-tan’s newest park. Indeed, not only are the women of NYCREW hosting an event at the elevated park, but so, too, are the gents and damsels of the National Arts Club. The only differ-ence is that the National Arts Club folks will discuss the spot from the comfort of their office. … The Real

Estate Academy, the storied private boys school that inspired Dead Po-et’s Society and most of the films by John Hughes, (pictured) is hosting a “continuing education conference” in which current real estate trends will be discussed. Expect laughs, followed by deep and profound in-sight, when the group meets today at Touro College in Lower Manhat-tan and again on May 17 and 19. … Afterward, stick around the school, grab a cup of coffee and check your

Facebook page for a few hours un-

til a free semi-nar, “Using Technology and Social Network-ing to Mar-

ket Your-self,” begins where

the continuing education confer-ence left off. Later, you’ll be able to

tweet about it on your smart phone. … Dig out your cummerbunds and dinner jackets from the closet when the New York Building Congress honors Douglas Durst, Matthew Goldstein of CUNY and godfather of mouthpieces Howard Ruben-stein at its 89th Annual Leadership Awards. Mr. Rubenstein, we pre-sume, will do most of the speaking, considering that he reps most of the people in attendance. … And finally, after a day spent gallivanting, do something good for a change by at-tending the fifth annual benefit for “Matt’s Promise,” a charity working

to find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. If being good isn’t reason enough, then go just to see Platinum-selling rockers the Fray perform at the event.

[New York Society of Security Analysts seminar, 1540 Broadway, 1 p.m., register at www.nyssa.org; Real Estate Board of New York “In-side Secrets of Top Brokers” series, Mendik Education Center, 570 Lex-ington Avenue, call 212-532-3100 for more info; National Arts Club High Line discussion, National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, 8 p.m., log on to www.nationalartsclub.org for more info; Real Estate Academy “continuing education” conference, the Graduate School of Business at Touro College, 65 Broadway, 9 a.m., call Edreana at 212-262-2662 or

email [email protected] for more info; Touro College “Using Technology and Social Net-working to Market Yourself” semi-nar, Touro College, 65 Broadway, 6 p.m., call Michael Spampinato at 212-742-8770, ext. 2439, for more info; New York Building Congress 89th Annual Leadership Awards, Hilton New York, 1335 Avenue of the Ameri-cas, 11:30 a.m., call 212-481-9099 or email [email protected] for more info; “Matt’s Promise” fifth annual benefit, Cipriani Wall Street, 7 p.m. log on to www.mattspromise.org for more info]

SatUrday, may 15How better to enjoy a Saturday

afternoon than with a tour of the Greenwich Village townhouse acci-dentally blown up by members of the radical Weather Underground and the popular bars where leading art-ists of the ’50s and ’60s shared their venereal diseases? If that’s your poi-son, then the radical tour guides of the Municipal Art Society are at the ready with a “Radical Greenwich Vil-lage” walking tour.

[Municipal Art Society “Radical Greenwich Village” walking tour, meet under the arch at Washington Square Park, 11 a.m., call 212-935-2075 or log on to www.mas.org for more info]

SUNday, may 16If beat poetry and abstract art

isn’t your thing, the guides at the Municipal Art Society have an alter-native in its tour of Staten Island’s historic St. George neighborhood. With monumental Beaux-Arts Stat-en Island Borough Hall and nearby Richmond County Courthouse, at-tendees will be forgetting that bad acid in no time.

[Municipal Art Society “Sunday in St. George” walking tour, meet at the top of the escalators at Staten Island Ferry Terminal in Battery Park, 12:45 p.m., call 212-935-2075 or log on to www.mas.org for more info]

moNday, may 17Real Estate lenders will be do-

ing what they do best—shmoozing, presumably—when members of the Real Estate Lenders Association tee up at the group’s annual golf out-ing. Caddies, be warned: That tip may actually be a high-interest loan. … Meanwhile, those persistent folks at the Appraisal Institute are at it again, this time with a course on

General Demonstration Appraisal Writing. Have fun with that.

[Real Estate Lenders Associa-tion Golf Outing, Metropolis Country Club, 289 Dobbs Ferry Road, White Plains, N.Y., 9:30 a.m., email [email protected] for more info; Appraisal Institute “General Demon-stration Appraisal Writing” course, Marriott Residence Inn, 9 Gerhard Road, Plainview, N.Y., 8 a.m., call 516-248-8964 for more info]

tUeSday, may 18Members of the Port Author-

ity and Regional Plan Association will discuss findings in the recently released Urban Land Institute-Ernst and Young 2010 Report. They’ll also be discussing updates on the New York Regional Infrastructure Proj-ects report when the Urban Land In-stitute hosts its “Laying the Founda-tion for Growth” seminar… The Real Estate Board of New York will be dis-cussing lease renewal negotiations, which, as any skilled broker knows is the bread and butter for any success-ful real estate professional. Steve Durels of SL Green and Mitch Kon-sker of Cushman & Wakefield will speak alongside others… The Na-tional Realty Club will hold its reg-ular luncheon as it welcomes TBD Holdings… To understand New York City, one might reason, you need to start with Lower Manhattan. With that in mind, the guides of the Mu-nicipal Art Society are continuing the non-profit’s weekly Downtown walking tour, which will most defi-nitely include visits to Wall Street and at least a few old churches.

[Urban Land Institute “Laying the Foundation for Growth” seminar, the Yale Club, 50 Vanderbilt Avenue, log on to http://newyork.uli.org/ for more info; Real Estate Board of New York “Lease Renewal Negotiations” seminar, Mendik Education Center, 570 Lexington Avenue, 8 a.m., www.rebny.com; National Realty Club lun-cheon, the Friars Club, 57 East 55th Street, noon, log on to www.nation-alrealtyclub.com/events for more info; Municipal Art Society “Down-town, Where New York Began” walk-ing tour, meet at the Downtown Info Center, 55 Exchange Place, Suite 401, 12:30 p.m., www.mas.org]

Calendar items can be sent to Jotham Sederstrom at [email protected].

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10CE

LEBRATING

Y E A R S

Lease Beat by roland li

lEaSE oF THE WEEK

717 Fifth AvenueA trio of hedge funds have signed leases

at 717 Fifth Avenue, each taking prebuilt spaces with asking rents of $75 per square foot. All will have relocat-ed by May to the tower controlled by the Black-stone Group (an SL Green partnership owns an interest in floors one through four).

Boston Provident took 4,346 square feet for five years on the 12th floor. The firm will move from 600 Madison Av-enue this month. Chris Whitman of Lincoln Properties represented the tenant.

Berchwood Part-

ners signed a lease for five years for 4,177 square feet on the 14th floor. Gary Kamenetsky of CB Richard Ellis rep-

resented the tenant, which last leased at 599 Lexington Avenue.

Berens Capital took 8,476 square feet on the 12th floor for seven years. Brad Needle-man and Ben Fried-land of CB Richard Ellis represented the ten-ant, which moved from 1 Rockefeller Plaza.

Zachary Freeman, Brian Hay, Robert Stillman and Robert Alexander of CB Rich-ard Ellis represented the landlord in all three transactions.

three Hedge Funds take Prebuilt spaces at Blackstone’s 717 Fifth

11 Times SquareThe law firm Proskauer Rose is poised to be-

come the first tenant in the empty 1.1 million–square–foot tower built on spec by Steve Pozy-cki’s SJP Properties at 11 Times Square, taking 380,000 square feet, or about 40 percent of the building. Other companies want to build an aquar-ium as a tourist attraction in the lower floors.

Proskauer is currently at 1585 Broadway, at Morgan Stanley’s world headquarters, and the bank is offering Proskauer a subsidy to vacate that building’s 12th floor.

CB Richard Ellis is representing both the land-lord and the tenant.

The New York Times’ Charles Bagli reported the pending lease on May 7.

salad Wizard Chop’t taking space at Rudin’s 80 Pine

80 Pine StreetIn yet another step in the Financial Dis-

trict’s transformation into a foodie desti-nation, the salad specialist Chop’t is taking 3,340 square feet of ground-floor space at 80 Pine Street. The 38-story office tower is owned by the Rudins and occupies a block bounded by Pine Street, Pearl Street, Maiden Lane and Water Street. The site is the chain’s sixth Manhattan location.

Craig Hantgan of Esquire Properties represented the tenant. Samantha Rudin and Lou Somoza of Rudin Management Company represented the landlord.

11 times square Nears First Major Lease: Proskauer Rose


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1140 Sixth AvenueOfficeLinks, deliverer of furnished offic-

es and meeting rooms, took 24,000 square feet at Stellar Management and Rockpoint Group’s 1140 Sixth Avenue, its fourth Man-hattan location. The lease is for the 9th and 10th floors in the 22-story building, and is the company’s second midtown location.

Steven Strati and Phil Amarante of Cush-man & Wakefield represented the tenant.

“OfficeLinks has been very strategic and selective on a location and property-specific basis,” said Mr. Amarante, who described the deal as adding “another premier property to the firm’s portfolio, boasting quality office space in the heart of midtown with direct ac-cess to all mass transit, restaurants and pub-lic amenities like Bryant Park.”

Office Furnisher Gets New Office; Takes Two Floors at 1140 Sixth

681 Fifth AvenueGlobal Thematic Partners, a spinoff of

Deutsche Asset Management, signed the first lease at the newly renovated 681 Fifth Avenue. The firm will occupy 5,835 square feet, the entire 12th floor of the 18-story property owned by Metropole Re-alty Advisors. Tommy Hilfiger occupies the bot-tom six stories of the building.

Mitchell Konsker, Matthew Astrachan, Robert Gallucci and Scott Silverstein of Cushman & Wake-field represented the landlord. Michael Movshovich of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant.

Deutsche Spinoff Signs First Lease Since 681 Fifth Renovation

30 Orchard StreetRental Art Gallery took the 2,175-square-

foot commercial ground space at 30 Orchard Street, a new condo building on the Lower East Side. The space will feature 20-foot ceil-ings, skylights and bare walls to display art-work. The rent is $76 per square foot.

