Connect with us

Published

on

The Midtown office tower that inspired the 1968 hit song Mony Mony has sold for much less mony  than its previous owner paid for it.

Yellowstone Real Estate forked over a mere $185 million — a massive $420 million haircut from how much the famed Mutual of New York tower fetched a decade ago — to purchase the remaining debt on the near-empty office building now simply called 1740 Broadway, according city Department of Finance records.

Blackstone had shelled out $605 million to buy it from Vornado in 2014 — or nearly  $1,000 per square foot for the 621,000 square-foot 1950-vintage, Deco-style tower between West 55th and 56 streets.

A $308 million loan on the property was sent to special servicing in 2022.

The fire-sale price reflects the crisis in the investment-sale market for commercial properties, where some office values have tumbled by up to 50%.

But 1740 Broadways discount was perhaps the most severe to date for an aged but still viable, recently renovated Midtown tower.

Insiders were divided over how bad an omen the lowball price is for future sales.

CBRE vice-chairman Stephen B. Siegel told The Post that Blackstones $605 million purchase price in 2014 simply reflected the mood of the time, when property values were at all-time highs and several Manhattan trophy buildings traded for more than $2 billion.

Blackstone had a good plan for it, but things didnt work in their favor, said Siegel, who was not involved in the 1740 Broadway deal.

Facing exits by Victorias Secret owner L Brands and law firm Davis+Gilbert that left  most of the tower vacant, Blackstone spent tens of millions of dollars to modernize 1740 with a handsome new lobby, tenant amenities and a popular new restaurant, Iris.

But the pandemic doomed Blackstones re-leasing efforts.

The private equity firm handed back the keys in 2022.

One major dealmaker told us at the time that Blackstone’s “purchase price was bananas for an older building in the West 50s that needed a lot of work.

The source added, They wanted in the $80s per square foot in a secondary location. The loan terms left them no wiggle room to ask for less.

Sources told the Commercial Observer that Yellowstone, led by Isaac Hera,  is considering a residential conversion.

“The price reflects the value in that context,” Woody Heller, founding partner of Branton Realty and a longtime investment-sale specialist, told The Post.

Heller cited “strong residential demand and the building’s proximity to  Central Park” as driving a conversion plan.

A Blackstone rep told the Commercial Observer the loss of 1740 was a rare instance that didnt affect its $600 billion portfolio.

Yellowstone and Blackstone didnt respond to The Posts requests for comment.

The tower’s storied legacy includes serving as the inspiration for Tommy James & the Shondells as the band struggled to come up with a catchy title for their song. The group was staying nearby when James caught sight of the giant MONY initials that were once illuminated in red near the top of the tower.

We were about to throw in the towel when I went out onto the terrace, looked up and saw the Mutual of New York building,” he later explained.

I said, Thats gotta be it! … Its almost as if God himself had said, ‘Heres the title.’

Vornado replaced the MONY sign with one that simply said 1740 in 2007.

Continue Reading

Sports

Jets’ Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

Published

on

By

Jets' Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele did not play in Game 7 of the Jets’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday due to an undisclosed injury, coach Scott Arniel said.

Arniel ruled out Scheifele following the team’s morning skate. He was hurt in Game 5 — playing only 8:05 in the first period before exiting — and then did not travel with the Jets to St. Louis for Game 6. Arniel previously had said Scheifele was a game-time decision for Game 7.

Scheifele, 32, skated in a track suit Saturday, and Arniel told reporters the veteran was feeling better than he had the day before. Scheifele, however, was not able to participate in the Jets’ on-ice session by Sunday, quickly indicating he would not be available for the game.

Winnipeg held a 2-0 lead in the series over St. Louis before the Blues stormed back with a pair of wins to tie it, 2-2. The home team has won each game in the best-of-seven series so far.

The Jets’ challenge in closing out St. Louis only increases without Scheifele. Winnipeg already has been dealing with the uneven play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a significant storyline in the series to date. Hellebuyck was pulled in all three of his starts at St. Louis while giving up a combined 16 goals on 66 shots (.758 SV%). In Game 6, Hellebuyck allowed four goals in only 5 minutes, 23 seconds of the second period.

Hellebuyck was Winnipeg’s backbone during the regular season, earning a Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy nomination for his impeccable year (.925 SV%, 2.00 GAA).

Continue Reading

Sports

Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

Published

on

By

Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

Stars coach Pete DeBoer expects to have leading goal scorer Jason Robertson and standout defenseman Miro Heiskanen available in the Western Conference semifinals after both missed Dallas’ first-round series win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Following their thrilling Game 7 comeback victory over the Avalanche on Saturday night, the Stars await the winner of Sunday night’s Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues. If the Blues win, the Stars will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.

“I believe you’re going to see them both play in the second round, but I don’t know if it’s going to be Game 1 or Game 3 or Game 5,” DeBoer said after Saturday’s series clincher. “I consider them both day-to-day now, but there’s still some hurdles. It depends on when we start the series, how much time we have between now and Game 1. We’ll have a little better idea as we get closer.”

Robertson, 25, who posted 80 points (35 goals, 45 assists) in 82 games this season, suffered a lower-body injury in the regular-season finale April 16 and was considered week-to-week at the time.

Heiskanen hasn’t played since injuring his left knee in a Jan. 28 collision with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. Initially expected to miss three to four months, the 25-year-old defenseman had surgery Feb. 4 and sat out the final 32 games of the regular season. In 50 games, he collected 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) and averaged 25:10 of ice time, which ranked fifth among NHL blueliners.

Continue Reading

Environment

U.S. crude oil prices fall more than 4% after OPEC+ agrees to surge production in June

Published

on

By

U.S. crude oil prices fall more than 4% after OPEC+ agrees to surge production in June

Logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. crude oil futures fell more than 4% on Sunday, after OPEC+ agreed to surge production for a second month.

U.S. crude was down $2.49, or 4.27%, to $55.80 a barrel shortly after trading opened. Global benchmark Brent fell $2.39, or 3.9%, to $58.90 per barrel. Oil prices have fallen more than 20% this year.

The eight producers in the group, led by Saudi Arabia, agreed on Saturday to increase output by another 411,000 barrels per day in June. The decision comes a month after OPEC+ surprised the market by agreeing to surge production in May by the same amount.

The June production hike is nearly triple the 140,000 bpd that Goldman Sachs had originally forecast. OPEC+ is bringing more than 800,000 bpd of additional supply to the market over the course of two months.

Oil prices in April posted the biggest monthly loss since 2021, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have raised fears of a recession that will slow demand at the same time that OPEC+ is quickly increasing supply.

Oilfield service firms such as Baker Hughes and SLB are expecting investment in exploration and production to decline this year due to the weak price environment.

“The prospects of an oversupplied oil market, rising tariffs, uncertainty in Mexico and activity weakness in Saudi Arabia are collectively constraining international upstream spending levels,” Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call on April 25.

Oil majors Chevron and Exxon reported first-quarter earnings last week that fell compared to the same period in 2024 due to lower oil prices.

Goldman is forecasting that U.S. crude and Brent prices will average $59 and $63 per barrel, respectively, this year.

Catch up on the latest energy news from CNBC Pro:

Continue Reading

Trending