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De Blasio Defends the Troubled NYC Ferry Service

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The NYC Ferry service has experienced two groundings in just over a month. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

On Thursday, December 28, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that he doesn’t see any safety issues with the ferry service, and two groundings in just over a month is no sign of danger.

“Human error” was to blame, according to de Blasio, for the two groundings, one of which happened last Wednesday night and left 23 passengers stranded for almost six hours on a sandbar off the Rockaways. The high demand for the ferry service outweighs all of its issues, the mayor insists.

At an unrelated news conference at NYPD headquarters, de Blasio said, “There’s no question it’s safe. We have ample evidence it’s safe, and we’re going to continue to make sure the service is run well. I have no idea why in these two instances specifically these mistakes were made… but you guys, you gotta look at the totality of something that’s now been going on quite a while and has a huge number of riders.”

According to The Post, “Officials wouldn’t say who was at the helm Wednesday. The city’s Economic Development Corp. — which arranged and oversees the NYC Ferry service — said the unidentified captain ‘has been taken off duty pending the outcome of the investigation.’ Co-workers told The Post the captain hadn’t piloted an NYC Ferry boat for some time before Wednesday and may have been unfamiliar with the waters where he ran aground. The captain was brought in to replace the route’s regular captain, an experienced mariner known as ‘Danny,’ who called out ahead of his Wednesday shift, one worker said. ‘Danny’s really good. He wasn’t driving. He usually drives,’ the worker said. The captain who plowed another NYC Ferry boat into an underwater pile field in the East River on Nov. 27 — previously identified by sources as Michael Sabatino — hasn’t returned to the helm and is currently assigned to other duties, the EDC said.”

Although the mayor admits that neither incident was “acceptable,” he notes that no one was injured and insists that there is “ample evidence” that suggests it is perfectly safe to ride the NYC Ferries.

Regarding Wednesday’s incident, de Blasio said, “People are safe because people all came out of it safe. That’s the answer.”

Last month corrosion and leaks that took six ferries out of service were downplayed by the mayor and even at first denied by City Hall and called just “a few issues with a few boats.”

According to the EDC, only on of those boats has returned to service, while the others are still receiving repairs that are “nearing completion.”

The popularity of the ferry service, which started operations in May with $325 million in taxpayer subsidies, with commuters is also repeatedly pointed out by de Blasio.

The mayor said, “We’ve had a huge level of demand for the ferries. They’ve worked well. There were times where we had too much demand, and we had to adjust and we did adjust. Safety has not been a problem here.”

By Rachel Shapiro

 

NYT Probe Reveals Factors Behind MTA’s Disturbingly High Construction Costs

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The 86th Street station of the Second Avenue subway in December 2013, during its construction. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

A recent investigation by the New York Times revealed the MTA’s disturbingly high construction costs, as well as a discrepancy in the budget for new train platforms under Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.

According to The Times, “The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as part of a 3.5-mile tunnel connecting the historic station to the Long Island Rail Road. But the accountant could only identify about 700 jobs that needed to be done, according to three project supervisors. Officials could not find any reason for the other 200 people to be there.

‘Nobody knew what those people were doing, if they were doing anything,’ said Michael Horodniceanu, who was then the head of construction at the MTA, which runs transit in New York. The workers were laid off, Mr. Horodniceanu said, but no one figured out how long they had been employed. “All we knew is they were each being paid about $1,000 every day.”

The discovery, which occurred in 2010 and was not disclosed to the public, illustrates one of the main issues that has helped lead to the increasing delays now tormenting millions of subway riders every day: The leaders entrusted to expand New York’s regional transit network have paid the highest construction costs in the world, spending billions of dollars that could have been used to fix existing subway tunnels, tracks, trains and signals.”

For some reason the estimated cost of the Long Island Rail Road project, known as “East Side Access,” is seven times more than the average cost would be anywhere else in the world, with the projection inflated to $12 billion, which is almost $3.5 billion per one mile of new track. Other projects recently completed in the city also cost far above the average, with the new Second Avenue subway line’s construction costing $2.5 billion per mile and the 7-line extension in 2015 costing $1.5 billion per mile.

This ridiculously inflated spending has taken place even as the MTA cuts back on important maintenance due to politicians diverting money from the transit authority.

These incredible costs have been attributed to several factors in The Times’ report.

Overstaffing is one big factor. According to the consulting firm Arup, who worked on the Second Avenue subway as well as similar projects across the globe, in New York, “underground construction employs approximately four times the number of personnel as in similar jobs in Asia, Australia, or Europe.”

Another factor is the lack of competition. Consultant Gary Brierley, who worked on the 7-line extension and the Second Avenue subway in addition to hundreds of similar projects, told The Times, “In other cities, you get eight bids for projects. In New York, you get two or three, and they know that, so they’ll inflate their bids if they think they can get away with it.”

Political pressures and the infamous “soft-cost,” which are the non-construction aspects of a project like preliminary designs and project managers, are the other factors which make the costs of transit construction in New York City so much higher than it is in the rest of the world.