Tony Gaskin and Lesley Steiner of Cen-tury 21 NY Metro represented the tenant. Joshua John of 8x8 Construction repre-sented the landlord.

Art Gallery Grows in Orchard Street Condo for $76 a Foot

655 Madison AvenueThe Swiss jewelry designer—and, for

those who care, Phil Collins’ ex—Ori-anne Collins will open her first U.S. re-tail store at 655 Madison Avenue. Ms. Collins’ company has signed a long-term lease for 3,400 square feet, including two levels of retail space that will house the “O.C. Concept Store.”

The store is slated to open in the fall, across the street from Barneys New York.

“We were pleased to help secure the perfect location for Orianne Collins’ U.S.

retail debut,” said Dan Harroch, direc-tor of PBS Real Estate, which represent-ed the tenant. “As designers look to real estate as a means to build brand image, neighboring retailers such as Barneys, Baccarat, Hermés and the Pierre Hotel make this an excellent opportunity to market to the savvy luxury consumer.”

The building is owned by a partner-ship of the principals of the old First-Service Williams, according to the Post’s Steve Cuozzo, who had news of a lease last month.

Orianne Collins Picks 655 Madison for

First U.S. Store

55 East Eighth StreetWashington Square Park is about to get

sweeter. Häagen-Dazs will occupy 1,824 square feet, split between the ground floor

and the lower level, on 55 East Eighth Street. The building, along a retail strip between University Place and Broadway, already has a Chipotle and a

Cosi inside.The ice cream chain will open during the summer, and faces

competition from the nearby Coldstone Brewery on Broadway, as well as from Ben & Jerry’s on Third Avenue.

Beth Rosen and Ross Berkowitz of Robert K. Futterman & Associates, with Jennifer Watson and Phil Baugh of Baum Realty, represented the tenant. Bruce Spiegel and William Bergman of Rose Associates represented the landlord, Uni-way Partners.

Scoop! Häagen-Dazs Comes to N.Y.U.-Ville With Two-Floor Spot

LeASe BeAT by roland li


lease Beat by emily geminder

MANHATTAN - Office

40 West 57th street 44,034 elliott associates sl GreenElliott Associates signed a 15-year lease, according to Crain’s. Newmark Knight Frank’s Chris Mongeluzo represented the tenant. Landlord the LeFrak Organization was repped by Howard Fiddle and Zachary Freeman of CB Richard Ellis.

100 Broadway 48,213 Parsons transpor-tation Group Hiro Real estate

Parsons Transportation Group signed a 10-year lease. John Maher and Gerry Miovski of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant. Patrick Dugan, Edward Goldman, Scott Gottlieb, and Scott Sloves, also of CB Richard Ellis, repped landlord Hiro Real Estate.

475 10th avenue 18,500 livePerson, Inc. n/aLivePerson, Inc. signed a 10-year lease. The asking rent was $35 a square foot. Michael Kaufman and Grant Greenspan of the Kaufman Organization represented the tenant; Kristin Fisher of the Adler Group represented the landlord.

1407 Broadway 18,000KBl Group Interna-tional limited

1407 Broadway Real estate llC

KBL Group International Limited signed a six-year lease, according to Crain’s. Savitt Partners’ Marc Schoen represent-ed the tenant. Landlord 1407 Broadway Real Estate LLC was repped by the Kaufman Organization’s Grant Greenspan and Sommer Scafidi.

11 east 26th street 12,000 Bluewolf Inc. n/aBluewolf Inc. signed a 12-year lease, according to Crain’s. Adams & Co’s James Buslik and Jeffrey Schwartz represent-ed both the landlord and the tenant.

461 Fifth avenue 7,134 U.s. Bank National association sl Green

U.S. Bank National Association signed a seven-month lease for the entire 16th floor. Michael Burlant of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant.

540 Madison avenue 6,950 sK telecom Boston PropertiesSK Telecom signed a five-year lease. The tenant was represented by Matt Leon of Newmark Knight Frank. Cynthia Was-serberger, Randy Abend and Amanda Saltzman of Jones Lang LaSalle represented building owner Boston Properties.

540 Madison avenue 6,950 Molo lamken llP Boston Properties Molo Lamken LLP signed a five-year lease. The tenant was represented by Jarod Stern of Studley. Cynthia Wasserberg-er, Randy Abend and Amanda Saltzman of Jones Lang LaSalle represented building owner Boston Properties.

655 Madison avenue 6,800 Kayne anderson Capital advisors

Plaza Madison as-sociates

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors signed a 10-year lease. David Rosenbloom of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant; landlord Plaza Madison Associates was repped by Colliers International.

885 second avenue 6,150 World Health Orga-nization

Ruben Cos. The World Health Organization signed a 10-year lease. Cassidy Turley represented the tenant. Landlord the Ruben Cos. was represented in-house.

681 Fifth avenue 5,835Global thematic Partners

Metropole Realty advisors

Global Thematic Partners, an investment management firm, signed a lease for the entire 12th floor. The tenant was represented by Michael Movshovich of CB Richard Ellis. Cushman & Wakefield’s Mitchell Konsker, Matthew Astrachan, Robert Gallucci and Scott Silverstein repped the owner.

49 West 23rd street 5,594Bloomsburg Carpet Industries Inc.

twenty three R.P. associates

Bloomsburg Carpet Industries Inc. signed a five-year lease. The asking rent was $30 a square foot. James Buslik and Alan Bonett of Adams & Co represented both the tenant and the landlord.

75 Worth street 5,500the New York eye and ear Infirmary Jodi Richard

The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary signed a 15-year lease, according to Crain’s. Ripco Real Estate Corp’s Brad Cohen represented the tenant; the landlord was repped by Sinvin Realty’s Michelle Stone.

248 West 35th street 4,500 Christopher spitz-miller Inc.

abraham + Martin Midtown Manage-ment

Christopher Spitzmiller Inc. signed a 10-year lease.

231 West 39th street 4,000 Cullen, Inc. 231/249 West 39 street associates

Cullen, Inc. signed a seven-year lease. The asking rent was $35 a square foot. James Buslik and Jeffrey Buslik of Ad-ams & Co represented both the tenant and the landlord.

540 Madison avenue 3,200edelman Financial services llC Boston Properties

Edelman Financial Services LLC signed a five-year lease for 3,200 square feet. The tenant was represented by John Termini with CB Richard Ellis. Cynthia Wasserberger, Randy Abend and Amanda Saltzman of Jones Lang LaSalle repre-sented the landlord.

10 West 33rd street 3,016 Hosiery Network, Inc.

ten West thirty third associates

Hosiery Network, Inc. signed a 10-year lease. The asking rent was $36 a square foot. David Levy of Adams & Co. repre-sented both the tenant and the landlord.

750 lexington avenue 3,000 Bryan, Garnier & Co.

Cohen Brothers Realty Corp.

Bryan, Garnier & Co. signed a four-year lease, according to Crain’s. Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Amy Murawski repre-sented the tenant. Landlord Cohen Brothers Realty Corp. was repped by Adam Karafiol in-house.

sq. Feet teNaNt laNdlORd BROKeRs



MANHATTAN - Office

OUTeR BOROUGHS — Office

401 Broadway 2,349 eisenman associ-ates n/a

Eisenman Associates signed a lease on the 22nd floor. Michael Rouzenrouch of Myriad Realty represented the tenant; ABS Partners repped the landlord.

680 Fifth avenue 2,300the Confidas Group Usa

680 Fifth avenue associates

The Confidas Group USA signed a 10-year lease. Byrnam Wood’s Benjamin Mohr and Gordon Ogden represented the tenant. The landlord was repped by Brian Gell and Brian Hay of CB Richard Ellis.

291 Broadway 2,100 lattice engines n/aSoftware firm Lattice Engines signed a three-year lease. David Gomez of GlenMark Realty represented both the land-lord and the tenant.

450 seventh avenue 1,600 MaRV Capital the Kaufman Or-ganization

MARV Capital signed a three-year lease on the sixth floor. Brendan Mahoney of CSCommercial Group represented the tenant. Landlord the Kaufman Organization was repped in-house by Barbara Raskob.

10 West 33rd street 1,334Charmed acces-sories

ten West thirty third associates

Charmed Accessories signed a six-year lease. The asking rent was $36 a square foot. David Levy of Adams & Co. repre-sented both the tenant and the landlord.

401 Broadway 782 Barbara Probst n/aPhotographer Barbara Probst signed a lease on the 11th floor. Adams & Co. represented the tenant. ABS Partners repped the landlord.

85 Wythe street (Brook-lyn) 7,500

Colossal Media Group Wythe, llC

Colossal Media Group, a hand-paint advertising company, signed a seven-year lease. Jacques Wadler and Vincent Lo-pez of Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates represented both the owner and the tenant.

55 Washington street (Brooklyn) 1,258

the International legal Foundation ltd.

two trees Man-agement

Jennifer Rhodes of Ideal Properties Group represented the tenant. Landlord Two Trees Management was repped in-house by Natalie Ungari.

55 Washington street (Brooklyn) 1,253

Ferreira Construc-tion Co. Inc.

two trees Man-agement Elizabeth Cottrill of Two Trees Management brokered the deal.

55 Washington street (Brooklyn) 1,093 Quint & Quint


Quint & Quint, a direct marketing design studio, signed a three-year lease. Caroline Pardo repped landlord Two Trees Management in-house.

55 Washington street (Brooklyn)

1,072 Rubber Band Inter-national llC


Rubber Band International LLC, a real estate management and development company, signed a lease. Chris Havens of Creative Real Estate Group represented the tenant. Landlord Two Trees Management was repped in-house by Caroline Pardo.

55 Washington street (Brooklyn) 1,072 erminio Olivi lucci

two trees Man-agement Erminio Olivi Lucci, a photographer, signed a lease. Caroline Pardo repped landlord Two Trees Management in-house.

sQ. Feet tenant landlORd BROKeRs

sQ. Feet tenant landlORd BROKeRs

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MANHATTAN — RETAIL

OUTER BOROUGHS — RETAIL

310 lenox avenue 7,300Marcus samuels-son

Home Court Man-agement

Marcus Samuelsson signed a 15-year lease for a new restaurant, according to Crain’s. Ripco Real Estate Corp.’s Brad Cohen represented the tenant. Landlord Home Court Management was repped by SL Green’s Gary Rosen.

