Real Estate News, Information, Data and Insights for New York City Real Estate
Tim Ho Wan Has Closed on 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, August 23, 2025
Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, 2025
After eight years, the last day open for the Tim Ho Wan restaurant was August 10, 2025. They will continue to operate at 85 4th Avenue in the East Village. A great article on the closing can be found at W42ST.nyc.
Midtown South Mixed-Use Rezoning for Over 9500 Apartments is Passed by City Council
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, August 18, 2025
After the pandemic, Midtown Manhattan was left with large amounts of office space that was no longer being leased as employees began to work more from home. While a lot of employees have returned to work, there are still several buildings where residential conversions will be performed. The Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan, the biggest residential neighborhood rezoning plan in 20 years, was adopted by the New York City Council today. It is expected to result in the construction of about 10,000 new housing units. More than $400 million will be invested in Midtown South’s infrastructure and neighborhood. The Council decided to approve legislation that would increase the security of childcare facilities, legalize the City’s cooling center program, and remove obstacles to supportive housing.
“To confront the citywide housing and affordability crisis, our city must build more homes and invest in housing solutions that allow generations of New Yorkers to remain in this city,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “The Council is proud to approve the historic Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan, as well as other housing projects, that will deliver over 10,000 new homes. The Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan will also invest nearly $488 million to preserve and support our city’s Garment District industries and help meet the needs of the surrounding communities. I thank my Council colleagues for their hard work and partnership to approve these rezonings that will benefit our communities for generations to come.”
More information on the rezoning can be found on the city council website here.
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, August 14, 2025
Governor Hochul Update on Congestion Pricing
NYC News
Recently, Governor Hochul’s office provided an update on the city’s congestion pricing program that has been successful in lowering traffic and generating revenue to fund regional transit improvements in its first six months of operation. The country’s first urban congestion pricing program, which went into effect on January 5th at 12:00 am, charges drivers to enter the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) below 60th Street in Manhattan, thereby reducing traffic. The MTA plans to forward $15 billion in vital capital enhancements to mass transportation on its subway, bus, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad systems by 2025, when congestion pricing revenue is expected to reach the projected $500 million.
“Six months in, it’s clear: congestion pricing has been a huge success, making life in New York better,” Governor Hochul said. “In New York, we dare to do big things, and this program represents just that – traffic is down throughout the region, business is booming, transit ridership is up, and we are making historic upgrades to our transit system. We’ve also fended off five months of unlawful attempts from the federal government to unwind this successful program and will keep fighting – and winning – in the courts. The cameras are staying on.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “Congestion relief is a massive success and validation of the initiative keeps pouring in. The program is achieving all of its goals in terms of traffic reduction, increased travel speeds, safety, noise reduction and more. And not only is Congestion Relief delivering all the projected benefits – and more – it’s also proving that New York State government can effectively execute major, ambitious initiatives that improve the quality of life in ways New Yorkers notice and appreciate.”
In addition to successfully fending off numerous legal challenges to congestion pricing, New York State and the MTA have defended the program against illegal attempts to end it by the Trump Administration and the USDOT. In the case of Metropolitan Transportation Authority v. Duffy, a preliminary injunction was issued in May, preventing the federal government from retaliating in retaliation and maintaining congestion pricing in place while additional judicial processes are ongoing.
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, August 13, 2025
Elephant and Castle Closing in the West Village After 52 Years
After 52 years of operation, the Elephant & Castle restaurant located at 68 Greenwich Avenue will close its doors for good this Sunday, August 17. Dr. George Schwarz started the restaurant in 1973 . Here is a great article on the closing by Eater.
One Times Square Renovation Nearly Complete, Opening Fall 2025
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, August 12, 2025
Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, August 11, 2025
The building at One Times Square is located at 1475 Broadway right off West 42nd Street in Times Square. Built in 1904, it was formerly known as the New York Times Building, the New York Times Tower or the Allied Chemical Tower. The building is 25 stories with a relatively small footprint. The tower building was originally built as the headquarters of The New York Times
One Times Square is one of the most valuable advertising venues in the world because of the significant cash generated by its signage. The annual New Year’s Eve “ball drop” is atop of the tower. The building has been owned by Jamestown L.P. since 1997.
The building formerly was the site of Walgreens which closed around 2021. A $500 million renovation of the building began in 2022. The newly renovated building will feature an observation deck, a museum space, and a glass exterior, and is scheduled to be completed in 2025. The website for the new project is onetimessquare.com.
The Elizabeth Street Garden will not be Developed by the City
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, August 8, 2025
The Elizabeth Street Garden will remain a permanent public green space under a new agreement announced July 23, 2025 by Mayor Eric Adams.