While the findings of The Times were not disputed by the MTA, officials did defend the state of things and that all costs were necessary.

MTA chairman Joseph J. Lhota said, “We recognize this has been a problem. We’re never going to deny history. This is an issue that needs to be addressed. It needs to be attacked.”

By Hannah Hayes

 

Group Opposing Bklyn Heights Pierhouse Hotel Loses in Appeals Court

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The Pierhouse complex in Brooklyn Heights.

On Wednesday, December 27, a community group lost its appeal in court to preserve the spectacular view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.

The original decision was upheld, with the merits of the lawsuit playing no part in the decision of the New York State Appeals Court in Brooklyn. In September 2015, State Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Knipel decided that the lawsuit filed by Save The View Now (STVN), a group co-founded by Brooklyn Heights resident Steven Guterman, was submitted four-months after the Article 78 Statute of Limitations.

The lawsuit claims that the Pierhouse complex’s hotel section in Brooklyn Bridge Park reaches 30 feet beyond the height limit of 100-feet, which was agreed on in 2005 with the community. The iconic views of the Brooklyn Bridge are now impaired by the finished building.

The procedure by which governing bodies and city and state agencies can be sued are outlined in Article 78. According to court documents, the suit must be filed within four months of the date that the agency’s position on the issue becomes “readily ascertainable” to the complaining party.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports, “The four-judge Court of Appeals said that STVN was correct in stating that the park failed to submit proof establishing the dates of the agency approvals of rooftop structures over the height and baseline limitations. But they agreed with Knipel that STVN could have reasonably ascertained that the building height blew past the agreed-upon height limitation sooner than it apparently did — or, at the latest, by September 10, 2014, when the northern building reached its maximum height. STVN filed their lawsuit on April 21, 2015.”

On Thursday, December 28, a spokesperson for the park told the Eagle, “We’re pleased with yesterday’s decision which affirms Justice Knipel’s dismissal of the Pierhouse case. Like the other development projects in Brooklyn Bridge Park, this project generates much needed revenue to maintain and operate the Park.”

Politics had a part in permitting the oversized building, says STVN’s Guterman.

On Friday, December 29, Guterman told the Eagle, “We are disappointed in the decision by the appeals court. It is a sad commentary when it is clear to Court and anybody that reads the planning documents that what Toll Brothers built is significantly larger and more obstructive than what was promised to the community in 2005, and nothing can be done.”

He added, “This is a conflict of interest case that is permitted due to very weak anti-corruption legislation in New York. It is well known that Toll Brothers is a major contributor to Mayor de Blasio’s election campaign, and the mayor’s offer helped Toll Brothers violate the promises made to the public. The citizens of New York will continue to get ignored as long as the real estate developers are allowed to provide major funding to our politicians. It is time for either the state or city government to place people before money and pass strict anti-corruption laws.”

By Mark Snyder

 

Prices Drop for Manhattan Apartment Sales in Fourth Quarter

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One57 is one of the luxury buildings on Billionares’ Row located at 157 West 57th Street. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)
Tower Verre a new development on Billionares’ Row still under construction. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

The market for apartments in Manhattan has experienced drops-in prices for sales during the last quarter of 2017.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, for 2017’s fourth quarter the median price at $1.08 million for an apartment in Manhattan, while this is an increase of 4.6 percent when compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, it is a marked 9.8 percent decrease when compared to the second quarter of 2017. The market has also slowed for ultraluxury pads in Manhattan, with a fall in the number of contracts signed for apartments priced at $10 million or more during October and November.

The analysis conducted by the WSJ found that while there were record-setting median prices for condos and co-ops this year, with condo prices reaching $1.7 million and co-ops striking $800,000, when compared to last year the price of new developments declined 0.6 percent, with a median price of $2.6 million.

The Real Deal reports, “The two main factors behind the drop were an oversaturation of pricey apartments in Manhattan and anxiety over what would end up being included in the new GOP tax law. The Manhattan real estate market could pick up next year as the implications of the new law become clearer.”

Corcoran Group president Pamela Liebman told the WSJ that her firm lost out on several deals at the end of this year as a result of the new tax bill.

She said, “We lost a lot of deals in the fourth quarter, while people waited to see the outcome of the tax bill. Now that the uncertainty is gone they will be able to make a decision.”

By Charles Bernstein

 

SoHo Landlord Finds Offbeat Way to Beat Retail Vacancy

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The Collab space at 433 Broadway and Abdul Thunayan (Credit: LinkedIn)

The retail space in Soho’s 433 Broadway was newly constructed with high hopes. It first opened its 9,100 square foot space in 2015 when the market was hot, asking $590 per square foot. Now, three years later, there is still no sign of a long term tenant and hope is dwindling. Omari Properties, the landlord which acquired the property in 1996 and spent about 15 years developing it, decided it’s time for an unconventional plan.

