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Live at the Observer’s Power 100 Event

The Observer hosted an event tonight at the 21 Club to commemorate this year's Power 100 list, which recognizes the city's most influential players in the real estate industry. The few hundred people in attendance included No. 1 Stephen Ross of the Related Companies and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"We are thrilled that all of you Read More

Slideshow: Public Hearing on Riverside Center

Little Guy Gets Screwed Again, This Time at Tavern on the Green

Same old story, new setting: Tavern on the Green. Unlikely source of story: Wall Street Journal. The Journal on Tuesday writes about the collateral damage of the failed negotiations between the union and restaurateur Dean Poll to reopen Tavern on the Green.

Turns out it's not just the city's image that's suffering. It's also all those out-of-work waiters.

Melinda Katz’s New Real Estate Perch: Nice Vu

When former councilwoman and one-time chair of the land-use committee Melinda Katz ran for comptroller, she got a lot of flack for being too close to the real estate industry.

Now she's working as an adviser to the real estate industry, as an attorney at real estate law firm Greenberg Traurig.

The Real Deal has a Read More

These Two Union Bigs Really, Really Don’t Like Each Other

Union bigs Bruce Raynor and Peter Ward really, really, really don't like each other.

Their mutual distaste spilled into the pages of The New York Times on Monday morning, with a report that Mr. Raynor's Sidney Hillman Foundation has decided to relocate its annual journalism award dinner from the Hudson Theater at West 44th Street, Read More

Cipriani, Trump Express Interest in Tavern

Less than 24 hours after talks between would-be Tavern on the Green operator Dean Poll and the union representing the restaurant's workers collapsed, the Cipriani company and Donald Trump have already expressed interest in the defunct eatery.

Here's the typically bombastic Mr. Trump speaking to The New York Times:

"If I could help the city Read More

Tavern on the Green Talks Collapse; Restaurant Up for Grabs Again; Meantime, a Snack Bar

Restaurateur Dean Poll has officially withdrawn from talks with the labor union representing Tavern on the Green's 400 workers, forcing the city to search anew for an operator to run one of the country's most storied—and lucrative—restaurants.

In a statement issued late Thursday, Mr. Poll said, “It is with great regret that we are unable Read More

Cole Miller’s Controversial Gramercy Park Restaurant a Go

No one said dealing with Gramercy Park residents would be easy—this is, after all, the neighborhood that's famous for regulating access to Manhattan's only private park with the fervor of a drill sergeant at basic training.

But it must have been hard to anticipate the uproar that ensued when a simple liquor license request from restaurateur Cole Read More

Neil Bender, King of Greenwich Village, Vanquishes Pretenders

Neil Bender, one-time disputed heir to a real estate fortune that encompasses more than 100 properties in Greenwich Village, is disputed no longer.

On Tuesday, a court struck down an appeal by Mr. Bender's sister and nephew that challenged his right to inherit the estate from his uncle, William Gottlieb. The news was first reported in Read More

Tavern Negotiations Near Breaking Point

The Wall Street Journal adds its voice to the recent spate of stories about the still fruitless negotiations between labor and incoming Tavern operator Dean Poll that would allow one of New York City's most storied restaurants to finally reopen.

According to the Journal, "The sticking points include the naming of an arbitrator and the Read More

JFK Plaza Hotel Owners Leave Trail of Ruin Stretching to Lancaster, Penn.

Kronos Hotels, the hotel concern that so mismanaged the Crowne Plaza JFK that the InterContinental Hotels Group, the owner of the Crowne Plaza name, cut ties with the firm (the hotel has since been renamed JFK Plaza), hasn't just wreaked havoc in Queens.

LancasterOnline.com has an in-depth story on Charles Morais and Sunil Mir, Read More

Si Considers Moving Condé to One World Trade

Si Newhouse is considering moving Condé Nast from Times Square to One World Trade Center, according to The New York Times:

According to real estate executives who requested anonymity because the talks are secret, the publisher would take up as much as one million square feet in what is planned to be the country's tallest Read More

Congressmen Sleep on Office Couches Rather than Invest in D.C. Real Estate

Dignity be damned! "As many as one in ten" congressmen may sleep in their D.C. offices rather than bother investing in D.C. real estate, according to a great article in The Chicago Tribune:

Quigley and other House members, who earn $174,000 a year, cite two reasons for taking advantage of this little-known perk. One is Read More

Blackstone Sues Sapir for Defaulted Beaver House Loan

The Blackstone Group is suing downtown developer and renowned extinct-animal-pelt importer Tamir Sapir for defaulting on a huge loan for his downtown condominium the William Beaver House, according to The Real Deal:

The lawsuit alleges that as of November 2009 Sapir owed $48.7 million in interest, on top of the $66 million in principal. Read More

Westbrook Zeroes In on St. Vincent’s Property

Westbrook Partners, the private real estate investment concern headed that snapped up the Paramount Hotel and the Burberry Building during the boom, has returned to the New York real estate market.

The firm has bought the first mortgage backing St. Vincent's 555 Avenue of the Americas, according to industry sources, in an apparent play for the Read More