By Kim Velsey 2/14 4:23pm

Legal Action

The Rushmore.

The Attorney General Has Had Enough of Your Condo Disputes

Ever since the financial crisis hit, the Attorney General’s office has dealt with hundreds and hundreds of condo escrow disputes. And you know what, enough is enough. If you want to argue about whether or not the developer delivered on the terms promised in the contract and deserves to keep your deposit, well you are going to have to take your legal bickering elsewhere.

The Real Deal reports that the Eric Schneiderman’s office isn’t going to resolve any more condo disputes—which generally arise from changes to plans, delayed delivery dates, construction defects or buyers simply changing their mind and trying to back out of deals—any more. People are going to have to settle their legal claims in state and federal court. Read More

By Kim Velsey 10/11/12 7:59pm

Feuds

National Arts Club apartments will return to the market.

National Arts Club Reclaims Its Real Estate

They don’t look very good right now, but ten Gramercy Park apartments formerly controlled by ex-president Aldon James and his brother John will soon be returning to the market. Relatively soon, that is, following gut renovations that were much-needed after the apartments’ time in the hands of the two hoarders.

Last week, Real Estate Weekly reported that the National Arts Club had finally reached a settlement with the Attorney General’s office allowing it to tidy up the club’s governance, financial controls and the filthy apartments. Today a state appeals court upheld the National Arts Club’s decision to boot the James brothers, the New York Post reported. Read More

By Drew Grant 12/15/11 3:20pm

restaurants

One of Park Avenue Autumn's Saddam Hussein plates

Update: Manhattan Restaurant Park Avenue Autumn Returns Stolen Saddam Hussein Plates; Art Group Responds

Update: The official response of Creative Time–the non-profit art organization which worked with Park Avenue Autumn on the exhibition involving the stolen plates– as well as that of the U.S. District Attorney’s office, can be found at the bottom of the post.

In a story that raises more questions than it answers, stolen dinner plates and several salad plates originally belonging to Saddam Hussein were returned to the Republic of Iraq by the United States government after they were illegally exported out of the country and sold on Ebay. Read More

By The Editors 11/22/11 10:20am

opinion

Why is Liu Stalling?

City comptroller John Liu, whose campaign finances are under federal investigation, apparently doesn’t quite get it. He admits that recent revelations about dubious record-keeping and shady fund-raising practices, along with the federal indictment of one of his fund-raisers, are “quite embarrassing.” No kidding. But investigators aren’t looking to embarrass the comptroller. They’re trying to enforce laws that Mr. Liu’s campaign may have skirted or violated. That should be more than merely “embarrassing.” Read More

By The Editors 11/01/11 6:59pm

opinion

Liu, With No Choice, Makes a Good One

City Comptroller John Liu really had no choice. Faced with serious questions about his campaign fund-raising, Mr. Liu backtracked from his position that an inquiry could be handled in-house. Instead, under mounting public criticism, Mr. Liu asked former State Attorney General Robert Abrams to conduct an independent audit of his campaign’s books.

Good move. And good choice. Mr. Abrams, who served as A.G. from 1979 to 1993, has an impeccable reputation and would seem to have no ax to grind.

What remains uncertain, however, is whether Mr. Abrams will have the resources—in terms of a budget and personnel—to conduct a thorough investigation of Mr. Liu’s tangled campaign finances. Read More

By Amanda Sterling 2/03/11 8:39pm

crackdown

Schneiderman Charges Companies for Defrauding Haitian Earthquake Victims

Eric Schneiderman announced today that his office has shut down two companies that are charged with defrauding Haitians affected by the 2010 earthquake.

The companies allegedly targeted Haitian nationals who had been affected by the earthquake, illegally providing them with fake immigration services and falsely promising them legal immigrant status. By misrepresenting a new law Read More

By Mike Taylor 10/06/10 6:16pm

Justice Department Digs Into Foreclosure Foibles

Attorney General Eric Holder is joining several state attorneys general in an escalating legal inquiry over reports of legally dubious foreclosure proceedings initiated by major lenders like JPMorgan Chase and Ally (formerly known as GMAC).

Reuters reports that Holder said today he’s looking into “charges that have surfaced in the newspapers in the last Read More

By Michael Gonda 7/28/10 10:12pm

Dinallo Makes The Experience Argument

This just in: Eric Dinallo has walked the walk.

That is the message the candidate for Attorney General delivered late Wednesday afternoon when he criticized his opponents for lacking his breadth of knowledge of the office and his experience within its hallowed halls.

 ”Some of my opponents, in talking about the Attorney General’s office, have Read More

By Azi Paybarah 2/11/09 10:10pm

Andrew Cuomo Thinks New York Can Do Better

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants to reinvent New York government.

And maybe take it over.

His speech today, at a breakfast in the Regency Hotel hosted by the Citizens Budget Commission, was about his proposal to consolidate the state’s more than 10,000 local government bodies and taxing authorities. Cuomo has said, with Read More