Tenants will receive $68 M. in damages.

The tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village have finally settled their class action suit, winning $68.7 million in damages that will be awarded to tenants who were overcharged on their rent between January 2003 and December 2011 as a result of illegal rent deregulation.

The settlement means an end to the lengthy Roberts v. Tishman Speyer legal battle. Tishman Speyer defaulted on its loans in 2010 and the property is now owned by CW Capital Asset Management LLC. The damages, to be paid by CWCapital (on behalf of the
bondholders' trust) and former owner MetLife Inc, will be divided among 21,250 tenants in 4,300 units.

The settlement, pending final court approval that could come as early as April 2013, will mean that damages of some $10,000 will be awarded to each of the 4,300 units deemed to have been affected by overcharging. It also means that tenants' plans to buy the complex themselves in a bid to protect the buildings as a increasingly rare refuge for Manhattan's middle class might finally move forward.

Tenants sought $215 million in compensation for the rent overcharges, which is far more than the current award, but the plaintiff's attorneys say that the final agreement will bring the total recovery in the lawsuit to at least $146.8 million. In addition to compensating tenants for past rent overcharges, the agreement also includes savings in the form of future rents, which will be based on a formula that factors in market conditions and tenant turnover rates.

"We believe this settlement provides an extraordinary recovery for our clients and we couldn't be happier for them," said Ronald Aranoff of Bernstein Liebhard, one of the plaintiff's lead attorneys, in a statement.

The agreement also guarantees rent stabilization through 2020, when the complex's J-51 tax benefits expire, reinstating the benefit to a number of residents whose units had been erroneously deregulated. Tenants who signed market rate leases will be offered modified rents or their original rent grown by the yearly rent guidelines board increases.

The settlement comes after some 18 months of negotiations. The complex has been mired in drama ever since Tishman Speyer bought the complex for $5.4 billion in 2007 with plans to draw an upscale clientele in the market for luxury apartments.

CW Capital Partners took care to point out that they took over the complex almost four years after the suit was first filed.

“Since then we have worked hard to try to balance the interests of residents and bondholders, recognizing that our fiduciary responsibility to investors must respect the concerns of tenants who call Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town home," wrote CW managing director Andrew MacArthur in a release.

The settlement deals with less than half of the complex's 11,229 units spread out across 56 buildings.

Rather than heralding the announcement, lifelong resident and council member Dan Garodnick issued a cautious statement.

Let's celebrate. (GEI NY)

Despite concerns the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission might not grant the Rainbow Room landmarks status, having denied a request to do so only a few years ago, the commission did exactly that this morning, voting unanimously to add the historic eatery to the city's list of interior landmarks, making it the 115th. Now Tishman Speyer and the as-yet unnamed restaurateur it has selected to reopen the restaurant atop Rockefeller Center can get on with the task—though any changes to the space would not have to pass muster with the commission.

“The Rainbow Room came to epitomize New York City glamor,” commission chairman Robert Tierney said in a statement. “It retains not only many of its original characteristics, but also several generations’ worth of memories. I’d also like to thank the owners for their support of this important designation, and for their many years of fine stewardship of Rockefeller Center.”

The 72-foot high room, with its moody lighting and famous dancefloor at the center, was designed by Wallace Harrison, one of the architects of Rockefeller Center, with the help of decorator Elena Bachman and set designer Vincent Minelli, who worked for years at Radio City Music Hall, as well.

A rare example of an Art Deco style known as Streamlined Modern, the space was recast in the 1980s by Hugh Hardy, a sensitive restoration that modernized the space in places. Previously the alterations had been used to justify denying landmarks designation, but it has since been celebrated by the commission as a thoughtful intervention.

Previously, the Ciprianis had led the landmarking campaign in the midst of a fight with Tishman Speyer over their leave of the space. There was some fear the entire room space might be given over to offices, but that only happened on the bottom floor, which had housed back of the house space, one of the reasons a redesign of the remaining rooms are in order. It is not uncommon for a landlord to submit to landmarking in advance of such a renovation, as NYU did with its Silver Tower Complex.

Correction:An earlier version of this post originally misspelled Vincent Minelli's name as Manelli. The Observer regrets the error.

