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The Jewish Voice
NEW YORK
Developer Harry Macklowe Cries Broke as Divorce Proceeds By Rebecca Gold
“This is a case study in divorce accounting 101.” In Manhattan Supreme Court, during his opening statement, Teitler said, “This is a case study in divorce accounting 101.” He continued saying that the real estate tycoon has been “paying [a French girlfriend’s] expenses, providing her with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash as well as lavish gifts– and that’s just
Trump is Among Beneficiaries of the Sale of Brooklyn’s Starrett City By Mark Snyder
T
he wealthy developer Harry Macklowe reports that he is now broke as he enters a fierce divorce battle with his soon-to-be ex-wife. According to The Post, “Linda is calling his bluff, saying at the opening day of their divorce trial that his debts are based on the fact that he hasn’t paid taxes since 1983. Macklowe, 80, has listed his personal net worth as negative $400 million, largely from deferred capital gains taxes related to the 2008 sale of the General Motors building in midtown Manhattan for $2.9 billion.” Linda’s attorney John Teitler said, “Mr. Macklowe himself knows these types of gains are never actually realized by real estate developers.”
SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
A From left to right: Harry Macklowe, his soon-to-be ex-wife Linda, and his son Billy.
what we know about.” The couple was married for over half a century, a remarkable 58 years. Macklowe has listed his marital assets as $1.3 billion in the divorce case. This number mainly accounts for the giant art collection and many homes that the couple shares, including a unit in the Plaza Hotel valued at $100 million. The 79-year-old Linda requested that this apartment and all the art work be awarded to her by the judge. Her lawyer Teitler said, “Mrs. Macklowe believed they would stay married for the rest of their lives. She did not expect this divorce let alone at age 80.” Teitler’s remarks were said to be “detached from reality,” by Peter Bronstein, Harry Macklowe’s
attorney. He said that the differed capital gains taxes of his client are “a real liability.” Bronstein stated, “There’s no reason why half the marital assets should be taken by the wife and the husband should be left with all the liabilities.” On Wednesday morning, September 6, Linda was the first to take the witness stand. She took the opportunity to tearfully explain why their art collection should go to her. She said, “Harry grew up in the suburbs and I met him through a friend and he really didn’t know that much about the art world and the New York art world.” She added, “What attracted him to me was the world I moved in with my friends and the interests we had.”
n agreement has been reached by the owners of the Brooklyn affordable-housing complex Starrett City to sell the property for around $850 million. Since President Donald Trump is among the co-owners, the sale is subject to the approval of his administration’s housing officials. According to a statement on Wednesday, September 6, from Brooksville and Starrett City Associates, the partnership that has owned the complex for more than four decades, the buyer of the property is a joint venture led by Brooksville Co. The companies also said that the deal is still subject to the approval of state and federal regulators. Trump appointed Ben Carson is the overseer of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that is in charge of administering mortgage and rent subsidy programs from which the complex benefits. The property which is located in East New York on the Belt Parkway, was originally invested in by Trump’s father. Trump and his siblings own approximately 16% of Star rett City all together. According to a financial disclosure-filing made in June by Trump with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, the President is a limited partner with his personal stake being 4 percent via
Starrett City, which is now renamed Spring Creek Towers, has found a buyer. (Photo via springcreektowers.com)
a trust in Starrett City Associates. In the past year, Trump received over $5 million from the property in income. Bloomberg News reports, “Starrett City -- now renamed Spring Creek Towers -- is home to 15,000 residents living in 5,881 apartments in 46 buildings spanning Pennsylvania Avenue just north of the Belt Parkway. Every apartment is subsidized to maintain affordability. A 2009 refinancing of the development requires that the apartments remain affordable until 2039, according to the statement. Sixty percent of the apartments fall under HUD’s Section 8 rental-assistance program, and the rest are under the department’s Section 236 interest-rate reduction or New York State’s Mitchell-Lama
program.” Starrett City managing partner Carol Deane said, "This sale agreement provides stability for our residents, and guarantees their apartments will remain affordable for many years into the future.” For years, HUD has subsidized the middle- and lower-income tenants at the complex, amounting to over $491 million in federal dollars, from 2013 through May. The Office of Multifamily Housing and New York State will be reviewing the sale, according to a HUD spokesman, who stated that the review “will ensure that any potential buyer has the financial resources and necessary experience to competently manage the property, and to meet its future capital needs.”
George Soros Son’s Divorce May Lead to Loss of Art Collection By Rachel Shapiro
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f a value cannot be agreed on for the art collection belonging to billionaire George Soros’s son Robert and his estranged wife Melissa Schiff will end up having to lose it all, including works by famed artists Christopher Wool and Jeff Koons. On Wednesday, September 6, in Manhattan Supreme Court, the former couple’s $350 million divorce trial began. Alan Feigenbaum, Soros’ lawyer, said in the former couple’s prenuptial agreement, it says that if “the parties cannot agree on a value…property should be sold.” That interpretation is being disputed by however by Schiff ’s lawyer, Bernard Clair, who argued that in April, a ruling in an appeals court determined that “the prenup does not address the disposition of marital art.”
WISHING YOU A HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND PEACEFUL NEW YEAR.
Robert Soros is the eldest son of George Soros and is in the third year of a messy divorce.
Up until recently, Soros had been running his father’s investment management firm valued at $28 billion. His desire is to sell their entire art collection, while Schiff wants certain pieces to remain in her possession. A farm in Rhinebeck that is worth $5.85 million is also being
Billionaire George Soros is one of the most successful investors in the world. (Photo via georgesoros.com)
disputed over by the pair. Schiff says that the property is something that she “loves more than anything.” In 2014, after a fiery affair with a nude model, Soros filed for divorce. Soros and Schiff were married for 22 years.
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