939 eighth avenue 5,000 Food World Harry eisensteinFood World signed a 15-year lease, according to Crain’s. Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Gary Dana and Rick Dana repre-sented both the tenant and the landlord.

49 West 24th street 4,200 Nesso Manage-ment n/a Nesso Management signed a 15-year lease. Olga Ousmanova of CSCommercial Group represented the tenant.

30 Orchard street 2,175 Rental art Gallery 30 Orchard llCThe asking rent was $76 a square foot. Tony Gaskin and Lesley Steiner of Century 21 NY Metro represented the tenant. The landlord was repped by Joshua John of 8x8 Construction.

13 West 18th street 2,000 Uni.K.Wax 11 West Commer-cial Corp.

Uni.K.Wax signed a 10-year lease. Josh Gunsberger of JG Realty Associates represented the tenant. Landlord 11 West Commercial Corp. was repped by Sinvin Realty.

66 Madison avenue 1,800 Pallatte 66 Madison av-enue apartment Corp.

New eatery Pallatte signed a 15-year lease. Sinvin Realty represented both the landlord and the tenant.

189 east 79th street 1,500 MaxWax east llC Friedland Proper-ties MaxWax East LLC signed a lease. Ripco Real Estate represented the tenant.

264 Bleecker street 1,300 Binn On Bleecker llC

n/a Binn On Bleecker LLC signed a 15-year lease. Steve Rappaport of Sinvin Realty represented both the landlord and the tenant.

1035 third avenue n/a Jimmy’s Custom Framing Gallery

n/a Jimmy’s Custom Framing Gallery signed a lease. Faith Hope Consolo and Joseph A. Aquino of Prudential Douglas Elli-man represented both the landlord and the tenant.

1605 avenue M (Brooklyn) 17,400 amazing savings n/aAmazing Savings signed a 10-year lease, according to Crain’s. William P. O’Brien and Karen Cohen of M.C. O’Brien Inc. represented both the landlord and the tenant.

1305 Kings Highway (Brooklyn)

3,500 BBs Beauty sys-tems Inc.

1305 Properties llC

BBS Beauty Systems Inc. signed a lease. M.C. O’Brien represented both the tenant and the landlord.



Reach the people who own, manage, lease and sell space in the city by advertising your

deals in the Commercial Observer.

Contact Robyn Weiss, Associate Publisher, for more information: 212.407.9382 or [email protected]



Two years ago, in the months before the fall of Lehman Broth-ers, when New York’s economic lily was still contentedly gilded, crafting a list of real estate’s biggest machers was pretty easy: Moguls X, Y and Z had done deals A, B and C, and the business of real estate ticked along.

Then came the bust, and the list was notable more for who had fallen off than for who had stayed on. Last year’s tally was demarcated by government—President Obama was No. 1—and by those adapting to survive. The phrase “money on the sidelines” made numerous appearances.

This year, the list, like the industry it chronicles, is very much in motion. Pinning down who is up, if anybody, and who is down the most changes by the day. This repre-sents our take on the most powerful people in New York real estate right now.

And yet about three-fourths of the people here are returnees, which says something about the closed club that is New York real estate. Old money is heavily represented, able as it has been to weather the recession—even when it has botched deals epically, such as Jerry and Rob Speyer (No. 11) with Stuy Town. The Speyers join old money like Douglas and Jody Durst (No. 8); Richard LeFrak (No. 10); Peter and Anthony Malkin (No. 18); Howard and Edward Milstein (No. 38); and Bill Rudin (No. 24).

There are new people. Carlos Slim—according to some, the world’s richest person—clocks an appearance (No. 13), having just made a sudden splash in the biz. Another for-eigner with billions to immolate: Mihkail Prokorov (No. 43), erstwhile Nets owner and would-be Nets arena developer. And, speaking of Stuy Town and the Speyers, Charles Spetka (No. 32) chairs the distress-hungry firm overseeing that most historic of foreclo-sures. Also, welcome media enthusiast Sam Zell (No. 19), reluctant heir Stefan Solow (No. 56), M.T.A. chairman Jay Walder (No. 64) and Israeli magnate Nochi Dankner (No. 88).

While Mr. Obama did not make the list this year, government is represented fairly strongly, with perennial flower Michael Bloomberg hitting the top 10 again. Looming six spots behind him is probably the soon-to-be most influential public figure in New York State: Andrew Cuomo (No. 15). Other apparatchiks and pols include Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber and Economic Development Corp. president Seth Pinsky (together at No. 73); Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe (No. 87); and Transportation Commissioner Ja-

nette Sadik-Khan (No. 95). As usual, the list remains arctic white and terminally male. (How does this keep hap-

pening in the world’s most diverse city? Even the suites of Wall Street—and of the White House—claim more diversity.) There are 12 women—the most ever—with CBRE tristate chief and REBNY chair Mary Ann Tighe the highest ranked at No. 7, and the chair of City Planning, Amanda Burden, in a distant second at No. 34. Nonwhites? Governor Paterson (No. 55), who, dear reader, will likely not make it next year, and Korean-American devel-oper Young Woo (No. 94)—and that’s just about it.

Brokers, the middlemen (and, on occasion, middlewomen) of the city’s deals, are less represented than landlords and investors—there has just been less work to go around. Brokerages themselves are amply represented, in the form of their chief executives or chairs. These include residential ones like Pam Liebman (No. 66) of the Corcoran Group; Howard Lorber and Dottie Herman (No. 63) of Prudential Douglas Elliman; and an en-gorging number on the commercial side, including the boys from Newmark Knight Frank (No. 26), Peter Riguardi from Jones Lang LaSalle (No. 27) and Mitchell Steir and Michael Colacino from Studley (No. 28).

Institutionally, the same names showed up as in previous years, such as Lee Bollinger (No. 90) of Columbia; John Sexton (No. 78) of N.Y.U.; Timothy Dolan (No. 76) of the Ro-man Catholic Archdiocese; and James Cooper (No. 79), the Episcopalian rector of Hud-son Square–controlling Trinity Church.

The No. 1 spot, supplanting the president, belongs to Stephen Ross, chairman of Re-lated Companies. His firm seems to be everywhere about New York, particularly on the far West Side. There are train tracks there now, slightly below ground level, in an area to be avoided after dark—or in broadest daylight. But Mr. Ross envisions 13 towers on two platforms producing 5,000 apartments and 6 million square feet of office and retail space—a city within a city, 50 percent bigger than Rockefeller Center.

That’s some change right there. Vision, too.A final few notes on the list. There are 138 names amid the 100 slots. Of those, more

than 25 percent are new; the rest are returnees. If someone made the list last year, that ranking is next to their entry in parentheses. The list was chosen by The Observer, and is subjective. Feedback can be given in the comments section of Observer.com.

Discuss.

the Power

100The Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate

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observer.com | the commercial observer28 May 11, 2010 the commercial observer | observer.com May 11, 2010 29

eff ectiveness and attractiveness of these strategies. We have working, full

and partial floor installations in the building occupied by large credit tenants

available for review for new tenants and their service providers.

Remember that utility costs represent the third largest component

of tenant expenses (after salaries and rent). At ESB, we off er tenants proven

pathways to reduce current costs and exposure to escalating costs over

the lease term. There is no other Pre-War Trophy building ... nor Post-War

building ... that can match our on-site energy

eff iciency team and web-based, real-time

Tenant Energy Management System with

instant feedback to measure, control, and

make actionable recommendations for

improving tenant efficiency. And these

features are not limited to big tenants ... ESB

now sub-meters electric in all new suites of

more than 2,500 square feet of electricity use.

Energy efficiency, however, is only

one of ESB’s environmental advantages.

The building’s new state-of-the-art building

management system and HVAC infrastructure

– including the largest wireless BMS (Build

Management System) network in the world

to manage climate control – provide fresh,

clean air throughout every floor, with four

individual air handling units per floor to

enhance temperature control for tenants.

Adding to the impact of these high-tech benefits is ESB’s inherent

structural advantage: the building’s center-core construction enables an

unsurpassed window-to-floor-area ratio, providing deep penetration of

natural light and air. That abundance of light is unobstructed by nearby

buildings, even on lower floors ... and remember, as part of the retrofit

program the existing windows are upgraded and reinforced as triple-glazed

insulated panels for high thermal eff iciency.

The full ESB advantage includes a cleaner, healthier environment

for better worker productivity and retention, all at prices competitive to other,

less advanced properties. Our comprehensive suite of “green” practices

comprises tenant waste and construction debris recycling, the use of non-

contaminating cleaning fluids and pest control solutions, recycled content

in carpets, and low off -gassing paints, adhesives, and wall coverings. ESB

operations are healthier, the ESB work environment is healthier, the ESB

impact on the environment is healthier.

To what extent can ESB’s emphasis on sustainability actually help a

tenant reduce its costs and improve its work environment? In our next

publication, we will outline in detail the experiences of one tenant, Skanska

USA, who reduced their energy consumption by 57 percent from their prior

off ice during its first year of occupancy at the

building. (Note: The reduction represents a

comparison which takes into account changes

in size and employee density.)

Consider the advantages: New, modern

base building systems and a groundbreaking

energy retrofit program that is setting a new

world-wide standard for eff iciency; advanced

tools and support from the nation’s leading

experts for controlling tenant electricity con-

sumption and off ice climate; unparalleled access

to natural light; a full suite of “green” applications

to reduce exposure to toxins and allergens – all

of it at a Pre-War Trophy price, typically half the

price of modern buildings off ering less than

half of our competitive, productivity-enhancing,

cost-containing advantages.

Try some of these thoughts out on

your important tenant clients. Bring them to

the Empire State Building’s world-class address right in Midtown Manhattan,

conveniently located near virtually every major subway line and PATH train,

and virtually equidistant from Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, and

the Port Authority Bus Terminal in the heart of the revitalized 34th Street

shopping and services Corridor.

