Arsonist Nabbed in Deadly Brooklyn Apartment Building Fire
February 2, 2010 by Neil · 2 Comments
Daniel Ignacio told police investigators that while he was drunk, he used paint thinner to ignite a roll of toilet paper on fire with a cigarette lighter inside a baby carriage in the stairwell of his apartment building. Ignacio then … Read More
Who Will Control Stuyvesant Town?
February 1, 2010 by Neil · 1 Comment
Tishman Speyer has ruled out the nuclear option of bankruptcy to forestall the struggle for control of Stuyvesant Town / Peter Cooper Village. Now a real estate food fight will ensue over control of the 110-building complex, each … Read More
Is Anyone Really Calling the Bottom in New York City Multifamily?
February 1, 2010 by Neil · Leave a Comment
Multifamily values have not bottomed out because: (1) vacancies will continue climbing; (2) rents will continue declining; (3) interest rates have not yet crept up; (4) many loans have not depleted their interest reserves (Hat tip: Reuters). Add to this mix … Read More
NY to Atlantic Yards Developer: Finish By…2035?!
February 1, 2010 by Neil · 1 Comment
What will happen by 2035? Muslims will outnumber Christians in Britain. China will surpass the U.S. economically. Jerusalem will lose its Jewish majority, if those predictions are accurate. In addition, 2035 is also the Read More
The Unintended Consequences of Security Cameras on New York City Apartment Buildings
January 29, 2010 by Neil · 1 Comment
New Year’s Day, 2010: A time for celebration, resolutions, and…a huge fight along Albany Avenue, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Police arrived to disperse the crowd, and break up the fight. Davial Rowe and Nagi Benson were charged with assaulting a … Read More
Which New York City Apartment Building Owner Faces an Attorney General Investigation For Tenant Harassment?
January 28, 2010 by Neil · 2 Comments
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo will start a lawsuit against Neil Rubler’s Vantage Properties for systemic harassment of its tenants. Since 2006, Vantage has acquired more than 125 buildings with more than 9,500 units—the majority of which are rent-regulated—in Harlem, northern Manhattan … Read More
Which New York City Multifamily Developer Heads To Prison For 4 Years? (Hint: It’s Still Not Sam Chang)
January 28, 2010 by Neil · Leave a Comment
Manhattan developer Michael Hershkowitz was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to forfeit $27.2 million for his role in a Ponzi scheme involving fraudulent loans secured by nonexistent mortgages. Prosecutors had alleged Hershkowitz and others induced about 70 individuals to … Read More
Apartment Vacancy Rates & Apartment Rent Rates: New York City & Long Island
January 28, 2010 by Neil · Leave a Comment
As vacancy rates increase, rents should drop. Right? Not exactly, according to the latest data from REIS. If the relationship was inverse, as expected from the data, then the lines would more definitively approach a V- or an X-shape. In 4Q 2009, … Read More