That’s where Collab came in. Collab, founded by Abdul Thunayan, is a store that allows online brands to showcase their goods in exchange for a fee. Like a pop-up store, Collab operates with minimal buildout, and can open and shut its doors within weeks. Instead of showcasing a single company’s products, however, this startup showcases dozens of lines from online brands that don’t have the money for a store but still want a shot at Soho’s shoppers. As reported by The Real Deal, brands can rent a just a small shelf or clothing rack for between $1,500 and $2,500 a month. With minimal risk and low operating costs, chances for success are high. Collab pays the rent, mans the store and manages sales. A “curations team” decides which brands work together and designs the layout. Collab also takes a percentage of the sales, and so does the landlord. Thunayan says the compared to a regular lease, the revenue sharing model is “more flexible and more profitable for the landlord”.

Last month Collab opened a store with about 2,000 square feet. It is now set to expand to 6,000 square feet. Eddie Omari’s son in law, Edan Abehsera, is CEO of the Cubico co-working space. Abehsera praised the working model as “very low-risk”, saying it’s an ideal temporary fix —less disruptive than a pop-up store and more economical than hiring a broker for a short term deal. Without disclosing details of how much the space now brings in, he claims the model could potentially raise more than the original asking rent for a long-term lease there. “If the market goes right, this could be the new normal,” said Omari.

By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

 

Burlington to Open Mega Store in Bklyn’s Kings Plaza Mall

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Brooklyn shoppers get ready! Burlington Coat Factory will be joining the likes of Macy’s, H&M, Foot Locker, Michael Kors, Forever 21, and Old Navy in Kings Plaza Shopping Center.
Burlington has signed a lease for 55,000 square feet at the Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Mill Basin. As reported by the Real Deal, the 10-year lease was signed with Macerich Company, the Santa Barbara real estate investment trust which owns regional malls across the United States

Brooklyn shoppers get ready! Burlington Coat Factory will be joining the likes of Macy’s, H&M, Foot Locker, Michael Kors, Forever 21, and Old Navy in Kings Plaza Shopping Center. Burlington has signed a lease for 55,000 square feet at the Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Mill Basin. As reported by the Real Deal, the 10-year lease was signed with Macerich Company, the Santa Barbara real estate investment trust which owns regional malls across the United States. The deal includes three optional five-year extensions. The price for the lease has not been disclosed. This past November, Third Point, Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund, acquired a 5 percent share in Macerich. The company did not comment on the new lease agreement.

Burlington will encompass 52,915 square feet on the fourth floor of the mall at 5100 Kings Plaza. An extra 2,163 square feet is included in the lease but located on other floors of the mall. “Kings Plaza is a highly successful shopping destination in Brooklyn, and it offered the right size space on one floor,” said Cliff Simon from CNS Real Estate, who brokered the deal. He said Burlington sought after the location due to its heavy traffic volume and the amount of available space spread on the same floor.

The department store, established in 1972, boasts 591 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico. With its corporate headquarter in Burlington Township, New Jersey the store is publicly owned and traded on the NYSE. The name-brand discount mega-store, which is known for offering 65 percent off retail prices, also signed a new lease over the summer at 2948 Third Avenue in the South Bronx. That 55,000 square foot store is slated to open in the first quarter of 2018.

By: Ilana Siyance

 

Bklyn Judge Censures “Loud Mouth” Atty; Condo Board to Soundproof Apt

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Complaints from neighbors about excessive noise from divorce lawyer Andrea J. Coleman’s Brooklyn apartment have prompted a judge to grant permission to the condo board to soundproof the apartment in which she dwells

A Brooklyn judge has given a condo board permission to soundproof a divorce attorney’s apartment – by force, if necessary – after complaints from neighbors about excessive noise.

Neighbors claim that the relentless screaming emanating from the fifth-floor apartment at 1 Grand Army Plaza – classic music played at ear-splitting levels and shouts of “Obama is a murderer!” and “Rape!” at all hours – is making their lives a living hell.

Dennis Sughrue, a member of the condo board as well as an attorney, commented to the New York Post that such a ruling was “very unusual — but it’s a testament to just how crazy she is,” referring to resident Andrea J. Coleman.

The soundproofing was an option offered by Justice Edgar Walker following his imposition of a $31,000 fine. In the event that she refuses, Walker said, the condo board has the right to install the soundproofing “by forcible entry.”

According to the Post, Coleman purchased her one-bedroom apartment in 2010 for $765,000.

Coleman’s next-door neighbor, Craig Spolsky, stated in an affidavit that the screaming “begins as early as 6:30 a.m. and recurs throughout the day and often as late as midnight.” The voice, the Post reported, “can be clearly heard from inside my apartment. She uses words like ‘murder,’ ‘rape,’ ‘killing’ and ‘killing myself,’ and has apparently even mentioned my name in the same breath as these threatening words… ‘Obama, the murderer in chief’ — that’s a phrase that she often says.”