Dancing into history. (bilde/Angelfire)

One of the big questions surrounding the landmarking of the Rainbow Room was whether or not it would win the support of Tishman Speyer, the august real estate firm that owns Rockefeller Center, home to the famed dance hall and eatery. But the space is lucky as a leprechaun, as the Rainbow Room's landlord came out in support of landmarking yesterday, according to Crain's.

"We have a deep respect for the history of this space and its importance within Rockefeller Center and within the fabric of New York City," Keith Douglas, managing director for Rockefeller Center at Tishman Speyer told the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday. "Protecting, maintaining and enhancing cherished landmark properties are an integral part of our company's mission."

Crain's notes that an operator for the space remains a mystery and it is not clear the commission will support landmarking, though in our view, it seems unlikely they would not. Rarely does a project get to this stage in the process only to be denied.

It is true the commission denied a previous attempt to have the space landmarked in the past, but that was pursued by the Cipriani family, which at the time operated the restaurant. That bid was opposed by Tishman Speyer. This time, the effort is being led by the commission, and with the support of Tishman, it seems almost certain the city will be adding to the hundreds of interior landmarks that make up this great city.

Is magenta one of the rainbow colors? (Wikimedia Commons)

Ginger Rogers and Howard Hughes, two years after the Rainbow Room opened. (Getty)

The Rainbow Room, like Tavern on the Green or Chumley's, was one of those New York institutions no one ever visited, until it was gone, at which point the lamentations became unceasing. The fate of the restaurant atop Rockafeller Center remains a mystery, since it was abruptly closed by the Ciprianis three years ago amidst a rent dispute with another of New York's august families, the Speyers, who control Rock Center.

Whoever takes over the famous (and famously garish) catering hall in the sky, one thing that is unlikely to change is the decor. Today, the Landmarks Preservation Commission decided to consider the two-story space on the 65th floor of 30 Rock for designation as an interior landmark, one 114 in the city. (Others include the Four Seasons, the New York Public Library and, just downstairs, Radio City Music Hall.)

"This is an important calendaring—they’re all important, of course, truly," Commissioner Robert Tierney said at meeting of the commission at the Municipal Building. "This is notable and important for obvious reasons and we look very much forward to the hearing on this."

That hearing is scheduled for September 11, and should the Rainbow Room be designated, any alterations to the space would require the commission's approval. This would not forbid changes, but it would make them more difficult, and it almost guarantees that the space will remain one for food and drink.

At one time, Tishman Speyer had considered turning the space into offices (so lucrative was the city's office market), and the Ciprianis actually proposed landmarking the space themselves as a route to try and preserve their rents—it would be harder to use the space for anything else. Ultimately, the city rejected the proposal and they abandoned the restaurant anyway, but Tishman Speyer did turn the kitchen, on the 64th floor, over to Lazard, which already leased the floors below and was looking to expand.

The 65th floor would likely require renovations to accommodate a new kitchen as a result, which may explain the eagerness of the commission to protect the space. A similar action took place at the old Manufacturers of Hanover bank branch at 510 Fifth Avenue, which was landmarked then redeveloped, after some hue and cry, into a Joe Fresh clothing outlet.

Tishman Speyer has yet to say what will happen to the space or where it stands on its landmarking, though there are vague plans to do something with the space. "Tishman Speyer continues its planning process for the Rainbow Room, which is an icon loved by New Yorkers and visitors from around the world," a spokesperson said in an email.

What is interesting about this particular landmarking is that it not only celebrates the original 1934 design by Walter Harrison (also the architect of Rock Center) but also a post-modern renovation to it in 1987, commissioned by David Rockefeller to the tune of $25 million and designed by celebrated New York architect Hugh Hardy.

According to the commission's statement of significance presented at today's meeting, the space remains a rare example of an early modernist interior in the city, in a style identified as Stremlined Modern: "Though much of the 65th floor was completely remodeled, similar to various earlier renovations, the Rainbow Room was treated with considerable care, and Hardy called his work a 'true restoration.' A rare and distinguished example of Streamlined Modern design, it retains many of its original features and characteristics, making the Rainbow Room one New York City’s highest and most elegant nightclub interiors."

Diana Chapin, a commissioner from Queens, called it “a place of iconic memories" following the commission's unanimous vote to calendar the Rainbow Room.

