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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Making Sense of the 421-A Rent Concession Appeals
Jeffrey Turkel
Landlords initially renting up new RPTL 421-a buildings routinely give incoming rent-stabilized tenants rent concessions to account for the fact that construction may be ongoing, and that there may still be punch list items in the apartments. This seemingly innocuous practice, however, has led to class-action litigation wherein tenants allege that rent concessions are part of a fraudulent scheme that results in massive building-wide overcharges under the Rent Stabilization Law.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Options for Commercial Property Owners With Distressed Assets
William (Bill) Lobel
Cyclical challenges in the economy are nothing new, and 2022 is shaping up to be that kind of year for business owners nationwide. This is likely to result in a greater need for the services of bankruptcy attorneys as business owners face a mounting wave of distressed financial assets.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Effects of Inflation on Commercial Real Estate
Steven J. Reed
While growth of the job market and the economy are the most important factors affecting commercial real estate, the emergence of historic rising inflation has its effects as well.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Real Property Law
NYRE Staff
Purchaser of Mixed-Use Building, Not Master Lessee of Residential Units, Liable for Rent Overcharges
Questions of Fact About Liability for Broker Commission After Expiration of Brokerage Agreement
Statute of Limitations Does Not Bar Strict Foreclosure Action
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
New Workplace Strategies for Commercial Real Estate Companies
Kelsi Borland
Almost every company is rethinking workplace strategy in the wake of the pandemic — and commercial real estate companies, which are office users in their…
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Eminent Domain Law
NYRE Staff
Evidence Supports Award of Severance Damages
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
Fifth Circuit Ruling Gives Commercial Lessees Likely Protection In Bankruptcy Court Free and Clear Asset Sales
Michael L. Cook
The Fifth Circuit signaled that it would not approve in later cases a bankruptcy court asset sale of real property that summarily cuts off the rights of the debtor’s lessees.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Questions of Fact About Liability for Broker Commission After Expiration of Brokerage Agreement
Stewart E. Sterk
In an action to recover a brokerage commission, the Appellate Division affirmed a broker's appeal of denial of its summary judgment motion, holding that questions of fact remained about seller’s liability for a commission after expiration of the brokerage agreement.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Landlord & Tenant Law
NYRE Staff
Prior Landlord’s Purchaser of Loft Tenant’s Improvements Exempted Unit from Rent Regulation
Notice of Termination Did Not Meet Federal Standards
Tenant Entitled to Actual Damages for Landlord Breach, But Not to Suspension Payment
Tenant Entitled to Preliminary Injunction Against Use of Video Cameras In Interior of Premises
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Development
NYRE Staff
Neighbors Have Standing to Challenge Use Variance for Operation of Concrete Manufacturing Plant
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
7 Post-Pandemic Commercial Property Tax Tips
Cris K. O’Neall
As post-pandemic market values fluctuate due to higher prices, property owners need to adopt strategies to keep their assessed property values down. As we emerge from COVID-19 here are seven key considerations to minimize property tax assessments even as prices increase.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Drafter Not Bound By Its Own Deed Modification
Yoram Nachimovsky and Kenneth Gelnick
When the city, as a seller of real estate, attaches a document to the deed at closing, but the deed does not refer to that document, may the buyer introduce evidence to establish that the document was intended to clarify the deed description?
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Co-ops and Condominiums
NYRE Staff
Sponsor’s Obligation to Conform to Building Code Not Waiveable
Allocation of Boat Slips Protected By Business Judgment Rule
Co-Op’s Ejectment Action Dismissed
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Real Property Law
NYRE Staff
Statute of Limitations Bars Foreclosure When Mortgagee Was Not Mortgagee In Possession
Statute of Limitations Bars Easement Claim
Estate Lacked Standing to Challenge Deed on Which Former Partner’s Name Was Forged
Partition Action Dismissed for Failure to Prove Cotenancy Interest
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Landlord & Tenant Law
NYRE Staff
Hearing Necessary to Determine Reasonableness of Pet Accommodation
Whether Sales Counter Constituted Trade Fixture Is a Question of Fact
Four-Year Lookback Rule Inapplicable When Issue Is Whether Apartment Is Regulated
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Development
NYRE Staff
Rental Permit Law Did Not Constitute Unconstitutional Search or Seizure
Challenge to Building Permit Denial Dismissed for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Fifth Circuit Ruling Gives Commercial Lessees Likely Protection In Bankruptcy Court Free and Clear Asset Sales
Michael L. Cook
The Fifth Circuit signaled that it would not approve in later cases a bankruptcy court asset sale of real property that summarily cuts off the rights of the debtor’s lessees.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Investing In Real Estate In the Metaverse: What You Need to Know
Melea VanOstrand
For law firms, real estate companies and corporations, buying property in the metaverse so early on could go one of two ways: giving them a crucial advantage in an increasingly digital economy, or becoming a decision they’ll regret if the concept fails to take off.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
