Aaron Elstein

New York

Senior Finance Reporter at Crain's New York Business

Reporter @CrainsNewYork. A-train rider. Trump hung up after I asked why he took a property tax credit for middle-class New Yorkers. https://t.co/AXWOwCfU5f

Featured in: Favicon

crainsnewyork.com Favicon

wsj.com

adage.com

autonews.com Favicon

chicagobusiness.com Favicon

crainsdetroit.com Favicon

crainscleveland.com Favicon

newsbreak.com Favicon

investmentnews.com Favicon

realclearmarkets.com + 4 more

Articles

Midtown shopping center that defaulted on $35M mortgage could be sold Friday

1 day ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

A Midtown shopping hub in foreclosure proceedings could be sold Friday, according to a court document. The retail space at 1011 Third Ave., which was home to the flagship Dylan’s Candy Bar for 20 years, has been on the market since shortly after owner Olshan Properties defaulted on its $35 million mortgage in March 2024. Bids to acquire the 36,000 square-foot shopping center at the corner East 60th Street have been rejected so far by the lender, court records show.
Thor Equities at risk of losing 2 Harlem properties

2 days ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

Thor Equities, a prolific developer that a year ago lost two Manhattan buildings to foreclosure, now is at risk of losing two more. This week, Fitch Ratings warned that investors in the $55 million mortgage for two buildings at 2080 and 2090 Lexington Ave., between East 125th and 126th streets, are facing a 25% loss after Thor defaulted. Lenders moved to foreclose on the Harlem properties in February.
SL Green clashes again with advisory firm ISS over CEO pay

3 days ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

At noon Tuesday an auditorium inside the office tower at 1 Vanderbilt Ave. transformed into a battlefield over CEO pay. The clash was at least the fourth of its kind in the last 10 years between SL Green, Manhattan’s largest office landlord, and Institutional Shareholder Services. ISS is in the business of recommending to many of the largest pension plans and mutual funds how to vote at annual stockholder meetings on executive pay and other boardroom matters.
Metropolitan Commercial Bank investors rebuke CEO over pay

4 days ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

Metropolitan Commercial Bank shareholders delivered a stinging rebuke to their CEO by voting against his 2024 pay package. Nearly 60% of investors in the Park Avenue-based small-business lender voted down the $5.6 million pay awarded to CEO Mark DeFazio.
Bryant Park management goes to court to evict Bryant Park Grill

1 week ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

Bryant Park management has asked a judge to boot out the Bryant Park Grill, which continues to operate a month after its lease expired. In a countersuit filed this week in New York state court, park officials asked a judge to send the sheriff to evict the popular restaurant. Bryant Park Corp. accused the Bryant Park Grill of defying the terms of its lease that ended April 30 after the nonprofit park operator refused to renew it.
At Tribeca’s Independence Plaza, the cost of waiting to build a new tower rises

1 week ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

The owners of Independence Plaza in Tribeca have big plans: developing a 1 million-square-foot tower that would add about 900 apartments to the 1,300-unit complex. That ambitious project got sent back to the drawing board last year, however, after Stellar Management, which owns the property with Vornado Realty Trust, said it would examine opportunities created by the zoning changes enacted under the mayor’s City of Yes plan.
Owner of ailing Fifth Avenue office building pitches residential conversion

1 week ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

The owner of a struggling office building at 681 Fifth Ave. is seeking a higher authority to affirm his belief that the tower could thrive again if expanded and converted into a residential and hospitality destination. Robert Siegel, CEO of Metropole Realty Advisors, has asked a state appeals court to resurrect his rescue plan for the property in foreclosure proceedings.
Owner of ailing Fifth Avenue office building pitches residential conversion Owner of ailing 681 Fifth Ave. keeps faith in conversion

1 week ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

The owner of a struggling office building at 681 Fifth Ave. is seeking a higher authority to affirm his belief that the tower could thrive again if expanded and converted into a residential and hospitality destination. Robert Siegel, CEO of Metropole Realty Advisors, has asked a state appeals court to resurrect his rescue plan for the property in foreclosure proceedings.
Retail landlords start to feel pain from tariffs

1 week ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

The full brunt of tariffs has yet to be felt across the economy, but owners of malls and shopping centers are already taking it on the chin. Heading into today, shares in retail landlords had fallen by 9% since the Trump administration’s so-called “Liberation Day” on April 2, compared to a 4% decline in the MSCI U.S. Real Estate Index.
Midtown New York office tower gets just a two-year mortgage

1 week ago | crainsnewyork.com | Aaron Elstein

A new $850 million mortgage for 1345 Sixth Ave. comes due in just two years, according to a new report. That’s one-tenth of the existing loan’s duration and may illustrate just how squeamish banks have gotten lending to even the best office towers. The 2-million square-foot building at 1345 Sixth is 92% leased and has strong owners. Law firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison plans to move into 765,000 square feet of space at a starting rent of $94 per square foot.