http://www.wsj.com/articles/stuyvesant-town-how-one-firm-is-reaping-a-windfall-where-investors-lost-billions-1446546780
This is all that really matters to these folks. As the saying goes, they are laughing all the way to the bank.The TA and our man Dan were absent from aggressively combating what was, and still is, going on here.
Will things be different, now that Blackstone is coming up?
49 comments:
They made out like bandits, but skimp on maintenance to the point where you can have a blocked sink and have to go on a waiting list for an appointment! Their books need to be audited because these people are criminals and, unless they do something about it, I have to assume that our politicians (including DG) are criminals too. Tammany Hall looks like the Salvation Army compared to what is in City Hall today. Albany is as corrupt as Moscow!
Different?
Let's see.
Canadian pension manager Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec has two subsidiaries in the deal.
The first, CW, was "sold" to Fortress in 2010.
The second Ivanhoe Cambridge "partnered" with Blackstone in the 2015 "purchase".
In 2010 Fortress made $600 million because they bought CW from Canadian pension manager Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (subsidiary Otera) and acted as special servicer on behalf of bondholders and property manager landlord along with DKC lobby firm while Blackstone ran the NY Housing Authorities for Cuomo.
2010 also the year Rob decided to stop paying his mortgage, Rob and Andrew Cuomo initiated the Committee To Save New York, and the DOB started recording record numbers of chopped apartments in Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town.
In 2015 Canadian pension manager Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec subsidiary Ivanhoe Cambridge "partnered" with Blackstone to pay a hugely inflated amount $5.4 Billion.
Ivanhoe Cambridge is a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec pension fund.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704525704575341330407479208
All they did was move hundreds of millions and billions of dollars between themselves and at the dark core is Canadian pension manager Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec.
Now let's look at the $600 million amount.
The fee CW Fortress reaps.
It is also the amount Robbie paid off on debt on Washington D.C. office buildings, again averting a foreclosure. Tishman Speyer bought the office buildings from Blackstone in 2006. The same year they bought PCVST from MetLife.
The investors paying off Robbie's debt are none other than yet another subsidiary, SITQ Inc., a unit of Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec
And Brookfield is a player in the Washington DC and PCVST deals.
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100610/REAL_ESTATE/100619978/tishman-speyer-pays-off-d-c-office-debt
So in 2006 Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec gave Tishman Speyer $600 million to pay off a debt....
to Blackstone?
in 2010 Fortress gave Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec $600 million.
in 2015 Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec gave $600 million to Fortress.
That is at least three times this $600 million amount went to and from Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec.
There are no coincidences.
This has nothing to do with what the market will or won't bear; nothing to do with market rate vs rent stabilized, or tenants vs landlords.
In fact that is never a consideration for these cold callous people. This is about land parcels of whatever happens to be on them, office or housing; and billionaires forcing the land parcels in and out of a foreclosure scam to reap windfalls for themselves and give politicians a lot of headlines along the way and after the fact when they pretend to implement programs to clean up the mess.
A mess the Politicians created in the first place, with the RE billionaires. This could not take place without politicians shepharding the deals through the local and state systems.
The earliest appointment I can get to fix a leaking faucet is November 18. I don't really care because water is not metered, but I can't help but wonder why they don't hire more people, especially considering they are making so much money off the property. This is just not right.
From reports from current tenants of blackstone. :::: hold on to your headpiece. They are far worse than any we have apparently seen
What does the landlord here do about noise from above - we're somewhat new tenants and the family above us does not have carpets - kids are jumping and sounding like elephants. Trying to eat a normal dinner and the table almost shook.
I really do not foresee any change with this new owner. they talk a good game, but given the 5,000 market rate apartments we will still be stuck with NYU. How good can it be with the dorm dump continuing.
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec's made out great!
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec's Real Estate Organizational Subsidiary chart
Quite literally the left hand Ivanhoe Cambridge bought PCVST from the right hand Otera
with Fortress as the middleman
http://cdpq.com/en/about-us/organization
Rereading the Real Deal Article with the knowledge that Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec sold CW to Fortress in 2010 and noticing how the Real Deal left that very important fact out, gives the whole article new meaning and perspective. Daniel Fournier's vagueness quote is priceless.