PA Ruling Shows Power of Obtaining Mechanic’s Lien
Alan Nochumson and Clementa Amazan
In Pennsylvania, if a contractor is not paid for repairs or improvements made to real estate, the contractor can either take the traditional path of litigation and sue the property owner by filing a complaint under contractual or equitable theories or file for a mechanics’ lien that clouds title to the real estate.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Landlords Turn the Tech to Keep Up With Sustainability Requirements
Paul Bergeron
Government policies are pushing landlords to meet new sustainability requirements, heaping pressure on investors to back up their efforts to go green. In response, more owners are relying on AI and other technologies to help them meet the challenge and avoid steep financial penalties.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
7 Concerns for Commercial Real Estate Investors In a Volatile Market
Joseph J. Ori
It appears that the CRE industry is entering a period of high volatility with the Fed promising to raise interest rates, soaring inflation, the war in…
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
How the SEC’s ESG Disclosure Rules Might Effect Commercial Real Estate
Erik Sherman
After years of discussions and hints, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally released its proposed environmental disclosure rule for public company reporting. Getting the information and making the determinations will be a challenge for any sized company that comes under the SEC’s purview. But there are significant questions about who is responsible for gathering and reporting information from commercial real estate facilities.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Second Circuit Reverses Course and Denies Article III Standing for Statutory Damage Claims Arising Out of Untimely Recording of Mortgage Discharges
Jonathan Robbin
Maddox v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon Trust certainly affords safeguards to lenders and mortgagees in that Maddox now narrows a borrower’s ability to pursue class damages in federal court for lenders and services for failure to timely record mortgage satisfactions.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Landlord & Tenant Law
NYRE Staff
Landlord Not Entitled to Indemnification for Injuries Suffered on Adjacent Sidewalk
Discovery Necessary to Determine Whether Rent Concession Was Equivalent of Preferential Rent
Landlord Entitled to Exclude Rent Concession In Calculation of Regulated Rent
Lessee Entitled to Cancel When Lessor Did Not Acquire Title By Acquisition Deadline
Discounted Rent Was Legal Regulated Rent
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Development
Local Law Was Consistent With Comprehensive Plan
Planning Board Lacked Authority to Waive Zoning Requirements
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Real Property Law
NYRE Staff
Easement By Necessity Claim Raises Question of Fact
Merger Doctrine Barred Breach of Contract Claim But Not General Business Law Claim
Business Judgment Rule Did Not Bar Claim Against Homeowners Association
Insufficient Necessity to Support Easement By Implication Claim
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Eminent Domain Law
NYRE Staff
Finding of Blight Upheld
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Don’t Forget to Read Those Condominium Documents
Mark Morfopoulos
No matter how carefully you reviewed the lease, if you don’t read the condominium documents you could be missing critical information relating to the unit and the building that is available only by reviewing the condominium documents.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Second Circuit Narrows Borrower’s Ability to Pursue Class Damages In Federal Court for Failure to Timely Record Mortgage Satisfactions
Jonathan Robbin
The decision in Maddox v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon Trust certainly affords safeguards to lenders and mortgagees in that Maddox now narrows a borrower’s ability to pursue class damages in federal court for lenders and services for failure to timely record mortgage satisfactions.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Short-Term Leases Can Create Value Uncertainty
Erik Sherman
When executives aren’t sure what normal will look like in where employees work, they can’t tell how much office space they need. While some sectors of commercial real estate are stable in terms of tenants, others are a question. That’s leading to some pushing for shorter-term leases — ironically, both by tenants and some owners — as well as headaches for underwriting as the predictability of tenancy is up in the air.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Common Issues In Commercial Property Bankruptcies
Robert K. Scheinbaum and Philip W. Allogramento III
As the commercial real estate market undergoes seismic shifts, companies may find themselves in situations where their tenant or their landlord has filed for bankruptcy protection. Questions then quickly arise, such as if and how a landlord may evict a bankrupt tenant, whether a bankrupt tenant may remain as a lessee and continue to occupy the premises, and how to measure damages for a landlord in this situation, both before bankruptcy and going forward post-petition.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Damage Mitigation Under the HSTPA
Stewart E. Sterk
When the NY state legislature enacted the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA), much of the statute’s focus was on increased protection for rent regulated tenants. But the statute also includes a number of significant provisions that apply to market rate tenants.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Real Property Law
NYRE Staff
Questions of Fact About Whether Deed Conveyed to Centerline of Abutting Road
Deed Created Easement, Not Fee
Questions of Fact About Meaning of Restrictive Covenant
Adverse Possession By 99-Year Lessee
Equitable Lien Claim Fails
Agreement Released Trespass and Nuisance Claims Against Neighbor
Easement Not Abandoned
