Observer » Warren Estis

The Double-Your-Money Flips Continue at 15 CPW

Matt Chaban — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:02:24 -0400

As founders of one of the city's most important real estate law firms, Gary Rosenberg and Warren Estis have an eye for real estate deals, and they have just snagged one for themselves at the inimitable 15 Central Park West.

On March 1, they sold a three-bedroom on the 26th floor of the Zeckendorf-developed limestone wonder for $16.5 million, according to city records—more than twice the $7.13 million StreetEasy says the attorneys paid for the 2,761-square-foot condo in January 2008. They doubled their money in just three years, and got very nearly the $16.995 million they had been asking since December 2009. The home had been tenanted until the date of the condo's close, according to an old listing from Trump's Debra Stotts.

Ms. Stotts' listing brags about a potential buyer's pedigreed neighbors: "Famous residents include(d) actor Denzel Washington, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and chairman Brian France, musician Sting, director Norman Lear, real estate developers Aaron & William Zeckendorf, Citigroup chairman Sandy Weill and many high network financial executives"

Could the buyer, listed as Odysseus NY LLC, be one of the above? Or perhaps yet another one of those Greek shipping magnates has bought up another of our premier apartments.

Read past Manhattan Transfers here. >>

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo

Who Knew? Landlords Can’t Force Terrorism Insurance On Renters

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:00:20 -0400

On Tuesday afternoon, The Real Estate got a strange email from Westchester-based PR man Rich Roher.

Today's decision by the NYS Appeals Court, reversing a June 2005 NYS Supreme Court decision, effectively says that a landlord cannot compel a leasee to acquire terrorism insurance if terrorism is not specifically included in the lease's named perils policy. In other word's [sic], landlords must specifically state in a lease if they will require leasees (or their assigns) to have terrorism insurance.

Frankly, we didn't know landlords ever had the chance to force terrorism insurance upon anyone. But, apparently, they can't anymore.

More to come from Warren Estis of Rosenberg & Estis, the lawyer who represented the Appellant from 9 West 57th...

- Max Abelson

Aby Learns His Lesson

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 16:39:00 -0400

This week, real-estate mogul Aby Rosen spoke to The Observer about his partnership with Ian Schrager, and their luxury residential projects.

But today, the savvy developer found himself in trouble with former landlord, Sharon Goldman. Housing Court Judge Gerald J. Lebovits ruled against Mr. Rosen, forcing him to pay Ms. Goldman just over $208,000 to cover legal fees, disbursements, and interest. The dispute stemmed from a mid-2004 lease agreement for three floors at 12 East 68th Street.

“The bad news for Aby is that he has learned an expensive and painful lesson in landlord-tenant law,” said Warren Estis, a founding partner of Rosenberg & Estis, in a release.

But if Mr. Rosen can get $3,000 a foot on Bond Street, he should have the money back in no time.

-Michael Calderone