Sylvain Fortier's quote following Daniel Fournier's vague dodge is too ridiculous..."heard it was up for grabs, quickly decided to work together"
The journalistic integrity in press on this deal is massively disappointing.
This paragraph is missing a very big fact: in 2010 Fortress had just bought CW from Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec Otera / Ivanhoe Cambridge. CW ran the property into the ground, killed the tree park, kicked out over 60% of the tenants and installed thousands of dorms to make themselves a windfall then after carrying out the dirty work, sold PCVST to Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec Otera Ivanhoe Cambridge.
I. The seller
After Tishman Speyer defaulted on its Stuy Town loans in 2010, CWCapital, a special servicer that is a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group, took control of the complex on behalf of more than a dozen lenders. By last year, Stuy Town’s value had bounced back and CWCapital, seeing an exuberant New York investment sales market, decided it was time to sell.
President Lincoln said it best.
You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
Abraham Lincoln
But what really disappoints more than the glaring absence of integrity in the press, is the number of Electeds involved whose job and number 1 priority is to make sure constituents are safe in their homes and not fall prey to an obviously predatory scheme - but instead used their elected offices to help carry out the scheme. This RE deal could not have been done without the Albany politicians assistance. However also obvious is that the deal could be done without the tenant association advisors Paul Weiss, Berlin Rosen, Moelis. What the heck did they do that Steinberg brags of? How much were they paid for this deal that was a foregone conclusion since 2010?
After Rob Speyer stops paying his mortgage and the Committee To Save New York begins their plan, CW seperates "officially" from Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québe and very very cose Cuomo allies DKC "seperate" from The Committee To Save New York and both CW and DKC begin running Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town.
Sure.
Dan Garodnick was very much in the loop on the Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québe, CW and all subsidiaries business dealings. Here is his message press release to tenants when Fortress sold off a part of CW; a message from Dan to quell any questioning and rumblings that may have arose when Fortress sold off part.
Never was there mention to tenants from Dan or Meredith Kane to keep tenants aware and in the loop on Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québe relationship with Fortress, Tishman Speyer and Blackstone; when Fortress bought CW; or The Committee To Save New York; or that CW Compass Rock Brian Moriarty was DKC, close Cuomo ally and PR for The Committee To Save New York.
Tenants were given tiny bits of information to keep us from questioning things, and never given the whole picture of what was going on.
http://www.garodnick.com/press-release/statement-sale-cw-capital-fortress-investment-group Statement on the Sale of CW Capital by Fortress Investment Group
There were reports today that Fortress Investment Group sold a CW Capital entity to Walker & Dunlop Inc. for $220 million. Fortress and CW Capital are relevant to the 25,000 residents of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village because a subsidary company, CW Capital Asset Management, has served as the special servicer of the property since the default by Tishman Speyer in 2010.
I want to clarify that Fortress did not sell the special servicer of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, but rather, another subsidiary company of a similar name. In short, the entity with whom we have been working over the past two years remains in place, and remains the same. We will continue to seek avenues to work with CW Capital Asset Management to advance the Tenant Association's conversion plan and to bring greater affordability and stability to the neighborhood.
November 3, 2015 at 2:54 PM when Fortress sold off a piece of CW to Walker & Dunlop they made $234 Million. That is on top of the $600 Million they moved around so that CW was not part of Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québe when Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québe bought Stuy Town and Fortress actually made over $834 Million for its part in the Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québe CW Stuy Town Peter Cooper Village deal.
$834Million to Fortress while they decimated this community and property.
The RE WS companies that put the economy in distress is in round two - profiting off the distressed properties with no remorse for the damaged small businesses who held leases in the office buildings and the damaged people in the homes they put into distress.
Where morals and ethics are not motivators, laws should be written to protect tenants of office buildings and housing. Instead politicians used their elected office to shepherd deals through the system for RE billionaires.
The link to the article on the auction
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-02-05/blackstone-win-in-cwcapital-sale-shows-cmbs-strength-mortgages
February 5, 2014 — 9:19 AM EST
Hui-yong Yu and Nadja Brandt
Blackstone Win in CWCapital Sale Shows CMBS Strength: Mortgages
Article discusses Blackstones wins in deals with CW across the country including Stuyvesant Town and the 2014 auction.