Among the less-impressive pieces of real estate that Tishman, who died in 2010 at age 94, had in his real estate portfolio was a pleasant, if largely unexceptional two-bedroom co-op in the Pierre. It has been sold by his estate for $3.82 million.

The 25th-floor apartment at 795 Fifth Avenue—like all those in the Pierre—comes with twice-daily maid service, an on-call physician and elevator attendants.

Filled with light from large windows, the apartment has basic white walls, hardwood floors and graceful proportions, but none of the knock-out items so often seen in luxury apartments these days, with the exception of amazing views—overlooking the skyline that Tishman helped build.

The co-op was listed with Corcoran broker Joan Kaplan for $4.35 million (the co-op was listed in March 2011). Ms. Kaplan said that she could discuss neither the sale nor the buyers, Ampt 795 LLC.

Although Ms. Kaplan's listing emphasized that the unit could be purchased along with the unit next door for a full-floor spread, the much fancier four-bedroom neighbor remains on the market for $11.4 million.

kvelsey@observer.com

5:45 The 116th annual REBNY banquet is just getting started at the New York Hilton. Chicago Title is having an invitation-only party on the building’s second floor.

5:46 As usual, the night’s official festivities begin with a cocktail party in the room adjacent to the Hilton’s main ballroom, where the dinner is held. Jason Muss, a principal at Muss Development, stands near the entrance to the room with Jared Kushner (owner of The Commercial Observer), Jared’s wife, Ivanka, and Fried Frank chief Jon Mechanic. “I love this party. It’s a great place to catch up with people,” Mr. Muss says.

5:50 The cocktail reception is quickly filling up. Simon Ziff, a principal at the financing company Ackman Ziff, stands near the open bar with his wife. “It’s overwhelming,” Mr. Ziff says. “Think of all the people here. A few seconds to say hi to each. That’s a lot of seconds.”

6:00  Hal Fetner, a developer who is building two prominent residential buildings with partner the Durst Organization, steps over to the bar. “The feeling in the room is always tied to the health of the market,” he says. So what’s the vibe? “Ask me later. It’s too early to tell. But I think things are good.”

6:01 John Santora, an executive at the real estate services firm who recently helped negotiate an agreement between landlords and the union that represents building employees, 32BJ, is chatting with C&W appraisal expert Brian Corcoran. “A lot of people worked on that deal,” Mr. Santora says of the negotiations. “I can’t take the credit for it.”

Steve Spinola, REBNY’s president, greets guests in the main room of the cocktail space. “We had to put a few tables upstairs,” Mr. Spinola says, indicating that attendance at the banquet has picked up from last year. “We got a lot of last-minute calls from people who wanted to come.”

6:17  Alan Weiner, the group head of Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, one of the biggest lenders in the city, is chatting busily with Rob Speyer, one of the chief executives of the real estate firm Tishman Speyer.

Eric Deutsch, the former head of the Downtown Alliance who now is an executive at Montparnasse 56, a builder of observation decks, surveys the crowd. “My first job out of college in the early 1990s was with REBNY,” he says. “The market was terrible then and they barely had anyone at the banquet. They made me sit up front during the dinner to make it seem like people were here.”

6:30  Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney strides in. “I just secured us $300 million, a high-speed-rail grant to develop a line between Boston and New York. It’s very exciting,” she says, taking a crab leg. After she’s done with the morsel of meat, she holds the shell and looks for the waiter. “Where do I put this thing?”

6:32 The room’s cocktail banquet is about 75 percent full.

6:45 Robert Lapidus, an executive at the real estate investment company L&L Holding Company, becomes enraged when The Commercial Observer asks him if he is bidding on a leasehold interest in the Flatiron office building 114 Fifth Avenue, as is rumored. “We’re not here to talk about fucking business!” he yells, grabbing The CO’s notepad and tossing it.

Gary Green, head of the building services company Alliance, briskly and very politely retrieves the notebook while Mr. Lapidus hurls epithets at The CO. Acting like a true gentleman—and also looking the part in a finely cut tuxedo—Mr. Green apologizes for his friend. “You can’t do that! Knucklehead!” The CO overhears him say to Mr. Lapidus.

