Self-storage deal

With help from Maya Parthasarathy

TODAY IN REAL ESTATE — The Long Island City Partnership will host its annual legislative breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at 27-01 Queens Plaza North. Expected speakers include Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, State Sen. Michael Gianaris, Public Advocate Tish James, and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. They will discuss the current legislative landscape and the partnership will appoint its board of directors for the coming year. More information here.

With help from Maya Parthasarathy

TODAY IN REAL ESTATE — The Long Island City Partnership will host its annual legislative breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at 27-01 Queens Plaza North. Expected speakers include Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, State Sen. Michael Gianaris, Public Advocate Tish James, and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. They will discuss the current legislative landscape and the partnership will appoint its board of directors for the coming year. More information here.

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IN THE ZONE — Council crafts plan to govern self-storage industry in areas designated for manufacturing jobs, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg: The city is poised to subject self-storage facilities to more rigorous standards before they build in the 21 industrial business zones spread across the outer boroughs — a move to favor companies that would generate more manufacturing jobs in the designated areas. Read the story here.

BACK ON TRACK — “Trump to Release Infrastructure Plan in January, Official Says” by Bloomberg’s Mark Niquette: “President Donald Trump plans to keep pushing his legislative agenda in 2018 by releasing his long-promised infrastructure proposal in early January, a senior administration official said.” Read the story here.

NEW DIRECTION — “Compass lands $450M from SoftBank” by The Real Deal’s E.B. Solomont: “Compass — the startup brokerage and fundraising machine — said Thursday that SoftBank will invest $450 million in what the New York City-based agency claims to be the biggest investment in a real estate tech company to date.” Read more here.

STREET FIGHT — Mark-Viverito says street vending system "overdue" for overhaul as she leaves office, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg: The city's system of licensing and regulating vendors peddling hot dogs, pretzels and halal meals needs a major overhaul, outgoing City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said as she pushes legislation that would nearly double the number of permits over the next decade. The issue is a priority for immigrant advocates since many vendors are foreign-born. Read the story here.

TAX TALKS — Senate clears spending bill, averts shutdown by POLITICO’s John Bresnahan, Sarah Ferris and Nancy Cook: The Senate passed a two-week funding bill, staving off a government shutdown a day ahead of the deadline. Senators approved the measure on a 81-14 vote, soon after the House passed it. The move punts a tough political battle over spending and immigration until just before Christmas. Read the story here.

— “For New York Commuter Hubs, Tax Plan Threatens Trickle-Down Pain” by Bloomberg’s Martin Z. Braun: "In New York City’s pricey suburbs, it’s not just residents who will be squeezed by higher tax bills because of the Republican overhaul racing through Congress. Their towns may feel it, too. The proposed rollbacks to deductions for state and local taxes, property taxes and mortgage interest may make it harder for residents of commuter hubs in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to sell homes and lead more to challenge their real-estate tax assessments, potentially weakening local governments’ biggest source of revenue, according to S&P Global Ratings.” Read the story here.

TOY STORY — “FAO Schwarz Is Making a NYC Comeback in Rockefeller Center” by Commercial Observer’s Lauren Elkies Schram: “FAO Schwarz will be getting a new, albeit much smaller, lease on life in New York City, with a 19,000-plus-square-foot store in Rockefeller Center, Commercial Observer has learned. The toy retailer, which vacated a 61,000-square-foot space at the General Motors Building in 2015 after a 30-year run, has leased the space at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, sources with intimate knowledge of the deal told CO.” Read the story here.

HOUSEKEEPING — IBO: 32 percent of NYCHA apartments are “underoccupied” by POLITICO’s Conor Skelding: Nearly one-third of apartments at the New York City Housing Authority are “underoccupied,” meaning a given unit has more bedrooms than NYCHA guidelines say the particular tenants need. Of the agency's 176,066 apartments, 57,155, or 32.5 percent, are considered underoccupied, according to an Independent Budget Office report released Thursday. Read the story here.

RESI REBOOT — “LCOR testing market for 308-unit condo conversion at 25 Broad Street” by The Real Deal’s Will Parker: "LCOR, the real estate company owned by the California State Teachers Retirement System, will test the market for a conversion of the 308-unit rental building at 25 Broad Street to condominiums, The Real Deal has learned." Read the story here.

