New York

Paramount Group, Inc. has announced it is seeking to enter into a joint venture agreement to sell a 10 percent interest in 1633 Broadway, a 2.5 million-square-foot trophy office building on Broadway between 50th and 51st streets in Manhattan.

The State of New York Court of Appeals has ruled that the Housing Stability Tenant Protection Act of 2019 cannot be applied retroactively to revive, or expand recovery on, a previously asserted rent overcharge claim. Now rent charges must be resolved under the law when they go into effect at the time the overcharge occurred.

The $3 billion share tender was expected to provide a hefty payout to early backers Benchmark Capital and Adam Neumann.

Manhattan office leasing has taken a tumble with leasing volume dropping by nearly 50 percent quarter-over-quarter. The slowdown in leasing activity is attributed to the stark drop in transactions during March when the coronavirus pandemic, also known as COVID-19, commenced, according to a recent Colliers International.

"The truth is, all of us will need to take a haircut in this unnerving time."

Investment sales for co-ops and condos in Manhattan took off in the first quarter of the year, with sales jumping year-over-year after two straight quarterly declines. Now, the springboard that was the strong economic market supporting investment activity has faltered because of the coronavirus pandemic, also known as COVID-19.