The original proposal was for the city to build an affordable housing development on the site of the Elizabeth Street Garden. Now instead the city will construct more than 600 new affordable housing units across three alternate sites in Lower Manhattan including the Financial District, the Lower East Side, SoHo and Tribeca. The original plan for the site included 123 units of affordable senior housing and a new public garden space.
Mayor Adams stated, “The best way to tackle our city’s housing crisis is to build as much affordable housing as we can. The agreement announced today will help us meet that mission by creating more than five times the affordable housing originally planned while preserving a beloved local public space and expanding access to it.”
Rezoning efforts for three separate locations in the surrounding area at 156-166 Bowery in Nolita, 22 Suffolk St. on the Lower East Side and 100 Gold St. in the Financial District will be undertaken. The Bowery site in Nolita is anticipated to include at least 123 affordable apartments for seniors.
The Elizabeth Street Garden is a one-acre community sculpture garden in Nolita at Elizabeth Street between Prince and Spring Streets. The garden is owned by the city government and managed by the Elizabeth Street Garden (ESG) nonprofit and is available for the public for general use and community events.
Under the new agreement, the garden will expand its hours to the public from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and it is possible that it may become one of the city Department of Parks and Recreation’s green spaces. However, the city said it will retain the right to revisit plans for housing for the garden site if the rezoning for the three new alternate sites does not go forward.
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, June 13, 2025
The “Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act” or the “FARE” Act has become law in New York City. This law, also known as “Local Law 119 of 2024”: (1) prohibits landlords from passing on to prospective tenants the fees of landlords’ hired agents (brokers); and (2) requires landlords to explicitly disclose all fees that tenants must pay to rent an apartment before tenants sign a rental agreement.
On June 11, 2025, the FARE ACT statute became operative. The legislation forbids listing agents and other agents employed by the landlord from charging fees to potential tenants. A landlord’s agent represents the landlord in the rental of an apartment. A listing agent publishes apartment listings with the landlord’s permission.
The law allows for landlords to charge a fee as per subdivision 1 of section 238-a of the Real Property Law which limits “the actual cost of the background check and credit check or twenty dollars, whichever is less, and the landlord, lessor, sub-lessor or grantor shall waive the fee or fees if the potential tenant provides a copy of a background check or credit check conducted within the past thirty days.”
A landlord can be liable for violations committed by the landlord’s agent or the listing agent if (1) the landlord’s agent charges a fee to a tenant to rent an apartment; and/or (2) the listing agent charges a fee to a tenant to rent an apartment.
The law prohibits landlords from requiring renters to rent an apartment through a certain agent. Additionally, the law forbids landlords from making tenants hire a dual agent, who serves as both the landlord’s and the tenant’s agent.
No one can condition the rental of an apartment on tenants hiring a broker, including a dual agent. The law prohibits requiring tenants to pay a broker to rent an apartment, even if the broker claims to be a tenant’s broker. The law allows a tenant to (1) choose to hire their own broker and pay broker fees; and (2) allows brokers to advertise their services to tenants.
With regard to advertising, the law regulates listings of rental apartments: (1) no one can include an unlawful broker fee; and (2) all fees that tenants must pay to rent an apartment must be disclosed in a clear manner. Landlords and their agents/brokers must give tenants a written disclosure of all fees they must pay to the landlord, or any person at the direction of the landlord, to rent an apartment. The fees must include a written description, and the tenant must sign the itemized disclosure before signing a lease. Landlords or their agents must keep the signed disclosure for three years and give a copy to the tenant.
Additional information on the FARE Act can be found at NYC.gov.
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, February 16, 2025
The lot for a delayed residential development in Tribeca has been sold by HAP Investments to the Rabsky Group for $58M.
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, December 23, 2024
Party City to Close All Stores
Manhattan Real Estate Tracker has learned that 40-year-old party store retailer Party City will be closing all of its stores in the next few months. Party City operates two stores in Manhattan and eight stores in the five boroughs. Several stores in New Jersey will be closing by the end of February.
Barry Litwin, the company CEO said that the company was hurt by stubbornly high inflation that sent costs soaring and deterred consumers from spending. “It’s really important for you to know that we’ve done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome,” Litwin said. Unfortunately, it’s necessary to commence a wind-down process immediately.”
(Google)
By Manhattan Real Estate Tracker, December 23, 2024
The Container Store Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Manhattan Real Estate Tracker has learned that the Container Store has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The store at one time had more than 1400 locations and now is down to about 100 locations. There is one store in Manhattan at 629 Sixth Avenue near the Flatiron Building.
The 1970s-founded store of organizing and storage solutions, The Container Store, has declared bankruptcy as a result of growing losses and cash flow issues. At the same time as demand for its products is being strained in a challenging housing market, where skyrocketing prices and high mortgage rates have slowed sales, the Texas company has seen an increase in competition from retailers such as Target and Walmart. The stores will continue to operate as it restructures.
Photo of the Container Store at 629 Sixth Avenue (Google)