OFFICE SPACE — “Hong Kong's premium office space ranked world's most expensive” by Reuters’ Venus Wu: “Hong Kong’s premium office space has topped the charts as the world’s most expensive for the second consecutive year, outpacing prices in No. 2 Midtown New York by 66 percent, according to property consultancy JLL.” Read more here.

WHAT’S IN STORE — “As Malls Suffer, Investors Study Retail Hedge Options” by Commercial Observer’s Matt Grossman: “OK, so the retail apocalypse might arrive with the next recession, the next earnings call or the next time a cold front moves through. What’s a panicked trader to do about it? The news is grim for real estate investors, according to bankers and economists who study the sector: There may not be an easy or straightforward answer for protecting yourself from the storm.” Read the story here.

— “Are Off-Price Retailers Truly Amazon-Proof?” by Commercial Observer’s Rebecca Baird-Remba: “Broadway, between Grand and Broome, is one of the most expensive retail corridors in the city — and by extension the world. Soho, that bastion of Alexander Wang, Chanel and Burberry, has no shortage of high-end fashion brands dotting the sidewalk. So who’s the new neighbor moving into 9,000 square feet at 483 Broadway in a splendid cast-iron building? T.J. Maxx.” Read more here.

— “Regional Malls Look to Reposition as Retail CMBS Space Sweats” by Commercial Observer’s Mack Burke: “The e-commerce contagion has pulled brick-and-mortar retailers, regional malls and shopping centers under the weather, resulting in tenant bankruptcies and mass store closures that have, in turn, put pressure on maturing retail commercial mortgage-backed securities loans — predominantly those issued in 2006 and 2007, prior to the financial crisis — and created refinancing hurdles for borrowers.” Read the story here.

SIGN OF THE TIMES — “Iconic Brooklyn sign taken down after 50 years” by New York Post’s Steve Cuozzo: “Watch closely — because you might not see it again. The Watchtower sign, a Brooklyn waterfront icon for 50 years, was taken down on Wednesday from atop the former Jehovah’s Witnesses building at 30 Columbia Heights.” Read more here.

MONEY MATTERS — “All Year raises over $500M in Israel to keep up with deadlines” by The Real Deal’s Chava Gourarie: “All Year Management, the Brooklyn developer behind the William Vale hotel and the Rheingold Brewery site in Bushwick, has raised over $500 million in Israel this year alone, to finance a slew of projects throughout the borough.” Read more here.

TAKE A LOOK — “Extell’s Central Park Tower Gets Fresh Renderings, Nears Halfway Point At 217 West 57th Street” by YIMBY’s Nikolai Fedak: “The last time YIMBY checked on progress at Extell’s Central Park Tower, rising at 217 West 57th Street, glass installation had just begun, and the building was several floors above its cantilever. Three months later, the supertall’s superstructure is pushing towards its halfway point, and stands over 700 feet above the streets below.” Check out the renderings here.

LUXE IN FLUX — “NYC mansion so big it was called a ‘suburb’ slashes price” by New York Post’s Jennifer Gould Keil: “Private equity honcho Mark Zittman and his wife Noelle have dropped the price of their mansion at 2 North Moore St. in Tribeca to $34.5 million. It was originally asking as much as $48 million in 2014 — double the $24 million they paid for the 11,300-square-foot home when The Post outed the Zittmans as the buyers in 2010.” Read more here.

— “Extravagant UES mansion with Hermès leather walls, fur closet gets a discount” by Curbed’s Tanay Warerkar: “An Upper East Side mansion with walls bedecked in red Hermès leather (on the fifth floor) has returned to the market, albeit with a $5 million price cut, and a new brokerage firm.” See more here.

INDUSTRY MOVES — “Gilad to take full ownership of Brookland” by The Real Deal’s Chava Gourarie: “Boaz Gilad, co-founder and principal of prolific developer Brookland Capital, is taking 100 percent ownership of the parent company, Brookland Upreal, according to documents filed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.” Read more here.

— “Todd Bassen splits from Joseph Farkas” by The Real Deal’s Konrad Putzier: “Todd Bassen’s professional marriage to Joseph Farkas was short-lived. The former WeWork and Invesco executive has left Farkas’ Metropolitan Realty Associates after less than two years, he said at Fried Frank’s holiday party Tuesday night. Bassen would not say what he plans to do next.” Read the story here.