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Co-ops and Condominiums
NYRE Staff
No Quorum At Shareholders’ Meeting
Nuisance and Fraudulent Conveyance Claims Restored
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Development
NYRE Staff
Landowner Lacked Standing to Challenge Zoning Amendment
Sierra Club Lacks Standing to Challenge Zoning Amendment
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Landlord & Tenant Law
NYRE Staff
DHCR Had Rational Basis for MCI Determination
Guarantor’s Letter Did Not Revoke Guaranty
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Strategies and Drafting Techniques for Loan Workouts and Enforcement In 2022
Richard S. Fries
A series of strategies and drafting techniques relevant to commercial real estate loan workouts and enforcement. This article isn't a “how-to” primer on loan enforcement or restructuring the distressed loan, it identifies some of the current solutions and insights that have been observed, implemented and proposed during this pandemic-impacted workout cycle.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Why Commercial Insurance Prices Are Rising
Ted Knutson
Commercial insurance prices are rising as increased costs from climate change, the supply chain crisis and inflation take hold, Westchester, a commercial property, and casualty insurance underwriter, said in a new report.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Tenth Circuit: Government COVID Closure Orders Do Not Trigger Coverage for Loss of Business Income
Stephen Masciocchi and Tina Van Bockern
In a recent case, the Tenth Circuit joined other circuits in holding that government closure orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic do not trigger insurance coverage for loss of business income, reasoning that the temporary inability to use property caused by COVID shutdown orders doesn’t involve a covered physical loss of property.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Law Firms Looking to Balance Decreasing Office Space With Increasing Head Count In 2022
Justin Henry
Streamlining office space corresponds with industry-wide trends of law firms embarking on two seemingly paradoxical goals: decreasing their office space while aggressively growing head count.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
COVID-19 and Lease Negotiations: Early Termination Provisions
Ann E. Ryan and Adrienne B. Koch
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some tenants were able to negotiate termination agreements with their landlords. But even though a landlord may agree to terminate a lease to regain control of a defaulting tenant’s space without costly and lengthy litigation, typically a defaulting tenant that otherwise has no contractual right to terminate its lease will be in a much weaker bargaining position with respect to the conditions for termination.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
A Look At What 2022 Has In Store for Commercial Real Estate
Erik Sherman
Disaster — a seemingly closed economy, crashed supply chains, tight labor availability, and many millions out of work — turned into rising values, some hot sectors, and rising rents and increased stability by 2021. Stepping into 2022 should be a good deal less jarring. And yet, there might be changes and surprises. Here’s what experts see as coming up.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Enforcement of Obligations Imposed In SEQRA Findings Statements
Stewart E. Sterk
When, at the culmination of environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), a municipality resolves to require a developer to ameliorate environmental impacts, can anyone other than the municipality itself enforce the requirement?
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Real Property Law
NYRE Staff
Encroachment By Party Wall Will Not Support a Notice of Pendency
Questions of Fact Remain In Party Wall Dispute
Easement Was Only for Access
Seller’s Failure to Provide Estoppel Certificates Excuses Purchaser from Performing
Equitable Title Claim Upheld
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Enforcement of Obligations Imposed In SEQRA Findings Statements
Stewart E. Sterk
When, at the culmination of environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), a municipality resolves to require a developer to ameliorate environmental impacts, can anyone other than the municipality itself enforce the requirement?
Read More ›
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Landlord & Tenant Law
NYRE Staff
Nonpayment Proceeding Not Available for Use and Occupancy
Questions of Fact About Whether Landlord Accepted Surrender
Improper Withholding of Consent Does Not Excuse Guarantor
Loft Board’s Rejection of Abandonment Petition Upheld
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Making the Office a Destination: The Rise of Hospitality In Law Firms
Anthony Davies
The law firm office cannot remain unchanged, therefore, as if frozen in time set to some date prior to the onset of pandemic, when all the terms and meaning have all changed. In fact, the office must now provide benefits or an experience the lawyers and staff cannot get at home.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Development
NYRE Staff
Town Law Does Not Require Public Hearing On Site Plan Approval
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Court Finds Rabbinical College Lawsuit Against Village Is Not Ripe for Determination
Steven M. Silverberg
The Southern District of New York, as part of an unresolved 14-year saga in the Village of Pomona, New York, found that the Plaintiffs, who are seeking to construct a Rabbinical College, had brought an action against the Village that is not ripe for adjudication.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Real Property Law
Deed from One of Several Heirs Void Ab Initio
Fine Imposed By Association Invalid When Bylaw Amendment Was Not Incorporated Into Declaration
Seller Entitled to Retain Down Payment Because Purchaser Never Set a Closing Date
Former Owner Relinquished Rights to Oil and Gas Lease
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