Spolsky also told the Post, “The horrifying nature, tremendously loud volume, and upsetting substance of [Coleman’s] yelling are present nearly every single day… “If [Coleman] is not going to stop yelling and screaming — and it is clear she will not — there is no other way that her neighbors can co-exist with her on the same floor” without the added soundproofing.

Last January, during a court hearing, Coleman insisted that the neighbors have spurred her on to her vocal gymnastics because they are trying to force her to move.

Unwanted sound coming through thin apartment walls is hardly a new problem in New York or any other modern city. Noisy neighbors can be the cause of irritability, aggression, stress and anxiety, according to Psychology Today, and can even interfere with people’s willingness to help others.

“As high density living becomes more commonplace, it is important that houses are designed with noisy neighbors in mind,” the magazine noted. “Researchers believe that the effect of noise on people’s wellbeing may be related to their lack of perceived control, with sense of control an important predictor of mental health.”

By Kenneth H.R. Robeson

 

Priciest New York City Real Estate Deals in 2017

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Designed by Harry Macklowe, the edifice, located at 432 Park Avenue between 56th and 57th Street, is considered “the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.”
The 80-year-old architect Harry Macklowe, who is in the throes of an expensive divorce trial with his soon-to-be ex-wife Linda, has his eyes set on creating a duplex out of two units he owned in the building so he can share it with his much younger fiancé, the 62-year old Patricia Landeau.

Driven by the acquisition of three apartments at a Midtown building based on the design of a garbage can, Manhattan’s 10 most expensive home sales amounted to more than a half-billion dollars.

Designed by Harry Macklow, the edifice, located at 432 Park Avenue between 56th and 57th Street, is considered “the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.”

Some of the residents who live in this structure include David Chu, the founder of sportswear brand Nautica, high powered Jacob “The Jeweler” Arabov (whose clients included Kanye West and Pharrell Williams) and Gerard Guez, CEO of the Los Angeles based clothing company Sunrise Brands.

The apartments sold in this high-end structure have been remodeled and remade in a variety of different ways. For example, this month, two units were sold together for $91.1 million to create a duplex on the 92nd and 93rd floors. The total space created by this acquisition was 12,000 square feet. The anonymous purchaser bought the space for lower than the original $120 million that was asked for.

The second and third highest housing sale in the city took place at 432 Park Avenue with the purchase of a unit on the 85th floor for $65.6 million and the third at $65.16 million on the 83rd floor. The third acquisition, according to city records was purchased by the son of billionaire gambling executive Stanley Ho, Lawrence Ho. Lawrence Ho on his own is worth $1.7 billion and his acquisition of the 83rd through the 85th floors were damaged by a flood making the acquisition risky.

The ninth-most expensive sales this year turned out to be the deepest of all the slashed asking prices. Another penthouse triplex located at The Pierre Hotel (pictured above) price had to be cut from $125 million to $44 million. The unit had been the hotel’s ballroom.

The 80-year-old architect Macklowe, who is in the throes of an expensive divorce trial with his soon-to-be ex-wife Linda, has his eyes set on creating a duplex out of two units he owned in the building so he can share it with his much younger fiancé, the 62-year old Patricia Landeau.

Not surprisingly, Manhattan was home to all of the top-10 deals in New York city with only two downtown.

This year’s deals were a 6.8 percent increase over last year’s top ten units sold. The total cost in 2017 was for a combined $552.9 million. Despite these numbers, there were some discounted sales in the top ten namely and most prominently, Demi Moore whose ex-husband Bruce Willis had purchased a penthouse triplex at the San Remo on Central Park West for $7 million 25 years ago, had to settle for a $45-million-dollar deal after she had asked $75 for her unit. Disappointing but still a net profit of $38 million.

The ninth-most expensive sales this year turned out to be the deepest of all the slashed asking prices. Another penthouse triplex located at The Pierre Hotel price had to be cut from $125 million to $44 million. The unit had been the hotel’s ballroom.

The fourth highest sale made came from a $55 million place at 960 Fifth Avenue, $18 million above the $35 million that was asked for In the first place.

Two downtown homes made the top ten. They were Tribeca’s 56 Leonard Street, the 57-story skyscraper (pictured above) and the quaint 443 Greenwich Street home to A-listers Justin Timberlake, Blake Lively, Harry Styles and Jake Gyllenhaal. The Leonard Street address was listed as the sixth-most expensive sale this year. It consisted of a four-bedroom penthouse consisting of a library, conservatory and a gym for $47.9 million

Dolly Lenz, the well-known super broker, remarked that “2017 was the year of the luxury discount, but a robust year nonetheless.”

The two downtown homes making the top ten, were Tribeca’s 56 Leonard Street, the 57-story skyscraper and the quaint 443 Greenwich Street home to A-listers Justin Timberlake, Blake Lively, Harry Styles and Jake Gyllenhaal.

The Leonard Street address was listed as the sixth-most expensive sale this year. It consisted of a four-bedroom penthouse consisting of a library, conservatory and a gym for $47.9 million. Owned by Alexico Group, the Delaware-based Uticon Investment Holding LLC shelled out $6,026 per square foot for the four-bedroom unit. The jenga-like tower which had long been in the making only started closing on units in 2016.