Standing behind all of this is the financial strength of the Empire

State Building Company. As with other properties supervised by Malkin

Holdings, our generations of prudent investment and management provide

tenants with the peace of mind that comes from a financially stable landlord

who is fully capable of fulfilling all obligations for the entire lease term. In

the meantime, more information on our groundbreaking program can be

found at www.esbsustainability.com, or visit www.esbnyc.com.

The Empire State Building Takes Leadership Role In Energy

and Cost Savings for Tenants

On April 5, 2009, President Bill Clinton, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and W&H Properties’ Empire State Building (ESB)

unveiled a new model for economically viable, replicable energy retrofits in the existing built environment to reduce

materially energy consumption, operating costs, and carbon footprint. In this, our second of four publications, we would like

to explain the impact of this work on our tenants and the brokers who serve them.

What Brokers Need to KnowHow ESB Helps Tenants

Look back a decade ago ... had anyone ever heard of the corporate

position, “Chief Sustainability Off icer” ... very few companies were even

focused on subjects like energy eff iciency and carbon footprint reduction.

Today, these subjects have become commonplace. The larger and more

successful the company, the more focus there is on reducing exposure to

energy costs and incorporating sustainability practices in everyday business

activities and long-term planning.

Business leaders realize they have the ability to improve bottom lines

and protect against risk by reducing energy consumption. Think about it:

the three highest costs of

occupancy for a tenant in

New York City are salaries,

rent, and utilities – in that

order. Through a combination

of payment for utilities for

space under lease and the

inclusion of utility charges in

the calculation of escalation

charges for operating expenses, for most tenants, energy costs often

end up being the biggest variable of the three. Over the life of a lease, these

energy costs can grow tremendously.

Many corporations, government agencies, and non-profits have

introduced voluntary corporate mandates to reduce their carbon footprints.

As evidenced by the Greener Greater Building Code in New York and similar

legislated requirements around the country, legally imposed mandates are

coming. How can a broker assist clients in addressing this new challenge and

in the process demonstrate awareness of the cutting-edge concerns of one of

today’s leading issues? Consider ESB a forward looking, long-term solution

for your tenants here today.

Everyone needs to see ESB, not just for the visible results of our

ongoing $550 million top-to-bottom upgrading ... our fully restored lobby

with new off ice-only areas on 34th and 33rd Streets, new elevators, common-

area hallways, bathrooms, and more ... our unsurpassed array of tools and

resources to assist tenants with achieving their corporate sustainability

objectives. Signing a lease at ESB provides tenants improved energy

eff iciency to reduce overall operating expenses and provide a healthier,

more productive work environment for their employees as well ... all at

unmatchable Pre-War Trophy rents.

The Empire State Building is undergoing a groundbreaking

energy reduction program. In addition to tools which support our tenants

in achieving high performance build outs, the energy retrofit program

consists of eight rigorously evaluated and proven cost-reduction initiatives

that will reduce the building’s energy consumption by 38 percent. This is

not “future-ware,” but here today in our retrofitted windows, perimeter

insulation, networked digital controls of every steam valve, air damper, fan,

and pump throughout the entire building. This allows us unprecedented

control over our HVAC system as well as unprecedented real-time

monitoring and commissioning of our systems; if one damper is not

functioning as designed, we know immediately.

Additionally, we give tenants a framework through which they can

control, measure and reduce their own operating costs and carbon footprints,

using ESB’s new modeling, measurement, and projection tools to implement

cost-saving and short payback measures to optimize tenant space

performance. We provide, as part of our new tenant “onboarding,” a suite of

tenant services unlike any other landlord. Our guidelines provide a clear set

of implementable solutions for a high performance space - from lighting

and HVAC to layout. We are incorporating what we have learned in our

pre-builts to build new small and large spaces and demonstrate the

At ESB, we off er tenants

proven pathways to

reduce current costs

and exposure to

escalating costs over

the lease term.

100% COMMISSION ON SIGNING

www.esbnycleasing.comwww.esbsustainability.comWilliam G. Cohen, Executive Vice President

212-372-2233 • [email protected]

Supervised by

Thank you for giving us the chance to compete for your business. At W&H Properties, tenant satisfaction is our number one priority.

(And remember, brokers always receive 100 percent of their commissions on lease signing.)

Publication 2 of 4: May 11th, 2010


1 Stephen Ross (2)Chairman of the Related Companies

Recession be damned. As foreclosures proliferate and new construc-tion is mostly halted citywide, Mr. Ross, also the owner of the Miami

Dolphins, is not slowing down. To name a few of the items that take up his days: He is mid-construction on a hotel and apartment tower on 42nd Street; he has amassed a large acquisition fund to scoop up distressed assets; he has started a bank with his partners at Related, looking to buy a failed bank; he is negotiating with the New Jersey governor about taking over the giant Xanadu mega-mall; and he constantly has executives at Related’s doorstep, looking to a man with money.

2 Marc Holliday and Andrew Mathias (7)

CEO and president–chief investment officer, respectively, of SL Green

It’s hard to overstate this one. Messrs. Holliday (pictured) and Mathias together control SL Green, which is the single

largest commercial landlord in New York City, controlling 23.2 million square feet in 29 office buildings. If SL Green’s battles at 100 Church and 510 Madison—and its recent buys of 600 Lexington and 125 Park—are any indication, the REIT has every intention of further expanding its New York empire.#1

Stephen Ross


17th of September 1755. In the offices of the solicitor Mr. Choisy, a

young Master Watchmaker from Geneva named Jean-Marc Vacheron

is about to hire his first apprentice. This agreement is the first known

reference to the founding watchmaker of a prestigious dynasty and

it represents the establishment of Vacheron Constantin, the oldest

watchmaking manufacturer in the world in continuous operation.

Ever since this agreement, and true to the history that built

its reputation, Vacheron Constantin has been committed

to passing on its knowledge to each of its Master

Watchmakers in order to guarantee the excellence and

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3 Mort Zuckerman (3)chairman-ceO of Boston Properties

Not only does Mr. Zuckerman’s Boston Properties control 8.88 million square feet of office property in New York City, including the GM Building, but he’s on the prowl for more, one of three runners-up, along with Douglas

Durst (No. 8) and Stephen Ross (No. 1), to buy an equity stake in the building formerly known as the Freedom Tower.

4 Steve Roth and Michael Fascitelli (11)

chairman and president, ceO and Trustee, respec-tively, of Vornado Realty Trust

The bluntly spoken yet oddly press-shy Mr. Roth (pictured), with his right-hand-man, Mr. Fascitelli, together control the second-larg-est office landlord in New York, their REIT owning 22 million feet in more than 50 Manhat-

tan properties. These include several around Penn Station, including the Hotel Pennsylva-nia, which Vornado would turn into the city’s third-tallest office tower.

5 Jonathan Gray (14)Senior managing director and Real estate

group co-head of Blackstone

Mr. Gray has shepherded some of the company’s biggest deals, including the privatization of nearly a dozen real estate companies and, most notably, Hilton Hotels (including the Waldorf-Astoria), which rebounded last month

after Blackstone bought back $1.8 billion in debt.

6 Barry Sternlicht (65)ceO of Starwood capital group

Few chief executives have enjoyed such success during this Great Recession as Mr. Sternlicht, who managed to drive up Starwood’s total equity by a whopping $3 billion since last year. His capital-raising skills go a

long way in explaining why, just last month, he and a group of investors shoveled $905 million into financially troubled Extended Stay Hotels, a company that boasted among the largest debt loads in hotel history.

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7 Mary Ann Tighe (22)CEO of CB richard Ellis’ new york tri-state

region

Feared and admired in equal measure, Ms. Tighe has completed millions of square feet of leasing transactions. Also, as the chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York since January, she has the ear of countless landlords and

policy makers as REBNY pursues what for it is a rather well-publicized political agenda.

8 Doug and Jody Durst (6)Co-presidents of the durst Organization

Environmentalist stalwarts, cousins and keepers of the family fortune, Messrs. Durst control an empire of commercial and residential real estate that encompasses the

fabulously successful new One Bryant Park, the Helena, 4 Times Square and, if they have their way with the Port Authority, a piece of One World Trade Center.

9 Michael Bloomberg (4)Mayor of new york

His main rezonings are done; his legacy projects were announced years ago; and he has few distinct plans for the third term. Still, our Medici wields power over anyone seeking to build anything large, and he and Deputy

Mayor Bob Lieber (No. 73) have shown an eagerness to take assets from the state. They’ve now grabbed Governors Island and Brooklyn Bridge Park, and are eyeing Battery Park City.

10 Richard LeFrak (18)Chairman, president and CEO of the Le-

Frak Organization

His personal wealth estimated at $4 billion, Mr. LeFrak controls the New York empire founded by his grandfather Harry, which includes 40 West 57th Street and, in Queens, the eponymous LeFrak City, the Brussels and the Marseille. The empire is also pursuing Stuyvesant Town in a partnership with Wil-bur Ross.

11 Jerry and Rob Speyer (pictured) (5)

Chairman and co-CEOs of tishman speyer

While the father-son duo has distressed prop-erties around the country, vestiges of a buying spree at the peak of the market, they still are at the head of one of the more dominant families in New York City. Among their

holdings: Rockefeller Center, the Chrysler Building and the MetLife building, all of which are surely worth far more than when they purchased them.

12 Andrew FarkasCEO of island Capital Group

An heir whose surname literally means “wolf,” Mr. Farkas is nothing if not aggressive when it comes to investing. Years after making a name for himself by snatching up a dis-tressed real estate partnership in circa

1990s Manhattan, he returned to the front pages of the business trades in March after acquiring Centerline Holding, a bankrupt group that restructures troubled mortgages. When he’s not picking through real estate carcasses, Mr. Farkas is said to cheer on his former employee, governor-in-waiting Andrew Cuomo.

13 Carlos and Tony SlimChairman-CEO of telmex; head of real

Estate investments

Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helú (pictured), the world’s richest person, according to Forbes (estimated wealth: $53.5 billion), bought the plain vanilla office building at 417 Fifth Avenue, owns a note

backing The New York Times’ former headquarters and is said to be searching for more such investments—with son Tony—in Manhattan. Carlos Slim, budding New York real estate mogul? Puede ser?

