Via NY1

Via Town & Village

Judging by the fine print in Stuy Town's new leases, submetering is coming in 2011. A new Sty-Spy sent us a copy of their lease which includes detailed information about Tishman Speyer's ill-conceived plans to submeter the property.

Add this to the fluctuating MCIs/J-51 rent price equation and no doubt Stuy Town residents are in store for some mind splitting headaches this winter.

Via The New York Times

The foreclosure sale of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, the sprawling sister apartment building complexes on the East Side, is expected to take place in September, according to executives who have been briefed on the future of the properties.

On Monday,  Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of United States District Court issued the long awaited foreclosure order against the owner of the complexes, a partnership of Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Realty, which defaulted on a $3 billion mortgage early this year. With interest, fees and taxes, the partnership now owes $3.67 billion, according to court records.

Real estate executives expect that CW Capital, which oversees the complexes and their 11,227 units on behalf of the lender, will take the mortgage back and control the property. They say it is unlikely that a buyer will emerge with more than $3 billion in cash. The property, currently worth an estimated $1.9 billion, is expected to increase in value over time.

Judge Hellerstein said that the sale could take place in 30 days, but it is most likely to happen after Labor Day. The foreclosure sale would wipe out another $1.4 billion in mezzanine or secondary loans.

Councilman Daniel R. Garodnick, a lifelong resident, said, "There needs to be a swift and clean process that sets this historic property on a secure footing in the future."

He said, "Our goal remains the same -- a conversion of the property to a noneviction co-op or condominium structure that maximizes choice for tenants to buy or continue renting, ensures long-term affordability and protects the maintenance of this property -- and we are actively putting together the plan to get us to those goals."

Sept. Sale Seen for Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper [NYT]

Related:

Foreclosure Ruling in Hand, Stuy Town Heads to Auction Block [NY Observer]
Judge Approves Stuyvesant Town Foreclosure [WSJ]

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For years Stuy Town residents have been anxiously waiting for the "dedicated outdoor areas for dogs" that despicable defaulters Tishman Speyer used as bait for pet-loving renters. With no explanation to tenants - thankfully they weren't holding their breath - Stuyvesant Town decided against the dog runs in favor of a generic "pet friendly" message.

"The best way to get people to sign your petition... really isn't to plaster neon pink graffiti all over the neighborhood. Flyers: Great, Notices: Great, People walking around with clipboards: Great, Pink sharpie badly applied to the back of a signpost: Not so bloody great."

Via The Real Deal

Vornado Realty Trust has submitted a bid to buy CW Financial Services, the parent company of CWCapital Asset Management, the country's second-largest special servicer of loans on delinquent commercial properties, including Stuyvesant Town and Riverton Houses. The winner of the bid is expected to be announced next week, according to Bloomberg news. The owner of CW Financial's controlling interest, Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, announced in March that it would be selling its shares. The value of Vornado's bid was not immediately clear. CWCapital is currently the special servicer on $144 billion worth of real estate loans, $18 billion of which is in delinquent loans.

Vornado bids for Stuy Town loan servicer [The Real Deal]

Via DNA info

The massive East Side complex is telling tenants they must install new, city-approved partitions to split up their apartments, despite the fact that many residents already paid hundreds of dollars to put their existing walls up.

Residents of the 91-building property, which includes the neighboring Peter Cooper Village, often install pressurized walls in their units to subdivide the space and create additional bedrooms.

But the walls now required by managing agent Tishman Speyer -- which purchased the complex in 2006 but recently defaulted on its mortgage and no longer owns the property -- will force tenants to irregularly break up their apartments with an extra partition, or T wall.

The move stems from city inspections dating back to 2008 that found many of the current walls not compliant with fire and building codes, even though some residents said they used installation companies previously recommended by the complex.

According to the new guidelines, instead of being able to simply divide their living room with a single wall to create another bedroom, tenants will be forced add a T wall perpendicular to the first partition that will essentially split their living space in half.

A spokesman for Tishman Speyer explained that if a tenant hired a contractor approved by either Tishman or previous owner MetLife, then the resident would be reimbursed for installation of the new wall, as well as for any costs associated with removal of the current wall.

But if a tenant used a wall contractor not approved by either of the complex's owners, the resident will have to fork over approximately $1,000 for a new wall -- the price most paid to have the original partitions installed -- based on a rider tenants have been asked to sign.

Continue reading "Stuyvesant Town Forcing Tenants to Install New Walls" @ DNA info