As the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, and the associated illness spreads around the world and the number of confirmed cases in the United States rises, disruptions to construction projects are inevitable. These disruptions may come from any number of factors, including direct illness to construction site personnel, voluntary office closures for project professionals, whether they be project administrative staff, construction executives, or financing officers, government-imposed closures or quarantines, travel restrictions, logistical and supply chain…

The New Jersey Appellate Division case of Commerce Limited Partnership, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Edison Furniture, LLC, Defendant-Respondent, 2020 WL 820338, is a cautionary tale on the use of estoppel certificates.  Although the opinion is unpublished, does not constitute precedent and is not binding on any court, it highlights a pitfall of sending a party an estoppel which does not cite any defaults or other material issues (i.e., a “clean” estoppel) when, in fact, defaults exist.…

The New Jersey Appellate Division case of Gebroe-Hammer Associates v. Deal Lake Village Gardens, LLC, et. al., 2020 WL 428795, decided on January 28, 2020 addressed the plaintiff’s claim for a real estate brokerage commission for the sale of a property in Asbury Park, New Jersey.  Although the opinion is unpublished, does not constitute precedent and is not binding on any court, it offers useful guidance for the negotiation of exclusive listing agreements and other…

In a market where economic indicators continue to show encouraging signs (e.g., sustained favorable employment numbers and rental rates, and continuing low levels of inflation), the prospect that property values will appreciate remains real.  Because of questionable municipal assessment practices, often blindly motivated by the objective of maximizing tax ratables, careful scrutiny of assessments, especially in changing market conditions, is warranted.  Consequently, it behooves commercial property owners to review their property tax assessments with their…

We last wrote in May 2019 (updating an earlier post written in February 2018) that the New York State Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, issued a landmark decision affirming the Appellate Division, Second Department’s decision in 159 MP Corp. v. Redbridge Bedford, LLC to uphold a commercial tenant’s waiver of its right to seek a “Yellowstone” injunction. 160 A.D.3d 176 (2d Dep’t 2018). The decision was viewed at the time as likely sounding…

Thanks to Local Law 110, which took effect at the beginning of December 2019, if you are the owner of a residential building within the five boroughs of New York City, you are now required to post or distribute a copy of all summonses issued by the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) concerning a condition in violation of the building code. If such condition exists outside of an occupied dwelling unit and a…

To combat against the harmful effects of climate change, the New York City Council recently passed the Climate Mobilization Act (CMA)[1] – landmark legislation aimed at reducing New York City greenhouse gas emissions levels by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, which will have major implications for New York City building owners, prospective purchasers, and lenders. The cornerstone of the CMA is Local Law 97[2], which institutes new caps on greenhouse…