Of the 153 submitted offers, could one of the terms have been that they will only get their (reported) $10million fee to submit a bid if they keep confidential the terms of the sale or did the buyers and bankers keep the $1,530,000,000?
We have to make sure that none of the elected a is ever elected again. Maybe Preet Bharara should be looking into this deal.
Mr Sanders is in T&V talking about decorum, manners, politeness, diplomacy.
Mr Preet Bharara is in the press calling for people to be outspoken about the outrageous corruption, to get angry.
Team Bharara ALL THE WAY! This is outrageous.
CW is not a landlord and they should have never been legally allowed to operate in that capacity when they have a clear conflict of interest -- with the bondholders.
Any decent politician with ethics would have written a law that a special servicer cannot act as a landlord at the same time they are under no obligation to the safety and well being of tenants especially when the Governor put the largest landlord as head of Housing policy.
Was the 2015 deal a way to make sure the property passes to Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québe but not under Schumer, Schneiderman, Cuomo de Blasio watch.
20 years gives the current politicians the time they predicted needs to occur before their sure-thing promotions to higher and higher offices, in Washington DC? Are they really that sure votes do not count since their higher offices have been bought and paid for by dirty money in politics?
The corrupt Albany system that carries out the real estate schemes for REBNY and rigs the Supreme Courts, in this case for and by Sheldon Silver, is on. Sheldon Silvers NY Supreme Court Mafia is a big undertaking for Mr Preet Bharara to clean up.
The corrupt Albany three amigos and their backers, Skelos, Silver, Cuomo REBNY Wall Street System is on trial.
Wishing you the best Mr Bharara. Thank you for taking this on on behalf of ALL New Yorkers!
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/11/8581740/silver-and-system-he-led-go-trial
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/11/8581737/silver-attorneys-question-paulin-albany-conflicts
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/11/8581436/silver-prosecutors-will-try-connect-speaker-and-lawyer-roles
Yeah the illegal hotels in PCVST are a problem, but they are 1/10,000 of the size of problem as the chopped apartments and are 1/1,000,000 of the size city-wide
The Mayor and Attorney General are allowing this widespread conversion chopping here and everywhere.
This landlord is no better. My bathtub is backed up and Resident Services told me the next day available a plumber can come up is in TWO weeks. TWO WEEKS!
I am NOT renewing my lease in February. I have had it here! Luxury Living, my %&*$!.
You can keep all your ploys. Not worth the aggravation.
The reason they do not hire more plumbers because it costs too much money. It's like everything else in this place. They are probably helping fixing these new renovated apartments, so there are not enough plumbers around to fix the normal breakdowns. They simply do not care.
Good news
Great Upsets in corrupt rebny owned republican strong hold incumbents in Long Island!
The comments say it all. People are fed up everywhere with the dirty real estate deals and corruption, with the Republican and Conservative voters voting for the newbie Democrats Mangelli Singas.
No more incumbents, especially if they are Republicans with anti-tenant voting records to weaken the rent stabilizing laws.
http://longisland.news12.com/news/john-mangelli-declares-victory-over-john-venditto-in-oyster-bay-upset-1.11055941
The real estate deals Albany makes, Ratner in Brooklyn and Long Island Nassau coliseums etc effect all of us, including PCVST. Long Island politicians have a republican history, with corruption past and present, and a record of voting anti-NYC tenant.
That just began to change with yesterdays election.
Just as Sunnyside development in Queens to replace Stuyvesant Town Peter Cooper Village was once on the table for all politicians to "save face" when PCVST went away (got robbed and decimated) on their watch - that is until Albany threw NYC under the bus taking away Sunnyside Queens after the announcement and NYC then saved the remaining 5000 rent stabilized apartments before Albany could evict those too.
We are robbed and treated as a pawn in Cuomo's Revenge Vendetta To Save his master plan To Save New York.
Long Island and NYC People are no longer letting the politicians rob us and treat us as pawns in their schemes to advance their own careers.