6:46  Kenneth Fisher, a partner at the real estate investment company Fisher Brothers, tells The CO that this is the first REBNY banquet he has been to in five years. “Every time this year, I’ve been playing golf in the desert [at the Bob Hope Classic].”7:00

Jeff Roseman, a retail leasing executive at Newmark Knight Frank, squeezes through the crowd. “It’s a great place to see old friends.” He greets Steve Green, the founder of the city’s biggest landlord, the REIT SL Green.

7:05 “This is my childhood,” Helena Durst, looking elegant in a flowing dress, says of the banquet. “Do you like Christmas? Do you like Sunday dinner? That’s what this is for me. I have so many memories of coming to this party.”

7:09 Deputy Mayor Robert Steel and Councilwoman Jessica Lapin walk through the room together, busy in conversation.

7:15 Guests are being pushed out of the cocktail reception into the main dining room. The dinner is about to begin.

7:16 “Do I like this party? It’s OK,” Kathryn Wylde, head of the Partnership for New York City, says. “I go to a lot of parties.”

7:25 The CO bumps into Woody Heller in the men’s room and mentions to him a rumor that Will Silverman, Mr. Heller’s colleague at Studley, doesn’t sit at a desk but stands. “It’s true,” Mr. Heller says. “He has a swivel desk that can be lifted and he stands at it rather than sits. He says it’s more comfortable.”

Does Mr. Heller do the same thing? “I pace,” Mr. Heller says.

7:40 The crowd, now dense, is heading into the main ballroom.

7:41 Bruce Mosler, a top leasing executive at Cushman & Wakefield, chats with friends outside the ballroom. “A lot of my good friends are in real estate, so this is a fun night for me, I get to see them all,” Mr. Mosler says.

7:42 Paul Pariser, a chief executive of the real estate investment company Taconic, stands nearby. Known as an avid skier, The CO asks him if he’s been to Colorado yet this season. “There’s no snow!” Mr. Pariser replies.

7:50 Howard Michaels, of the financing firm Carlton, is making his way into the ballroom. “If you’re in the real estate business and you’re not at this party, you have to have your head examined,” Mr. Michaels says. “Want to know something? I almost didn’t come. That was the pep talk I gave myself.”

8:00 Already murmurs are going around about where the after-parties are going to be. “I’m not going to an after-party,” says Bob Knakal, chairman of the brokerage firm Massey Knakal, which during the boom years threw epic REBNY parties. “I have dinner plans with my wife.”

8:05 Steve Berliner, an executive at the brokerage company Studley, flashes The CO a stack of his business cards, which he plans to hand out. “Tonight is the best recruiting night of the year,” he says. “I started getting recruited to Studley six years ago at this party.”

8:20 The CO tells Amira Yunis, a retail leasing executive at CBRE, that she looks stunning in her black dress. It’s true, the former model does. Asked what her plans for the year are, she jokingly grabs The CO by the shoulders and shakes, “Make millions and millions and millions of dollars!”

9:00 The ballroom is full. But few people are eating. In the center of the room, Mitch Arkin, an executive at C&W, is chatting. “I haven’t eaten yet,” Mr. Arkin says. “I’m not going to eat.” What is he using for fuel, a hungry CO asks. “Adrenaline.”

9:10 “After-party is at Nobu,” Matt Astrachan, an executive at Jones Lang LaSalle, tells his colleague Mitch Konsker and C&W retail executive Brad Mendelson. “JLL party at 10!” Mr. Mendelson booms.

9:15 Dessert is being served. Some kind of chocolate-coated-ball concoction. The CO is still looking for dinner, finds a steak and eats it. It’s not as rubbery as rumored, though it’s certainly overdone.

9:45  Steve Durels, SL Green leasing chief, and Paul Glickman, an agency leasing specialist at JLL, walk out chatting. The banquet is winding down.

10:00 Kent Swig, with a closely cropped beard and carrying a few extra pounds, makes his way out. “I’m having a beer,” he says.

dgeiger@observer.com

The lease at 666 Third Avenue is not yet done, but a person close to the EU said the organization is considering two floors at the building.

666 Third Avenue.

The EU is currently located at 222 East 41st Street, where it has considerably less space than it is currently looking for. The Union’s New York City operations exist to interface with the United Nations on international policy issues, peacekeeping missions, humanitarian aid and other UN Committee work. Though Europe has been stricken with ongoing worries about the debt load of certain countries and the prognosis for the continent’s economy, the 27-member EU body has only added staff a source said since Europe passed the Treaty of Lisbon into effect in 2009, a pact that expanded the EU’s role with the UN.

