A NY State Supreme Court judge ruled that Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner must return two properties after deciding that the properties' tenant had improperly given them to the developer. You ask, how can a mere tenant sign over properties he doesn't even own to a developer for demolition? So do we!
The properties in question are at 762-766 Pacific Street and 535 Carlton Avenue, an office building and a parking lot, owned by Henry Weinstein. Weinstein leased them for 48-years to Shaya Boymelgreen, a Brooklyn developer, and the contracts clearly stated that leases could not be sold and the properties could not be demolished. When FCR took over the properties, Weinstein joined the lawsuit against the Atlantic Projects.
Boymelgreen's lawyer tried to argue that Weinstein would eventually sell the properties to FCR was just holding out for more money from FCR. Develop - Don't Destroy Brooklyn, the anti-Atlantic Yards community group, find a silver lining by writing, "With full control restored to Mr. Weinstein, however, the cost of acquisition has likely increased ten-fold." In other words, anything to make FCR pay.
The NY Times notes some hilarity with Boymelgreen's attempts to tell Weinstein he wanted to sell the leases to FCR: "...Mr. Boymelgreen’s companies sent a letter to Mr. Weinstein asking permission to sell the leases to Forest City, but sent it to a wrong address. Ten days later, without having heard back from Mr. Weinstein, Mr. Boymelgreen’s companies transferred the leases to Forest City." Wow, we guess when you're a big developer, following up is not a big deal.
And Boymelgreen is so infamous in the community that there's a website devoted to how he's a horrible developer, Shaya is Coming. [Via Curbed]