EVERYONE IS FED UP WITH INCUMBENTS
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/letters/letters-corruption-in-nassau-oyster-bay-1.10786856
Letters: Corruption in Nassau, Oyster Bay
Thank you, Newsday, for your investigative reporting ["Private loans, public risk," News, Aug. 23]. Exposing corruption in the Town of Oyster Bay is how the "crookies" will crumble!
We learn more having a subscription to your paper than we do from our elected officials. Hopefully a federal trial -- or two or three -- will yield a lot more reading material in future editions. It's time for a new regime.
Brian Fitterman, Syosset
Every day I read in Newsday how Long Island politicians hold us up without a gun.
Dennis Meltzer, Island Park
I'm a Republican who applauds Newsday for going after the antics that have existed in Nassau politics since the days of the late Nassau GOP chairman Joseph Margiotta ["Millions in Nassau no-bid contracts," News, Aug. 24].
Look at us, one of the richest counties in the country, and things are falling apart. The Democrats did little when they were in office. But let's face it, voting for a Republican in Nassau is almost like condoning theft.
If you're a die-hard Republican, just don't vote. Then the Democrats will get in.
Open up the jail cells for the politicos. It's one big disgrace. How anyone could be part of it is unfathomable.
Robert Casale, Glen Head
10 52 you have to report them and post this on YELP and Glass Door - they WANT US ALL TO MOVE OUT SO THEY'RE HAPPY THAT YOU AND WE ARE. Then they win. DON'T LET THEM WIN.
also moving out.
OK everyone, today I got my PCVST Blackstone & Ivanhoe Cambridge 24 question survey. In addition to a, b, c, etc., choice answers, the survey has a data field box for some questions to expand one’s answer. To all of the “Keyboard Kommandos” here, this is your opportunity to get on the record. If this blog get the usual responses on how this survey is useless, don't respond, they are all corrupt, the survey is part of the TA’s plan to destroy PCVST, etc. ad nauseam, well we will all know how useless you really are. BTW, for question 20, “In general, how would you prefer to communicate with STPCV management?” I responded by checking “In person" as opposed to email, text, phone, SM, etc. Let’s see if you have the stones to respond in kind.
I feel like every single press article including Bagli's NYTimes piece and all going forward were nothing other than the press release PR spin. No one covered the deal, the players, or questioned the obvious errors in the statements put out in the press releases.
Are there no more independent newspapers and investigative journalists in New York?
The CW $800 million fee and the arrangement between all of them is astonishing.
De Blasio is no different than Cuomo. This is really bad.
The lobbying firm Capalino & Company gave $10,000; a day after the contribution, James F. Capalino, the firm’s chief executive, met with the mayor on behalf of a client.
Photo
Jonathan Rosen of BerlinRosen, a public affairs consulting firm that played a major role in the de Blasio campaign, is a close friend and adviser to the mayor.
Dick Dadey, the executive director of Citizens Union, a government watchdog group, called the mayor’s use of the nonprofit “a new way of subverting the intent of limiting how big money influences government decisions.”
“They know that when asked, they better pony up,” Mr. Dadey said of the group’s donors. “It’s not how our democracy should be operating.”
Big Income for Firms
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the mayor’s reliance on consultants has been Mr. Rosen’s firm, BerlinRosen. From the mayor’s inauguration on Jan. 1, 2014, through the middle of this year, the firm was paid about $490,000 by the nonprofit, according to lists of expenses provided by the group.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/05/nyregion/mayor-de-blasios-hired-guns-private-consultants-help-shape-city-hall.html?_r=0
November 4, 2015 at 7:02 PM Insults aren't the best motivator. There is a lot more useful information here on the deal then anywhere else so to all those contributing, thank you and keep it up. The insulting name calling by 7:02 is not a reflection of everyone.
7:02 Tishman Speyer did the same thing. That type of questionnaire is a standard tool used by new landlords or new bosses to employees.
Soon to follow will be a PR piece on "We heard you" and "We Are listening" with a few of the minor things addressed.
To make the boss or new landlord look good.
True, TS started off this way, too.
That said, I will filling the questionnaire out.
If the noise does not stop after calling security, call the legal dept. and politely tell them if this does not stop, you are calling the NYPD the next time, or better yet, your lawyer.
