Courts roundup: $125M 432 Park condo suit; Bed-Stuy dev site lease termination suit

The condominium board of 432 Park Avenue is seeking $125 million from Macklowe Properties, the CIM Group, Harry Macklowe and others because of alleged construction defects. According to the complaint, “Far from the ultraluxury spaces that they were promised, however, Unit Owners were sold a building plagued by breakdowns and failures that have endangered and inconvenienced residents.” The New York Times covered the suit here. The court filing is here.

Bed-Stuy stalled redevelopment suit: The ground landlord, an entity including Esther Green-Blumenfeld and Steven Green of Lakewood as members, sued Lazar Waldman and his development entity Brooklyn Hospitality Group seeking $2.8 million for back rent and $84 million for future rent and seeking to terminate the 49-year ground lease at 1325-1339 Atlantic Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The Greens bought the parcel in April 2019 for $10.8 million.

Waldman was converting the commercial building into a 151-key hotel, per a permit application filed in 2018.  The tenant signed a 49-year lease with the landlord’s predecessor on August 4, 2017. Lazar Waldman became the guarantor on April 1, 2019. According to the complaint, “Although the Tenant commenced the construction work on the Property and initially made rental payments in accordance with the Lease, the Tenant defaulted in numerous respects: First, the Tenant failed to make any rent payments since February 1, 2021. Second, for several months the Property has been deemed abandoned and there has been no constructions work at all.” In addition there are allegedly $2 million in mechanic’s liens and a $6.4 million that the landlord did not receive notice of. LINK