The 443 Greenwich Street address was the home of the 10th-most expensive sale paid for Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton at $43.9 million. Hamilton also owns homes in Monte Carlo and Colorado. Hamilton secured two private parking spaces in addition to the unit purchase which consists of five bedrooms and a 3,246-square-foot terrace with a pool and kitchen.

By: Andrew Schiff

 

Ackman’s Pershing Square & Valeant to Pay $290M for Investors Claims

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As 2017 drew to a close, investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings Ltd. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said they would pay $290 million to settle claims by some investors that they had been involved in insider trading in the 2014 takeover bid for botox-maker Allergan Inc.

As 2017 drew to a close, investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings Ltd. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said they would pay $290 million to settle claims by some investors that they had been involved in insider trading in the 2014 takeover bid for botox-maker Allergan Inc.

The deal, which according to Bloomberg News is still awaiting approval by a federal judge in Los Angeles, could be the final chapter in a fight between Pershing Square and Valeant. At issue: whether or not to settle the investors’ lawsuit.

The two companies ultimately decided to split the payment: Pershing Square will reportedly pay $193.75 million as part of the settlement, Valeant $96.25 million.

“We continue to believe the case had absolutely no merit,” Ackman told Bloomberg. “We decided, however, that it was in the best interest of our investors to settle the case now instead of continuing to spend substantial time and resources pursuing the litigation.”

Shareholders of Allergan had claimed that they had been fooled when Ackman bought their shares knowing Valeant was considering a hostile bid.

In a press release posted on its web site and dated 29 December, Pershing Square Holdings, an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies, announced that it had reached an agreement in principle, subject to court approval, to settle lawsuits concerning the

attempted acquisition of Allergan plc. by Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. The statement read in part:

“Pershing Square and Valeant have agreed to split the $290 million total settlement such that Pershing Square will pay $193.75 million and Valeant will pay $96.25 million. While Valeant had originally agreed to pay 60% of the cost of the settlement, Valeant and Pershing Square had different views on the desirability and timing of settling the case, which previously prevented settlement. On December 19, 2017, Pershing Square acquired control of the settlement of the litigation in exchange for agreeing to pay a greater percentage of the settlement amount.”

Pershing Square had previously set aside $75 million in legal reserves related to the case. The incremental cost of settling the litigation will reduce PSH’s and the private funds’ performance and net asset value by 132 basis points.

For its part, Valeant, a multinational specialty pharmaceutical company, posted a release on its web site announcing that “Valeant will pay $96.25 million, or 33 percent, of the settlement under the terms of a recently revised Litigation Management Agreement with the other defendants. Additionally, as part of the agreement, the Company and the other defendants admit no wrongdoing.”

“We believe this agreement to resolve the legacy litigation is in the best interests of the Company, because it enables us to focus our attention and resources on the transformation of Valeant,” said Joseph C. Papa, chairman and CEO, Valeant. “Though we always have remained confident in our position and were prepared to try these cases on their merits, this agreement will eliminate disruption to our business.”

By Howard M. Riell

 

East Side Apartment of Late NY Senator Jacob Javits Finds New Owner

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The famed home of the late Senator of New York Jacob K. Javits, Republican, and his recently deceased wife, Marian, at 322 East 57th Street, has found a new owner. The home was put up for sale by the children of Senator Javits and his wife. The co-op was purchased by the couple in the early 1970s.

The famed home of the late Senator of New York Jacob K. Javits, Republican, and his recently deceased wife, Marian, at 322 East 57th Street, has found a new owner. The home was put up for sale by the children of Senator Javits and his wife. The co-op was purchased by the couple in the early 1970s.

The coop located between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue, was built in 1929 and designed by architect Harry M. Clawson, is a three-bedroom, three-bathroom duplex with $10,000 a month in maintenance fees. Javits, who passed away from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 1986 was married twice.

Both Javits and his wife had many parties and social events at the co-op. Previously, the couple lived in a larger apartment but moved to the 57th Street abode after their three children left for college.

Javits was known as a strong supporter of the State of Israel and won reelection in 1974 questioning his key opponent former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark. Javits charged that Clark was promoting a Palestinian state on the West Bank and warned that a third state between Israel and Jordan would threaten Israel’s existence.

Javits along with Justice Arthur J. Goldberg and Senator Abraham Ribicoff in 1963 met with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to challenge him regarding Moscow’s treatment of Soviet Jews.

Javits was replaced in the senate by Alphonse D’Amato who defeated Javits in the primary in 1980 due to the former’s illness. Javits then ran on the liberal line in the general election and syphoned votes away from Democrat-nominee Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman of Brooklyn handing D’Amato the election.

The apartment, a duplex spanning the 12th and 13th floors of the building, was a 3,300-square-foot unit, opens to a large foyer leading to a living room with 17-foot ceilings and a wood burning fireplace.