14 Craig Newmark (15)Founder of Craigslist

On his Twitter bio (he has a loyal 21,899 followers) the classi-fieds caliph humbly describes himself as “customer service rep and founder for craigslist.” He does not mention the company’s ongoing legal battles


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26 Jeffrey Gural, Barry Gosin, Jimmy Kuhn

and David Falk (39)Chairman, Ceo, president and regional president, respectively, of newmark Knight Frank

Messrs. Gural, Gosin and Kuhn have trans-formed Newmark Knight Frank into a top-flight commercial brokerage by carefully

cultivating both young talent and an enviable work environment. (Mr. Falk, pictured, is being groomed to take it all over.) In so doing, they’ve scored countless prime tenants, from Claremont Prep to Orrick Herrington.

27 Peter Riguardi (34)President, jones lang lasalle

new York Region

Mr. Riguardi is one of the more dominant office brokers in town, repre-senting numerous banks and buildings and occasionally

playing both sides of big deals (like in a large lease at One World Trade Center, for instance). His firm is charged with finding tenants for Goldman Sach’s old headquarters, at 85 Broad Street, as well as at 1285 Avenue of the Americas, among others.

with eBay or the fact that his international classifieds purveyor, which began as a personal email list 15 years ago, has more than 20 billion page views per month, many of which service a DIY-hungry real estate community.

15 Andrew Cuomoattorney general of new York

Despite no announcement of his inten-tions, much of the New York political world views Mr. Cuomo as the governor-in-waiting. He’s

expected to control the state in eight months, and his campaign coffers are flush with real estate contributions. He also has a history in the housing world: He was HUD secretary in the late 1990s, in President Clinton’s cabinet; and his current office approves or rejects condo offering plans.

16 Donald Trump (16)Ceo of the trump organization

To a younger generation, the Donald may be best known for firing up-and-comers and boldface names alike on The Apprentice. But buried deep his

colorful Google results, Mr. Trump, it seems, is still a developer at heart. To wit: After years of playing Goliath to neighborhood groups, the Trump Soho Hotel Condominium finally opened in Manhattan last month, atop an ancient burial ground, no less.

17 Sheldon Silver (10)speaker of the state assembly

With a lame-duck governor and a slim Democrat-ic majority in the Senate, Mr. Silver is often referred to as the de facto governor. He

has strong control over his conference, and anything going through the Legislature must receive his nod. For real estate, the object of much of his affection is his Lower Manhattan district, which he has helped shower with tax breaks and infrastructure.

18 Peter and Anthony Malkin (50)

Chairman and president, respectively, of malkin holdings

The Malkins are a multigenera-tional New York real estate family, with office holdings throughout the region. Most notably, they are co-owners

of the Empire State Building, which has been going through a much-bal-lyhooed green upgrade—Peter Malkin (pictured) announced it last year with Bill Clinton at his side. Speaking of last year, Malkin Holdings leased more than 1.1 million square feet in 2009, of which only about 400,000 involved renewals.

19 Sam ZellChairman of equity Group in-

vestments

Before this year, Mr. Zell was known locally for riding a motorcycle, being delight-fully crude in public settings and owning the

Tribune Company. But in March, he gobbled up Harry Macklowe’s last three apartment buildings for $475 million, following a $12 million deal for a lot owned by Shaya Boymel-green. Suddenly, he was all about New York, or at least distressed properties in it.

20 Chris Ward (48)executive director of the Port

authority of new York and new jersey

After the authority’s bruising, yearlong negotiation with developer Larry Silver-stein (No. 33), a financial agreement is in

place at the World Trade Center for two new private towers, thanks in large part to the Port Authority’s balance sheet. Taken with One World Trade Center, which the agency is developing itself, Mr. Ward has his hands in 7 million square feet downtown.

#26Barry Gosin

21 Howard Rubenstein (27)Chairman, Rubenstein Communi-

cations, inc.

When some-thing goes wrong, clients—and reporters—call Mr. Rubenstein, the city’s public-relations master, who has been styled

“the dean of damage control” by Rudolph Giuliani. His eponymous firm, with more than 200 employ-ees, represents a staggering roster of clients, including SL Green, Vornado Realty Trust, Tishman Speyer and dozens of other real estate players.

22 Steven Spinola (28)President of the Real estate

Board of new York

The State Senate may be Democratic, but Mr. Spinola has managed to help ward off any legislation that might hurt landlords’ bottom lines. Now, he is using

his trade group and landlord cash to mimic unions, better organizing members on policy issues and raising money for a political party of sorts, tentatively using the Independence Party line to push pro-business candidates.

23 Jeffrey Feil (37)President-Ceo of the Feil or-

ganization

The multigenerational real estate investment firm that bears his name cast a wide net last year, to Herald Square, where the group acquired the 250,000-square-foot Herald Center. The nine-story shopping mall marks the Feil’s 19th shopping center acquisition, but Mr. Feil, a founding partner of the private-eq-uity group Longview, didn’t pause to enjoy the purchase. He was off to oversee the acquisition of a re-tail segment of the St. Regis Hotel, which commands the highest retail asking rents in the city.

24 Bill Rudin (12)President of Rudin manage-

ment Company

Mr. Rudin may be struggling to get his St. Vincent’s redevelopment project under way, now that the hospital has declared

bankruptcy, but at least he has that whole real estate empire thing going for him: 15 office towers, including 345 Park Avenue and 1675 Broadway, well over a dozen residential properties and, of course, the leadership of the Association for a Better New York, allowing him an influential voice in real-estate–related public policy.

25 Mitch Rudin (26)President-Ceo of CB Richard

ellis’ new York tri-state Region

Mr. Rudin oversees the manage-ment of the largest commercial real estate brokerage in New York City. It is 700 employees strong; given the general broker personality type, it cannot be easy to run. Still, CBRE continues to dominate the city’s office-leasing landscape, working on more of 2009’s largest leases than any other firm.


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28 Mitch Steir and Mike Colacino (41)

Chairman-CeO and president, respective-ly, of studley

Messrs. Steir (pictured) and Colacino lead New York’s preeminent tenant rep brokerage, and are doing so during the most tenant-friendly

office market in ages. It pays. Their stable of brokers have won two of the past three top REBNY awards, and they continue to rake in the clients. The latest coup? Negotiat-ing Tiffany’s new headquarters in four-plus floors of 200 Fifth Avenue.

29 Ronald Kravitmanaging director of

Cerberus Real estate

He’s known for conjuring innovative investment deals, including land-mark acquisitions of the discount retailer Mervyns and grocery store chain Albertsons. But what many investment and real estate profes-sionals talk about when they discuss Mr. Kravit is how he helped put into play the trend of hedge funds enter-ing the private-equity sphere. In these heady financial times, innova-tion is key.

30 Keith Barket and Adam Schwartz

senior managing director and head of U.s. investment activities, respectively, of angelo, gordon & Company

As head of real estate acquisi-tions at Angelo, Gordon & Company, Mr. Barket and Mr. Schwartz have spearheaded many of the savviest

property buys in recent memory, including the Chelsea Market in 1998 as part of a package deal of five buildings. After purchasing the portfolio for a paltry $115 million, the firm upgraded the buildings and sold them individually for a reported total of $1 billion. More recently, the firm, in a partnership with Extell, signed a deal to acquire the Helmsley Carlton House hotel.

31 Adam and Amy Rose (56)

Co-presidents of Rose associates

The cousins Rose, one arm of the storied real estate family, are amassing a greater portfolio these days, due in large part to the mar-ket crash. From Riverton House to Stuyvesant Town (though not of-ficially for Stuy Town), the company has become the third-party man-ager of choice for many of the larger

distressed assets, an area that is most certainly a growth industry.

32 Charles SpetkaPresident of CW Capital asset

management

Slowly but surely, CW Capital is taking control of Manhattan’s commercial market. Under Mr. Spetka, the firm is the “special

servicer” charged with restructur-ing or selling giant properties bought at the market’s peak and now in, or near, default. Among the properties in the purview of the relatively anonymous firm: Stuyvesant Town, Riverton and the W Hotel Downtown.

33 Larry Silverstein (29)President of silverstein

Properties

After taking a tenacious approach to yearlong negotiations with the Port Authority, Mr. Silverstein now is able to build two office

towers at the World Trade Center

site, backed in large part by public-sector subsidies. Should he raise private capital, he will own some of the only new office space in the city starting in 2013, with large blocks available for leasing.

34 Amanda Burden (8)Chairwoman of the City

Planning Commission

The design-at-tentive Ms. Burden and her department have now rezoned more than one-fifth of the city, restricting development in

side streets and allowing new density near subways, in formerly industrial areas along the water-front; the major city-led rezonings are now mostly finished. Private developers must first gain her stamp of approval on many large projects.

35 Jeff HorowitzHead of Real estate invest-

ment Banking in the americas, Bank of america

Among the Merrill Lynch employees who joined B of A after the two com-panies merged, shotgun-style, Mr. Horowitz may be the new group’s

brightest star. Indeed, as the bank seeks to entrench itself in a lucra-tive bid to help financially strapped private companies enter the public markets, few individuals are bet-ter positioned to contribute to the bank’s bottom line than Mr. Horow-itz, who as an investment banker in the 1990s helped move financially burdened private landlords to the public sector and, subsequently, helped rev up equity for the REIT industry.

36 Lloyd Goldman (25)President of BLDg

management

Heir to his uncle’s real estate throne, the press-shy Mr. Goldman has be-come probably the city’s biggest private landlord, with an unknown total of apartment and mixed-use buildings under his purview that likely totals in the hundreds.

37 Doug ShorensteinCeO of the shorenstein Co.

It’s been only about eight years since the San Francisco–based real estate firm penetrated the New York markets in earnest. Ever

since then, however, Mr. Shoren-

#39Ric Clark



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stein, who has been credited with turning his long-established family-run business into a national player, has financed and invested in properties here and elsewhere with the zeal of a New Yorker.