A source said that the EU office has about 35 diplomats and a total staff of about 65. The person said that much of the governing body’s space is used for meetings relating to its work with the UN.

One broker who has observed the EU’s comings and goings said it had looked unsuccessfully for space at One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at 885 Second Avenue, a popular destination for UN missions and other tenants related to the international organization.

Several spaces are available at 666 Third Avenue, including a 65,000 square foot sublease lower in the 32-story building being offered by the Overseas Ship Holding Group. A person familiar with that space said that the EU is not negotiating for that space but for other floors being offered directly by 666 Third Avenue’s landlord, Tishman Speyer.

The 770,000 square foot property is known as the Chrysler East Building and its base abuts and connects into that famous landmark.

Both properties are operated by Tishman Speyer.

Some brokers are hoping that the EU’s deal at 666 Third Avenue falls through so they can strike a deal with the Union. One broker who spoke with the Commercial Observer off record said that he had space he could deliver to the Union, but that it wasn’t immediately available, meaning he would only be in the running to land the Union if its deal at 666 Third Avenue doesn’t get done.

Another person scratched his head at the EU’s potential deal at 666 Third Avenue, explaining that the Union could secure cheaper space elsewhere in the area, such as at 757 Third Avenue, a nearby property.

Dan Geiger, Staff Writer, is reachable at Dgeiger@Observer.com

Effective June of 2012, the new lease will encompass most of the art deco building's top floors, with the firm Swanke Hayden Connell Architects retained to redesign Lazard's office space.

Tara Stacom, a vice chairman at Cushman & Wakefield, advised Lazard on the deal, alongside Cushman chairman John Cushman and Cynthia Foster, an executive managing director of Global Client Development.

"Lazard ultimately determined that 30 Rockefeller Plaza provided both a prime location and a distinctive building with a world-class complex, with exceptional ownership and value in today's market," Ms. Stacom said.

jsedertrom@observer.com

Baker Hostetler, the world's 85th-largest law firm, which represented Bernie Madoff's victims in their search for lost treasure, now occupies 100,000 square feet at 45 Rockefeller Plaza. But with its leases expiring in 2012, Baker is trying to lock down the space, sources say.

The firm subleased the 9th, 10th and 11th floors from Ropes and Gray beginning in 2006. Last year, flush with billable hours courtesy of the fallout from the Ponzi schemer, Baker triumphantly added new partners and quietly added 20,000 square feet of Rock Center space. That short-term lease also expires in two years.

The Commercial Observer spoke briefly with CB Richard Ellis' John Maher, who is representing the tenant. Flummoxed, he said he would call us back and did not respond to further requests for comment. Tishman Speyer declined to comment through a spokesman.

Asking rents in Rockefeller Center can climb into the $80s, but as of January, the firm had received $128 million for its Madoff work, so that's unlikely to be a sticking point. Sources say the firm is likely to ink a deal soon.

But if previous Rockefeller Center experience is any indication, they'd better not play too hard to get.

lkusisto@observer.com

An entity affiliated with a long-extinct church, St. Nicholas Collegiate Church, has sold the land rights to its former Rock Center site at 600 Fifth Avenue to Tishman Speyer for $165 million, according to public records. 

A partnership of Tishman Speyer and the Lester Crown family of Chicago already owns most of Rockefeller Center, including the 326,000-square-foot tower that rises at West 48th Street and Fifth Avenue.

The church, part of the Reformed Church of America, was first built on the site in 1847, according to the New York City chapter of the American Guild of Organists. It was replaced several decades later by an "exuberant" Gothic building, dominated by an enormous steeple. Theodore Roosevelt and his family occupied pew No. 39.

It was torn down shortly after World War II to make way for the office and retail development that we know today, but the church retained its claim to the prime land. Over the last several years, the Collegiate Asset Management Corporation, affiliated with the church, has sold off several prime assets, including 306 West 77th Street, according to city records.

Several churches have been consolidating or selling off assets of late, as The Observer has noted. Still, rarely are we likely to see one this financially grand. We weren't the only ones intrigued by the transaction: Real Estate Weekly also had news of the deal.

lkusisto@observer.com