The dwelling has a glass solarium with open-city views; it also featured a curved staircase with a vintage lucite handrail that heads to a formal dining room which overlooks the living room. The apartment also had an eat-in kitchen with a large pantry.

The daughter, Joy Javits, had her wedding at the apartment with about 150 guests and that her parents often threw parties there with guests like Henry Kissinger and Truman Capote.

The asking price for the co-op was $4.35 million. Mrs. Javits passed away in February 2016.

By: Andrew Schiff

 

Lebenthal Seeks Gripes at ‘Ladies Who Don’t Lunch’ Soiree in Manhattan

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As Page Six has reported, “society staple” Alexandra Lebenthal hosted her annual “Ladies Who Don’t Lunch” lunch in the ‘21’ Club’s Wine Cellar having requested, for some reason, that the guests come armed with their pet peeves

As Page Six has reported, “society staple” Alexandra Lebenthal hosted her annual “Ladies Who Don’t Lunch” lunch in the ‘21’ Club’s Wine Cellar having requested, for some reason, that the guests come armed with their pet peeves. Among the responses:

“People who post #blessed on social media when it really means #rich.”

“People looking over your shoulder and around for someone better to talk to.”

“Bad grammar in e-mails.”

“Plastic cups at parties.”

Among those attending, Page Six said, were journalist Deborah Roberts, JPMorgan’s Liz Myers, fashion journalist Kate Betts, Silda Wall Spitzer and Tory Burch design director Gigi Mortimer.

Lebenthal, of course, is no stranger to media reports. Back in early June 2017, Fortune magazine reported that “One of the last of Wall Street’s iconic boutique firms will no longer be run by the family that gave it its name. Alexandra Lebenthal, CEO of Lebenthal & Co, the firm started by her grandparents in 1925, is stepping down as CEO; her brother James, chief of asset management, is leaving the firm. The asset management division will continue under the Lebenthal name.

And so will the capital markets business that Alexandra built over the past decade; both businesses will be run by managers now at the firm. In fact, Alexandra will still act as a “managing member” of the team, according to the press release issued June 7. But the Lebenthals are relinquishing all control, marking an historic reversal of fortune for the clan that built a leading brand in municipal bonds, through the rollicking, unforgettable TV ads featuring Alexandra’s pitchman father Jim (“Bonds are my babies”) Lebenthal.

“We were still doing great in our other businesses, then we expanded much too fast into wealth management,” Alexandra told Fortune’s Shawn Tully. “We didn’t bring in enough assets and revenues to match the expenses.”

Earlier in the year, Bloomberg had reported that Lebenthal Holdings had agreed to sell its asset-management business and woman-owned broker dealer to South Street Securities Holdings Inc., the brokerage whose investors include former Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Robert Diamond.

South Street purchased a 49 percent ownership interest in Lebenthal & Co. and a 100 percent stake in Lebenthal Asset Management, run by Alexandra’s brother James, according to a statement issued by Pi Capital International LLC, South Street’s investment bank for the transaction. Alexandra Lebenthal retained her 51 percent stake in Lebenthal & Co. after the transaction.

“Lebenthal has struggled to keep her business afloat in recent years,” Bloomberg noted, “having opened and shuttered a municipal-bond operation as underwriting opportunities dwindled and the amount of municipal debt dropped to a multi-year low. In August, she also closed a 3-year-old wealth-advisory unit that never gained traction.”

By Kenneth H.R. Robeson

 

NYC’s Hottest Careers in Expanding Industries

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Major construction projects like Hudson Yards, pictured here, are creating thousands of new jobs in the industry.

2018 may be a great time to start a new career in New York City. Between the ages of 18 and 48, the majority of workers will switch jobs 10 to 15 times, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Unemployment rates are at the lowest that it has been in years, forcing companies to compete to hire people with the best talents. This means good things for employees like more perks and higher salaries. Employers may also be willing to hire individuals even if they don’t fit all the job’s requirements exactly.

Labor analyst at the New York State Department of Labor, Jim Brown, says, “The outlook for job-seekers is good.”

The New York district president at recruiting firm Robert Half International, Dawn Fay, agrees. She told The Post, “Everything is bigger and better in New York City. By nature of being here, you [business professionals] have many more options that are more interesting and extravagant.”

According to a recent article in The Post, “We gathered insights from the New York Department of Labor, the New York Economic Development Corporation and job-search websites CareerCast.com, Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com, and then cross-referenced them with some of the city’s leading recruiters to find the hottest fields of 2018.”

Jobs in construction are booming, with 30,000 new jobs brought into the city by huge projects like Hudson Yards, Essex Crossing, Pacific Park and many others. These jobs include architects, carpenters, designers, electricians, engineers, plumbers, project managers and more.

Brooklyn-based headhunting firm specializing in real estate development and construction management NYCM’s owner David Cone-Gorham told The Post, “This generation of workers wants to engage in respectful ways, and employers are offering things like flextime, employee fstock ownership plans and great benefits to attract them.”