38 Howard and Edward Milstein (36)

Principals of Milstein Properties

Leaders of one of the city’s most powerful real estate families, brothers Howard (pictured) and Edward inherited the

company from father Paul and his own brother, Seymour. Generally, they try to stay afloat and under the radar, due in part to a fraternal power scuffle several years back. Milstein owns sizable Manhattan square footage, but the recent completion of two Battery Park City condo towers marks the company’s first ground-up construction in years.

39 Ric Clark (49)CEO of Brookfield Properties

The largest office landlord in Lower Manhattan, Mr. Clark’s publicly traded Brookfield is trying to buy General Growth Properties and

presumably is looking for other acquisitions as well. His challenge: finding tenants to fill the World Financial Center, as millions of square feet are expiring by 2013.

40 Thomas Hughes Chairman of Lnr

The former chief of Deutsche As-set Management, Mr. Hughes took charge of the Lennar real estate finance spinoff LNR in July 2007. Rumors have it that the flush firm is circling the city, positioning Mr. Hughes to be among the more rapa-cious investors to come out of the recession.

41 William Mack (pic-tured), Lee Neibart and

Richard Mack (24)Chairman, Global CEO and north ameri-can CEO, respectively, of arEa Property Partners

The real estate über-investor and fund manager has made the recession work to its advan-tage, soliciting foreign investors and

eagerly scooping up distressed assets and bottomed-out hotels around the city. The investment locomotive, best known as co-devel-oper of the Time Warner Center, is optimistic about the return of the corporate market, but Mr. Neibart recently told The Observer that investing in retail and office space is still a ways off.

#46Darcy Stacom and

Bill Shanahan

42 Howard Lutnick, Steve Kantor and

Anthony OrsoCEO, managing director and senior part-ner, respectively, of Cantor Fitzgerald

Since 2008, when Cantor Fitzgerald announced its entry into the real estate investment and development market, the financial group

has been on a hiring spree. Mr. Lutnick (pictured) is at the helm of the newest venture, Cantor Real Estate, and has already announced plans to bring on more than 130 new professionals. Former Credit Suisse stars, like Mr. Kantor and Mr. Orso, figure prominently in the new strategy.

43 Mikhail ProkhorovWould-be owner of the

Brooklyn nets

Assuming the NBA gives him the thumbs-up, Mr. Prokhorov, a Russian billionaire, is slated to become owner of New York City’s newest

professional sports team, as well as a co-owner of the Barclays Center now under construction in down-town Brooklyn after seven years of planning.

44 David Levinson and Rob Lapidus

Chairman-CEO and president-CiO, re-spectively, of L&L holdings

In these economically turbulent times, it’s hard to blame the landlord who forgoes excitement for stability. Messrs.

Levinson (pictured) and Lapidus, however, turned the tables when they rejected numerous offers at 200 Fifth Avenue and instead took on Eataly, an ambitious, Turin-based food emporium. Add to that news last month that Tiffany’s HQ would be occupying four and a half floors in the building, and it becomes clear that the duo is behind one of the flashiest projects in years.

45 William and Arthur Zeck-endorf (pictured) (31)

Co-chairmen of Zeckendorf realty and of terra holdings

The urbane Zeckendorfs, who were among the first developers to bring condo-miniums to New York City—most recently, the

epically successful 15 Central Park West, probably still the nation’s most expensive condo, sales-wise—spend their spare time controlling Terra Holdings, the owner of Halstead and Brown Harris Stevens, the employer of more than 600 brokers and the manager of more than 80 buildings.

46 Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan (59)

vice chairmen of CB richard Ellis

If a building got sold during the recession, they sold it. And now that the recession appears to be

bottoming out, if not finally lifting, Ms. Stacom and Mr. Shanahan are busy again. Recently, the duo helped Hines sell 600 Lexington Avenue to SL Green for $193 million.

47 Doug Harmon and Adam Spies (71)

Senior managing directors of Eastdil Secured

After advising Deutsche Bank in its sale of the former Macklowe office empire, Mr. Harmon continues to be at the fulcrum of the investment sales market, which today means trading in mortgage notes. Most re-cently, with fellow senior managing director Mr. Spies, he’s been hired by Royal Bank of Canada to sell the $210 million note on the Lipstick Building,

48 Scott Latham (pic-tured), Richard Baxter,

Yaron Cohen and Jon Caplannew york Capital Markets team for Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle just poached these four from Cushman & Wakefield, where they spent the boom time selling billions of

dollars’ worth of real estate before the bust rendered them idle. Now they’re tasked with expanding JLL’s share of the investment sales market.


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51 Lenny Litwin and Gary Jacob (13)

Chairman and executive vice president, respectively, of Glenwood management

Long before it became fashionable—or, to be more accurate, economically feasible—to focus on the rental market, the nonagenar-

ian Mr. Litwin (pictured) and Mr. Jacob were doing just that. In a down market, however, the duo’s plans seem downright prescient. And now as competitors rush to convert unsold condos, Glenwood Management is successfully leasing Emerald Green, the 569-unit residential complex on West 38th Street.

52 Jay SugarmanCeo of istar Financial

Mr. Sugarman runs a commer-cial lender that has financed more than $28 billion in projects. Although its clients have included such

luminaries as Harry Macklowe and

Donald Trump, the company has been hit hard by the downturn, losing $24.2 million in the first quarter of 2010. Still, a recent $1.4 billion property sale to Dividend Capital Realty Trust demonstrates that iStar remains a hefty player.

53 Bruce Ratner (23)Chairman of Forest City Ratner

For the past seven years, Mr. Ratner’s focus has been on Atlantic Yards, the planned home to a Brooklyn Nets arena and, eventually,

thousands of units of housing. This spring, he finally emerged the winner of the fight with defiant landowners. He was clearly wounded by delays and the economic crash, but he is still standing, and construction is under way.

54 Stephen Siegel (35)Global Brokerage chairman of

CB Richard ellis

It’s hard to find a real estate professional without a kind word to say about Mr. Siegel—this, despite his enormous success in the

brokerage business. Now, Mr. Siegel, who’s something of the wise godfather of New York real estate, is busy helping landlord Steve Pozycki land Proskauer Rose for 11 Times Square, in what will surely be one of the biggest leases of the year.

55 David Paterson (9)Governor of new York

He may be a lame duck under a cloud of scandal with almost no supporters in the Legislature. But Mr. Paterson is still the governor

until the end of December (presum-ably), with many of the powers that come with that office, be it the suspension of construction contracts, vetoing legislation or

selecting a bidder to build a racino at the Aqueduct racetrack.

56 Stefan Solowheir to developer sheldon

solow

Judging by a New York Times pro-file several years ago, Mr. Solow, 35, may not yet be entirely comfortable stepping into his father’s formi-dable shoes. But when your father is Sheldon Solow (No. 53 on our list last year), and he’s named you as his “heir apparent,” what do you ex-pect? Indeed, Mr. Solow will be the likely arbiter of his father’s massive, 6.1 million–square–feet develop-ment near the East River—not to mention 9 West 57th Street.

57 Avi Banyasz (20)managing principal of West-

brook Partners

As head of the private-equity fund Westbrook Partners, Mr. Banyasz swooped in at the top of the market to buy big-deal properties like the Burberry Building, the Paramount Hotel and 235 West 75th. Now that the bubble has burst, he has set his sights across the pond. Earlier this month, it was announced that West-brook Partners had invested in a joint venture with an Irish investment group to develop a 435-bed student housing facility in North London.

49 Glenn RufranoCeo of Cushman & Wakefield

After Bruce Mosler transitioned to a chairmanship at Cushman, the brokerage hired industry veteran Glen Rufrano, no stranger to the

title. Before assuming the helm in March, Mr. Rufrano was CEO of Australia-based Centro Properties; prior to that, he was CEO of New Plan Excel Realty Trust Inc.

50 Robert Stuckey, Mark Schoenfeld and

Andrew Chung (17)managing directors of the Carlyle Group

With a focus on New York City and Washington, Messrs. Stuckey, Schoenfeld and Chung have been a formidable trifecta for the Carlyle Group for years. But plans to re-tenant a swath running the entire block of Fifth Avenue between 52nd and 53rd streets with high-level retailers could translate into even more success for the team. Only last month, Carlyle inked a whop-ping $300 million lease at 666 Fifth Avenue, the retail of which it partly owns, for Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo.

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58 Gary Barnett (32)President of extell

Development

To say nothing else of Mr. Barnett, he has stayed active in the downturn. One of the city’s most prolific developers, he is working on foundations for

two midtown towers (sans full financing, for now) and is bringing plans for a giant, mixed-use development on the West Side through the public-approval process this year.

59 Peter DuncanPresident of George Comfort

& Sons

Mr. Duncan, as president of the family-owned firm, shepherd-ed the pur-chase—along-side a number of partners—of Worldwide Plaza, the last

of the Macklowe detritus. He did so in the middle of the recession for a bargain-basement $590 million, thus conferring a certain patina and added prestige to the company name.

60 Ray Kellynew York police commis-

sioner

Under the watchful eyes of Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Mr. Kelly, New York has enjoyed record lows in crime, both nonviolent and otherwise.

For this, property values have remained relatively steady even in the face of a global recession. But with the downturn and a recent uptick in crime, will the commish be able to sustain the goodwill of property owners? Only time—and, as in the case of the would-be Times Square bomber, a little luck—will tell.

61 Charles BagliStaff writer for The new York

Times

In a world of blogs, some-times it takes the most influential news organization to call the end of an era. Mr. Bagli (an Observer

alumnus!) did just that in October 2008, in a story titled “Failed Deals Replace Boom in New York Real Estate.” Since then, he’s document-ed every major development, successful or struggling, from Stuy Town to N.Y.U. to Atlantic Yards.

62 Dan Tishman (81)Chairman-Ceo of Tishman

Construction

Amid much controversy and more PATH rail lines, the family development concern is trucking away at One World Trade Center.

With the 700,000-square-foot underground foundation structure completed, Mr. Tishman’s firm expects to finish the erstwhile Freedom Tower in 2013. The company is also involved in a slew of big-box hotels through its subsidiary, the Tishman Hotel Corporation.