CW Capital also send that survey out and we know where that went. I did fill it out and I had difficulty finding anything I liked about ST anymore.
7:02
This is the most informative site that exists regarding PCVST. The comment section gives people a voice that they really don't get any other way (and don't even say that the TA gives people a voice - that is downright laughable!). People are frustrated, and this is a way for them to voice their frustration.
Oh, and I filled out the silly survey that has already been discarded. Even gave my name and address although I doubt that the survey was anonymous.
7.02 PM here, AKA "Tired of Keyboard Kommandos"
The STR blog has much useful information on it. The STR does yeomen work in operating it and I will always be gratefull for his work. He is part of the solution. 9.49 PM, you’re twisting the purpose of my post and I stand by it. As you can see, there is already a post saying that this survey, like the TS one before, is basically useless and counterproductive as in “To make the boss or new landlord look good.” My point is that unless everyone goes on the record here by using their real name (completing the survey and sending comments/concerns to info@StuyTownPeterCooper.com) then nothing will even get a chance to change. And the TA conspiracy theories that are now posted here are off the charts.
Here’s something constructive. The next TA meeting should focus on QOL issues and what can be done regarding the corruption of the DHCR (MCI’s, rent reviews, etc.), the DOB (the no change in occupancy false permits-related to MCI issues, etc.) and the 2016 NYS election which will be critical for closing any of the loopholes in the NYS RS law.. The guests to speak and be available for questions would be Tim Hill, the TA’s attorney and Mike McKee of Tenants PAC. If anyone is an expert of what to expect from Blackstone & Ivanhoe Cambridge, I bet it would be Mike. No politician should be invited or allowed to speak. Their staffs can come and be available for questions on an individual basis after the meeting. The big question, would you even come to such a meeting?
Notice how emails you send to management are replied with NO NAME?
Notice how phone calls are with unidentified employees with NO Name? You ask for it, they'll say 'Rob'. ... mmmmm Rob who?
Do you think they care about the opinions of the longtime tenants, many of whom are senior citizens? I have never used any of the "amenities" and would just like some peace and quiet. Do they care to hear from someone like me? I am wondering if I should be honest about my age group because I have a suspicion that those who check the 55+ box may have their surveys tossed into the trash.
My neighbor from another building informed me that in his Laundromat area, someone broke into the candy machine and stole all the money. What kind of animals are they renting to?
12:41 PM: The kind of animals they are renting to are the human kind. The four-legged kind are much better behaved, cleaner and pleasanter to have around. It may not have been anybody who was actually renting here. The doors are wide open half the time and all kinds of people come and go from the buildings and wonder around the buildings. Somebody from outside may have wondered in and saw an opportunity. I'm surprised the machine that takes the money to fill up the laundry cards are never vandalized and robbed. Now THEY have a lot of our hard-earned money in them!
To Keyboard Kommander: "The big question, would you even come to such a meeting?"
YES! I would be there with bells on!!!!!
Post it on yelp
I wonder if our sleazy incumbents got kickbacks from CW to look the other way when they were abusing their position as special servicer? All those "flex apartments," dorms, building the bunker at the expense of the health of the tenants were violations of the tenants and the environment. DG, Steinberg, et al were totally onboard with it all. If there are health issues down the road, the blood will be on their hands. And what's with that big generator thing in the playground across from the back of the bunker? I would never allow small children to play near that thing. There is bound to be some kind of emissions/magnetic field around it and that has been linked to leukemia and other evils. Steinberg is an old woman and will be dead by the time these things manifest, but DG will still be around. Somewhere.
November 5, 2015 at 2:20 PM
I find it rather difficult how an individual could easily wonder through the first security door, and THEN 2 more doors that lead into the laundry area. It is someone who lives in the building. If I find out who it is, I will take them down like they never knew what hit them, then I'll call the NYPD, and THEN I'll give a call to Sabina. Buyer beware.
We live in Pcvillage - the door to the back is always always open. Left open by tenants, left open by surly porter who is just a tool so not surprised at all.
OOOPPPS! I meant wander, not wonder. But I do wonder about this place at times.
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