Two entirely new job fields with growing opportunities are fintech and adtech. The Post describes them as, “adtech professionals build and use software and digital tools to help agencies and brands target, deliver and analyze their online advertising efforts. Fintech professionals do everything from working with cryptocurrencies, blockchain and cybersecurity to digital payment systems such as Apple Pay.”

Other industry with expanding opportunities in New York City include, leisure, lodging and hospitality, software development, as well as health care and business services.

So, if you are thinking about starting a new career or making a switch, 2018 may be the best year to do it!

By Rachel Shapiro

 

NJ Town Council Repeals Parks Ban Alleged to Target Orthodox Jews

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This past Thursday night, the New Jersey town of Mahwah rescinded a controversial ordinance restricting the use of its parks and playgrounds exclusively to local residents. For months, the township of Mahwah has been stoked in controversy over new laws, which are allegedly targeting Orthodox Jews. Following the overcrowding of local parks, heated meetings were held and an ordinance was set to ban “out-of-state residents” from using local parks. In October, the state of NJ and state Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino along with a Jewish group, sued the township.

The suit sought to reclaim over $3.4 million in state grants made to the town from the state Department of Environmental Protection for the purchase and maintenance of its parks. The land acquired through a state program may not restrict use based on religion or residency, said the attorney general’s office. The lawsuit depicted the town’s ban as resembling the “1950s-era white flight suburbanites” who wanted to keep African Americans out of their neighborhoods. Last month, the case was moved to the federal U.S. District Court in Newark from state Superior Court in Bergen County. AG Porrino has said that the ordinance was made based on an “archaic, fear-driven and discriminatory mindset” and conveys a “hateful message.”

As reported by VIN News, in a 6-1 vote the township repealed its earlier measure to ban non-residents from the parks. The only dissenting vote on Thursday, came from Councilman Steve Sbarra, who did not comment for the story. The town’s attorney said the lawsuit cost them approximately $100,000. It has not yet been established how the vote will impact the settlement of the case. In an emailed statement late Thursday, state Attorney General Porrino wrote, “Our message to local officials in other towns who may be plotting to engage in similar attempts to illegally exclude, is the same: We will hold you accountable as well.”

The town of Mahwah, which is close in proximity to NYC, has seemingly been trying to find ways to slow down the influx of Orthodox Jews into their neighborhood. First, the town had banned the town eruv, or the pvc pipes attached to the telephone poles which allow orthodox Jews to travel on Shabbat. In August, the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association and two Rockland County residents also sued the township of Mahwah for that ban. Earlier this month, the council similarly reversed part of the sign ordinance which threatened to take down and set fines for erecting the eruv.

By: Benyamin Davidsons

 

 

ADL Reports Continued Surge in Anti-Semitic Incidents Across the US

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The ADL recorded a “meta-event” rarely seen in America in August of 2017 at the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. It featured shocking and violent expressions of anti-Semitism and racism, including the display of swastika flags, chants of “Jews will not replace us!” and other overt anti-Semitic acts.

Diaspora Affairs Committee Chairman MK Neguise: ”New anti-Semitism disguises itself as criticism of Israel”

During this past Monday`s meeting of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported a 67% increase in anti-Semitic incidents across the United States in the first nine months of 2017, compared with the same time period in 2016.

Carole Nuriel, Director of ADL`s Israel Office, presented the organization`s findings. According to the ADL 2017 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, from January 1 to September 30 there were 1,299 anti-Semitic incidents across the United States, including physical assaults, vandalism and attacks on Jewish institutions. That total represents a 67 percent increase over the same period in 2016 and already exceeds the 1,266 incidents reported all of last year. In addition to the significant bump in the first quarter of this year, there was also a distinct increase after August 11th.

On that day, ADL recorded a “meta-event” rarely seen in America: the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which featured shocking and violent expressions of anti-Semitism and racism, including the display of swastika flags, chants of “Jews will not replace us!” and other overt anti-Semitic acts. Anti-Semitic incidents spiked on and immediately following Charlottesville.

Of the 306 incidents reported in the third quarter, 221 took place on or after the August 11th rally, which was one of at least 33 public white supremacist events in the US so far this year. In addition, 188 incidents of white supremacists using fliers to spread their message to new audiences, especially on college campuses, were reported.

Of the incidents reported, there has been a disturbingly high number of anti-Semitic bullying and vandalism in K-12 schools and college campuses across the US. Consistent with prior reports, the states with the highest number of incidents tend to be those with the largest Jewish populations. Incidents recorded from January through September include 703 incidents of harassment, including 162 bomb threats against Jewish institutions; 584 incidents of vandalism, including 52 against Jewish institutions and 12 physical assaults.

Committee Chairman MK Avraham Neguise (Likud) said new anti-Semitism disguises itself as criticism of Israel, while MK Nachman Shai (Zionist Camp) said the figures are ”inconceivable,” adding that ”the demons are out of the bottle, and this demands a great effort on our part, in coordination with foreign governments.”