63 Howard Lorber and Dottie Herman (33)

Chairman and president, respectively, of Prudential Douglas elliman

Talk about Iron Man. Emperor and Empress by default, the duo steering the city’s largest residential brokerage continue to flex their iron

despite the downturn; they’ve opened new offices, inaugurated a rental division and pirated talent from recession-failed rivals, bringing the monolith’s current agent count to 3,800, a 15 percent increase from two years ago.

#63Dottie Herman


64 Jay WalderChairman of the Metropolitan Transpor-

tation Authority

Transit advocates like to refer to the M.T.A. as the lifeblood of the city. New York owes its density to the transit system, and worsening service would turn away business. Particularly as giant budget gaps loom, Mr. Walder’s challenge

is to find savings (or more revenue) and keep the trains running.

65 Peter Hauspurg and Daun Paris (58)

Chairman-CEO and president, respectively, of East-ern Consolidated

The best dressed of the brokerage community (and married to boot!), Mr. Hauspurg and Ms. Paris run a boutique investment-sales firm that specializes in off-market deals. It has pulled through the worst real estate

recession in recent history swimmingly.

66 Pam Liebman (51)CEO-president of the

Corcoran Group

“New York has had a very good rebound,” Ms. Liebman said recently, and Corcoran’s hasn’t been bad, either. A year ago, the firm was fighting shutter rumors, now the city’s second-largest residential brokerage is back to

fiercely competing with Goliath archrival Elliman by adding agents and aggressively launching the first house-hunting iPhone app.

67 Stanley Chera (pictured) and Haim Chera

Principals of Crown Acquisitions

Judging by recent deals, the Cheras seem to take just as much delight in mining underdeveloped gems as they do in scooping up valuable retail. With the Carlyle Group, Crown last month leased 90,000 square feet to clothing

retailer Uniqlo at 666 Fifth Avenue for an un-

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precedented $300 million over 15 years. Meanwhile, the group announced last week that it was setting its sights on Brooklyn’s Fulton Mall, where they intend to convert a former department store into student housing for Long Island University.

68 Jonathan Mechanic and Stephen Lefkowitz (54)

Chairman of the Real Estate Department at Fried Frank; member of the Real Estate Department

If anyone buys or sells a building in New York, or signs a big lease in one, Messrs. Mechanic (pictured) and Lefkowitz are bound to have a

hand in the deal. They are two of the most successful—and discreet—real estate attorneys in the industry.

69 Joe Ficalora (40)CEO-chairman of New York

Community Bancorp

If you’re seeking signs of a sagging economy, don’t bother looking to Mr. Ficalora, whose bank raised more than $1 billion in new capital

last year and rose to become the country’s 22nd largest, asset-wise. Meanwhile, the Westbury-based bank has been aggressively expanding its reach (six new branches in Arizona in March, to give one example) and gobbling up failing regional banks in Phoenix, Cleveland and back home in New York State.

70 Robert Knakal and Paul Massey Jr. (75)

Chairman and CEO, respectively, of Massey Knakal

The founding partners of New York’s busiest investment-sales firm do different things within it—Mr. Massey runs the

day-to-day operation, Mr. Knakal (pictured) remains an inveterate salesman—but they have both helped it enjoy a plush run through an investment desert. In January, The Real Deal pronounced Massey Knakal the top New York firm in number of sales from 2007 through the third quarter of 2009; and tied for fifth in sales volume over that span. Bring it.

71 Jeff Sutton (52)Founder and president of Whar-

ton Acquisitions Corp.

Mr. Sutton is a ball-busting real es-tate player of the old school, with a keen eye for acquisitions and retail and more than 100 properties to his name, including 717 and 609 Fifth Avenue. His tenant roster reads like a who’s who of Big Retail: from American Eagle and Abercrombie and Fitch to Armani and Escada.

72 Robert Ivanhoe (47)Chairman of the New York of-

fice of Greenberg Traurig

Calling Mr. Ivanhoe a real estate lawyer is like calling the pope a Catholic. Mr. Ivanhoe is arguably New

York’s preeminent real estate lawyer, with a client list that’s pretty much a shorter version of this one. Piloting deals from Tishman Speyer’s acquisition of Stuy Town to El-Ad’s purchase of the Plaza, his firm is involved in about one-third of the city’s commercial deals.

73 Robert Lieber and Seth Pinsky (43)

Deputy mayor for economic development and president of the New York Economic Development Corp., respectively

Mr. Lieber (pictured) and Mr. Pinsky lead economic development policy for the Bloomberg administration, pouring money at big-ticket

projects like Coney Island and Willets Point, along with new water-front parks. The two recently were mediators in a yearlong clash over financing towers at the World Trade Center, eventually brokering a plan to give rise to two new office towers.

74 Philip GreenOwner of Arcadia Group Ltd.

Sir Philip staged a British invasion of Soho with the opening last year of the Topshop flagship store at 480 Broadway. With a little

help from Kate Moss and in-store roller-skating parties, he has established the clothing retailer in the city, and is reportedly eyeing more local sites.

75 Arnold, Kenneth, Ste-ven and Winston Fisher

(pictured) (45)Partners in Fisher Brothers

With their family business, which has “enjoyed nearly a century of uninterrupted growth” (according to their Web site),

the Brothers Grimm of hefty midtown real estate are staying the course with their sky-happy empire, which counts a bevy of buildings

#70Robert Knakal


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with square footage over the 1 million mark, including Park Avenue Plaza, 605 Third Avenue, 1345 Avenue of the Americas and 299 Park Avenue.

76 Timothy Dolan (79)roman Catholic archbishop of

new York

It’s a thankless task some-times. Not only is he surround-ed by the capital of secularism, but Timothy Dolan, archbishop since early

2009, faces the same financial problems as his predecessor, Edward Egan, who made this list in 2008. These problems might very well mean another round of parish closings. Take heart, though, Excellency. The archdiocese, which includes Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx, remains—for now—one of the city’s biggest landlords.

77 Mike FishmanPresident of SeiU 32bj

Mr. Fishman picked well in the fall elections. In addition to the mayor, his union support-ed the eventual winners of the comptroller

and public-advocate races, along with six new members of the City Council. Now he will be calling on his new friends in government for support, as he pushes a bill opposed by landlords that would raise the wages of building service workers in subsidized developments.

78 John Sexton and Mike Alfano

President and executive vice president, respectively, of new York University

Messrs. Sexton (pictured) and Alfano’s recent revealing of the university’s expansion plans only added to Village residents’

resentment of what they view as the school’s colonization of their neighborhood. The 2031 expansion plan, which includes suburban “superblocks” in the Washington

Square Park area and a satellite campus on Governors Island, hinges on adding 240,000 square feet of development per year.

79 James Cooper (82)rector of Trinity Church

Along with the recently resigned Carl Weisbrod, Mr. Cooper has repositioned Trinity’s 6 million square feet of loft-heavy old

industrial buildings in Hudson Square, bounded by the Avenue of the Americas and Greenwich, Houston and Canal streets, into appealing office space for creative tenants. In so doing, he helped transform Trinity Church into a landlord for the likes of Penguin Putnam, WNYC, Lauder and Getty Images.

80 Diane RamirezPresident of Halstead

Property

The former broker, who began her career almost 40 years ago in Palm Beach, is optimistic about the future of her semi-boutique

brokerage (it’s owned, along with BHS, by Terra Holdings), and from the looks of things, she has reason to be. Recruiting about two dozen agents from the carnage of CBHK, the Halstead honcho recently said that her company’s seeing more and more transactions over the $10 million mark.

81 Aby Rosen (91)Principal of rfr realty

The suave Mr. Rosen is an art buff—his modernist Seagram Building and landmarked Lever House, which hosts an art gallery,

could be thought of as part of the hobby, in fact. His RFR Realty is shopping around leases at a slew of some of the city’s most coveted and high-end properties on the gilded Park, Madison and Fifth avenues.

#78John Sexton


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82 David (pictured) and Jed

Walentas (72)Founder and vice president, respectively, of two trees management

The tumble-weed-tossing John Wayne who decided Dumbo was dandy is still in the saddle. With the most expensive condo sale in

Brooklyn ($8.5 million at One Brooklyn Bridge Park); Jay-Z and Ralph Lauren rumored as house hunters at the moguls’ $25 million penthouse clock tower listing—by far the borough’s priciest—and last year’s legal victory regarding the controversial Dock Street construc-tion, the wily Walentases seem primed to ride out the storm.

83 Hall Willkie (84)President of Brown Harris

stevens

The boutique-style firm crafts a carefully honed reputation for dis-cretion and class, garnering some of the glossiest, most privacy-de-manding and largest listings, from Gold Coast co-ops to Georgian bow-front townhouses. The firm contin-ues to add brokers, supplementing last year’s assumption of Edward Lee Cave’s boutique. Mr. Willkie recently confessed, “I’m elated be-cause a year ago I never thought we could come to this level so quickly.”

84 Joseph Strasburg (63) President of the Rent

stabilization association of new York

In 2008, the Democrats recaptured the State Senate after decades in the minority. City landlords burst into sweat beads. Would tenant

activists finally get the decidedly landlord-unfriendly changes to city rent regulations that they’d fought for forever? Mr. Strasburg sprung into action. As the landlords’ top representative in Albany, he pushed back against the activists. For now, it looks like he won; regulation changes are dead in the political water.

85 Peter Ward President of the Hotel & motel

trades Council

In the past few years, Mr. Ward has built up a political powerhouse of a union. With his political director, Neal Kwatra, he has spearheaded

numerous actions that bring down barriers to the unionization of hotels, most recently through a clause added to public authorities legislation that passed last year.

86 Veronica MainettiU.s. activities head for the

sorgente Group

Don’t let her emerald-green eyes or her age fool you. At 31, Ms. Mainetti has enough real estate savvy to fill the shoes of dozens of her aging male

competitors. Her seven-unit Soho condo 34 Greene Street is now on the market, and Sorgente acquired the Flatiron Building last year. Plus! Rumors are afoot that the group’s out to buy the Woolworth Building, too.