Ran Yaakobi, head of the Department for Combating Antisemitism at the Foreign Ministry, said a conference is set to be held in Jerusalem in three months with the participation of some 1,000 people involved in the fight against anti-Semitism. The American delegation will include senators and Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, as well as the mayor of Charlottesville.

Yaakov Haguel, Acting Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, said a recent survey showed that some 70% of US Jews have experienced an anti-Semitic incident over the past year, and only 12% have never experienced any form of anti-Semitism during their lives.

Yigal Palmor, Director of Public Affairs and Communications at the Jewish Agency, discussed the increasing anti-Semitism among the left in Britain, mainly among senior Labor Party officials, as well as the rise in anti-Semitism in Germany and Sweden, primarily among the Muslim immigrant population.

Edited by: JV Staff

 

 

VP Pence: Israel Visit is Still On

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Vice President Mike Pence will visit Israel later this month, despite repeated delays for a trip originally scheduled for December 18th.

Despite repeated delays and no new date set, Vice President’s office says trip still on. Pence expected to visit Israel in January

Vice President Mike Pence will visit Israel later this month, despite repeated delays for a trip originally scheduled for December 18th.

The trip, which had been announced in November, was to have taken place during the Hanukkah festival, and included an address by the Vice President at Israel’s Knesset – the first address by a senior US official at the Israeli legislature since then-President George W. Bush spoke in 2008 at an event marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel.

While Pence had planned to meet with Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas, senior PA officials announced that Pence would be unwelcome, following President Donald Trump’s historic December 6th declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city.

The trip was delayed, however, ahead of a vote on a major Republican-backed tax reform package. The final vote, which ultimately took place on December 20th, passed along party lines, with all 46 Democrats and both independent Senators who caucus with the Democrats voting against, and 51 of the Senate’s 52 Republicans voting for. Prior to the vote, it was unclear if Vice President Pence’s tie-breaking vote would be needed.

Yet even after the tax bill passed, no new date was scheduled for Pence’s long-anticipated Israel trip.

On December 24th, Pence arrived for a surprise visit to join US troops in Afghanistan and said that “real progress” is being made on the ground in the country.

Pence was visiting the war-torn country to meet with its leaders and U.S. troops stationed there. He said “the results are really beginning to become evident around the country.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed on Monday, January 1, that no date had been confirmed with Israeli officials for Pence’s visit, The Associated Press reported.

“The visit is not included in our provision of scheduled visits of high-level dignitaries in January,” said Nahshon.

A spokesperson for the Vice President responded to the report, saying that Pence did indeed plan on visiting the Jewish state, and expected to make the visit later this month, though he declined to offer any specific dates.

“As we said, we are going later this month,” said Pence’s deputy chief of staff, Jarrod Agen.

By: David Rosenberg
  (INN)

 

French Tax Authority Denies Targeting Jews in Unit that Probes Evasion

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The French tax authority denied an Israeli business daily’s claim that it has a unit dedicated to targeting Jews.

The French tax authority denied an Israeli business daily’s claim that it has a unit dedicated to targeting Jews.

The revenue service, known locally as DGFiP, issued its denial of the claim last week made by the Globes newspaper in a statement last Friday.

In a December 29 press release, the French government denied the story.

“The General Directorate of Public Finances denies in the most categorical way the unfounded affirmations published today in the Globes newspaper on the ‘creation within the French tax administration of a department specializing in French Jews.’ There is no such structure in the French tax administration. French tax legislation prohibits any distinction made between people on the basis of their origins, place of residence or membership of a particular nation or religion.”

One of the unnamed officials quoted in the Globes article reportedly said that French tax authorities set up the unit because they “call the Israel Tax Authority almost every day with requests for information about some person or other, but many of the requests are rejected.”

The DGFiP said this was false and that only a few dozen requests for information are relayed to Israel annually.

The Globes article, which contains neither a reaction from the DGFiP nor an indication as to whether the paper had tried to obtain one, said that the unit targeting French Jews is located on the 13th floor of the Paris headquarters of the DGFiP on Bercy Street.

In its statement, DGFiP noted the building only has nine floors, adding that its spokespeople would have gladly told Globes this had DGFiP been approached ahead of the article’s publication.

The Jerusalem Post reports that the special department that has been designated for “dealing” with French Jews currently has 20 Hebrew-speaking employees, and is in the process of hiring five more. Many are experts in the field of taxes and Israeli law, it said. They pore over Israeli Land Registry contracts in an effort to find French Jews who purchased property in Israel without declaring these assets in France, according to the report.

The JPost report has indicated that “tax authorities do not usually establish departments targeting a specific nationality or religion.” The report added that “tax authorities around the world do establish teams to deal with sectors whose tax reporting is questionable.”

The report added that they target a specific market when there is concern that it contains a large amount of unreported capital, such as the real estate market or the diamond market. Setting up a specific department dealing with a designated nationality or religion, however, is not an accepted practice.

Edited by: JV Staff