87 Adrian Benepe (99)Parks commissioner

Despite the Tavern on the Green hullaba-loo and budget-cut crises (Hudson River Park), this biker boy keeps green space on the

brain, stalwartly forging ahead with the mayor’s PlaNYC project, which plans to have all New Yorkers living within 10 minutes of a park by 2030. With the weather warming and Brooklyn Bridge Park heralded as “the most important public space of the century,” Mr. Benepe is in the spotlight, or sunlight, rather.

88 Nochi Dankner owner, chairman and Ceo of

iDB Group

The investment magnate blew into town from Ben Gurion last October in a big, big way: His firm agreed to buy the HSBC tower at

452 Fifth Avenue for $330 million—cash. It’s very likely Mr. Dankner’s first major foray into New York real estate, though likely not the last. With a corporate CV too long to list here, he has mammoth capital—and access to more—to sink into similarly 2007-like deals.

89 Dolly Lenz (89)Vice chairman of Prudential

Douglas elliman

Ms. Lenz’s winning Elliman’s top sales award is about as surprising as Tiki Barber’s cheating: It’s getting to be a bore. But the

super-agent, who claims, “It’s not work; it’s a passion,” has sold more than $7 billion in New York real

estate, and there’s nothing boring about that. With her sales coup at the Apthorp (she had to find 25 buyers in a pinch) and continued boldface listings, no one is saying “Goodbye, Dolly” just yet.

90 Lee Bollinger (57)President of Columbia

University

Affectionately called “Prezbo” by students, Mr. Bollinger has a full schedule. On June 1, the Court of Appeals will make a decision on the use of

eminent domain for Columbia’s 17-acre West Harlem expansion; and, this fall, the controversial Rafael Moneo–designed science center, which incidentally cost lots

of moneo ($200 million), is slated to open—oh, but first, there’s graduation!

91 John Burgersenior vice president and man-

aging director at Brown Harris stevens

Forget Ghostbusters. John Burger is the one to watch out for on Central Park West, with current listings (all over $10 million) at the San Remo, Dakota and Majestic, including Co-nan O’Brien’s $29.5 million duplex. Reliably offering “no comment” to the press, the BHS powerhouse has made a name for himself in discre-tion, which might explain his recent $22 million sale with Jamie Tisch at 720 Park and the 778 Park Avenue Buckley listing he shares with Paula Del Nunzio (No. 99).

#89Dolly Lenz


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OSBORNE RESTORATIONMidtown West. Exclusive. Restored and renovated co-op. 13’6” ceilings and dramatic windows in living room, 4 wood-burning fireplaces, Poggenpohl chef’s kitchen, CAC. 2 bedrooms, library, 3.5 baths. Expertly finished. $6.9M. WEB# 1067608.

TURTLE BAY GARDENS TOWNHOUSE40s/Third Ave. Excl. Set on historic Turtle Bay Gardens, approximately 3,900 square feet. 4 bedrooms, 2 offices, high ceilings, original detail, planted garden. Outstanding. $6.25M. WEB# 961042.

GRACIOUS GRAMERCY TOWNHOUSEGramercy Park. Excl. Sunny, approximately 6,000 square foot, 21 foot wide, high ceilings, 3 outdoor spaces, finished basement, great condition. Steps to Gramercy and Stuvesant Parks. Truly exceptional. $7.5M. WEB# 1110759.

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HISTORIC TREADWELL MANSION60s/E. Excl. Renovated Treadwell Farms townhouse. 4 outdoor spaces. 5 bedrooms, 6.5 baths plus+ staff suite. 12’3” ceilings in living room. Warm and elegant home. $10.25M. WEB# 1084987.


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92 Robert LiMandri (87)Commissioner of the Depart-

ment of Buildings

The city’s construction site chaperone currently faces the challenge of making his more-than-1,200-strong regulatory force more

efficient in an environment offering curbed spending. In the past year, Mr. LiMandri has shown he means business with bold (and possibly PR-motivated) moves, such as bringing the whip down on divisive Brooklyn architect Robert Scarano and, most recently, demanding that Shepherd Fairey’s apparently illegal mural on Houston Street be destroyed.

93 Lockhart Steele (95)publisher of Curbed network

According to a recent deifying profile in The Times Maga-zine, Curbed postings cover “anything a New Yorker might do with square footage,

a lease and a dream.” It sounds like the premise of a Frank Capra film. And yet the “Curbediverse” is a bit of an optimist anomaly, with voyeurs and vendors coexisting in the darkest downturns. In fact, the digital conglomerate, which also includes Racked and Eater, began making a profit mid-2009.

94 Young Wooprincipal of Young Woo &

associates

Hailed as the new nice guy in town, the developer’s bold aspira-tions for AIG’s 70 Pine Street and 72 Wall Street, which he acquired for

a cool $150 million combined last summer (he plans to sell condos in 70 Pine for $2,000 per square foot), make him the new go-to guy as well. Mr. Woo’s firm also won the development rights to Pier 57, and he already owns the Chelsea Arts Tower and the automobile-elevator-ed 200 11th Avenue.

95 Janette Sadik-Khantransportation commissioner

Not only does Ms. Sadik-Khan manage the city’s 4,000 DOT workers, 5,800 miles of streets and sidewalks, 789 bridges and 1.3 million street

signs, but she has been one of Mayor Bloomberg’s most innovative and sometimes controversial deputies, building miles of bike lanes and transforming Broadway in Times Square into a pedestrian plaza, with plans to do the same at Union Square and on 34th Street.

96 Kirk Henckels (83)executive vice president and

director of stribling private Brokerage

Mr. Henckels takes tea at the Carlyle, neatly bespectacled and always bow-tied. It is no accident that the elegant, Texas-bred

former banker began his tenure in the business at Edward Lee Cave’s aristocratic boutique. The plume in Stribling’s cap, Mr. Henckels seemed a natural choice for the famed 778 Park Avenue duplex—a choice Mrs. Astor certainly would not regret.

97 Joel Seiden and Ofer Yardeni

principals of stonehenge partners

As owners of Stonehenge, Mr. Se-iden and his Israeli-born partner, Mr. Yardeni, have acquired upward of 15 properties in New York. The power duo owns and manages assets valued in excess of $700 million, and with a portfolio that has included the Pennmark, it’s easy to see why. Purchased at the top of the market, the 33-story, 600,000-square-foot space cost Mr. Seiden and Mr. Yardani a reported $244 million, among the highest prices paid for property in 2005.

#94Young Woo


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Chicago Mercantile ExchangeRepresented Tishman Speyer Properties in the acquisition and leasing of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center

West Side Property DevelopmentRepresentation of Brookfield Properties Corporation in connection with the development and financing of the ‘superblock’ at West 33rd Street and 9th Avenue in New York, NY

GM BuildingRepresentation of Macklowe Properties in connection with the sale of the General Motors building and three other office towersin New York, NY

Columbia UniversityRepresenting Columbia University as environmental counsel in connection with the approvals for the creation of a new 17-acre campus in West Harlem in New York, NY

West Side Rail YardsRepresentation of The Related Companies in connection with the development of West Side Rail Yards in New York, NY

Polo Ralph LaurenRepresentation of Ashkenazy/Carlyle in connection with the lease ofspace at 650 Madison Avenue in New York, NY to Polo Ralph Lauren

World Financial CenterRepresenting Brookfield Properties in connection with infrastructureprojects at The World Financial Center in New York, NY

Pier 92, 94Representation of Vornado Realty Trust and Merchandise Mart in the development of Hudson River Piers 92, 94 to a 400,000 square foot trade show facility

Chelsea MarketRepresenting Jamestown Properties on the rezoning and redevelopmentof Chelsea Market in West Chelsea in New York, NY

AIGRepresentation of AIG in connection with the sale and leaseback of itsworld headquarters in New York, NY

UBSRepresented UBS AG in connection with the sale of its interest in 299 Park Avenue in New York, NY, a 1.1 million square foot officebuilding, to Rockpoint Group, LLC

HSBC Bank Buildings Representation of subsidiaries of IDB Holding Corp. in the acquisition and lease back of the HSBC Bank buildings at 425 Fifth Avenue and 1 West 39th Street in New York, NY, a total of 865,000 square feet


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98Mark Jaccom Ceo of Colliers

international tri-state Division

When it was announced in January that First Service Real Estate Advisors would merge with Colliers International, thus creating

what could be the world’s third-largest commercial firm, nobody was happier than Mr. Jaccom, the newly named chief executive of Colliers International’s tristate hub.

99 Paula Del Nunzio (74)senior vice president and

managing director at Brown harris stevens

Ms. Del Nunzio, townhouse Her-cules, with the $50 million Duke-Semans Mansion on the docket and the record-setting Harkness Mansion under

her belt, is taking the torch as genteel but power-savvy dame du jour. Her current listings total more than $241 million combined, and there are only 17 of them! She also shares the newly launched Buckley listing at 778 Park with John Burger (No. 91).

100 Veronica Hackett (98)

managing partner of the Clarett Group

As any real estate honcho will advise, there’s no surer way of sending a message than by building the tallest tower. For Clarett, that superlative

became a reality last year, when the company completed the Brooklyner, a 51-story residential tower in downtown Brooklyn that now bests the borough’s former tallest by two feet. And business, reportedly, has been brisk, even with studios starting at $1,550.

#100Veronica Hackett


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An Ingenious CollaborationCushman & Wakefield is pleased to receive one of REBNY’s Most IngeniousDeal of the Year Awards for the sale-leaseback of a portion of The New York

Times headquarters in Manhattan.

This transaction, and its award-winning results, would not have been possiblewithout the vision of our client and the collaboration of our Corporate

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SIGN OF THE TIMES: The team of Cushman & Wakefield's Corporate Investment Banking Group based in New York and New York Brokerage Services,

pose with REBNY’s Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Award for the sale-leaseback of a $225 million condominium interest in The New York Times head-

quarters building in Manhattan. Front row (left to right): Andrew Sachs, Michael Rotchford, Louis Wolfowitz. Back row (left to right), Jessica Lowery, Anna Mori,

Richard Chun, Robert Elms.

Documents

The Commercial Observer - May 11, 2010