666 Fifth Avenue Really is the Devil @12:50 PM
Ivanka Trump has declared Twitter-war against Crain's—it's like a thumb war, but less lethal—over a profile of the Trump-Kushner business and romance union. She called the article "misinformed and pointless," which is just another sign of how smart she is: a dumb person would have called it "inaccurate," which would mean then that we would have to go through to show how all the facts were actually facts. (Although she has suggested that the Observer's real estate paper has "stolen" all of Crain's advertisers, which, *cringe*.) So, to the facts? They cover the $1.8 billion Kushner purchase of 666 Fifth Avenue. "The building's rents never covered debt service, according to Manus Clancy, senior managing director at Trepp, which tracks real estate debt. That situation has only worsened as office rents have collapsed over the past two years. A law firm that leases about 15% of 666 Fifth has announced that it is leaving, which will leave a huge gap at a time when big corporate renters are scarce." This is the nicest possible coverage of what is going on at 666. For instance, this summer, 666's consortium had to pay nearly $12 million to a bankrupt tenant. But even that's way less money than they're not making each month with their enormous and apparently permanent ground floor retail vacancy (which was sold off to the Carlyle Group). Basically the only way to make money off this investment is to call in Godzilla to step on the building. 7
Jared Kushner Explains Publishing the 'New York Observer' @12:32 PM
And also, in the new New York Observer book, there is Jared Kushner talking about owning the paper. Last night there was a party for this book, by the way! Former editor Peter Kaplan made a very funny speech that began with a joke about "Jewish editor hires Pope," which is funny because earlier that day, Kyle Pope, an unemployed former Portfolio editor, had just been hired, after months of talks, to become the paper's sixth editor. Jared Kushner also made a speech, and said nice things about his paper's former editors, though he said that every time he says something nice about an editor that it gets all twisted in the press, because everyone out there just makes things up! For instance, he slagged off Gawker and New York magazine, by name, but said that the Observer, at least, still practices real journalism. Which brings us back to his perspective on newspaper publishing. READ MORE 4
The Market Crash Blowback Lag: Even Tishman Speyer Has Problems @9:30 AM
Not you too, Tishman Speyer! The WSJ says that the fabled and relatively squeaky-clean family real estate empire (Rockefeller Center! Chrysler building!) Tishman Speyer has defaulted on loans for a massive Washington real estate investment. (We already knew that their enormous purchase of Stuy Town was pretty much a debacle, of course—and which will become a full-on disaster next year when the fund paying the differential between its debt and its income runs out.) Here's what I don't quite get. If Speyer unloaded $12 billion in property at the top of the market, and also has $2 billion essentially in cash, why then is refinancing a $2.8 billion investment a problem? Are they just defaulting to default? Sure there's a lack of rental income on all properties— but it's not like they own Jared Kushner's troubled 666 Fifth Avenue or anything, which is becoming more and more vacant, with bigger and bigger ads put up by brokers on its empty ground floor retail. 3
Sometimes Revenge Is Best Served Immediately @10:08 AM
New York Observer owner Jared Kushner: You are laid off, Doree Shafrir.
Doree Shafrir: Then I will write in the New Yorker, so why don't you suck it? 8
Jared Kushner A Much Better Son Than You Are @9:00 AM
Here is one thing I did not know about New York Observer owner and Ivanka Trump-dater Jared Kushner, from today's New York mag feature: "Every Sunday, Jared flew to Alabama and visited his father in prison." Man. Most of us, when our parents are in prison, are like "Um, I guess we'll talk when you get out…." Also the forthcoming default on the $1.2 billion in debt for 666 Fifth Avenue, which does not by any stretch pay for itself—nor, for that matter, can they even find a tenant for the ground floor retail, leaving a massive empty stretch of prime Fifth Avenue glass plastered with ads from Kushner's brokers—well, that should be interesting! 2
Tom McGeveran Now Editor of 'New York Observer' @4:00 PM
Tom McGeveran—former copy boy, real estate reporter and everything else at the paper, as well as an enthusiast of obscure and difficult 80s music—will edit the New York Observer, until at least the end of the year. "One thing I admire about Jared Kushner is that he is willing to trust this enterprise enough to continue to fund it when this entire industry is falling apart," McGeveran told his new paper. We agree strongly! 6
Rich People Things: Splitting Heirs @2:41 PM
Ah, to be young, listless and flacked. Behold the June Vanity Fair, which delivers a breathless inventory of the members of the heirs-and-heiresses set, who have squarely faced the challenge of "populist, economically perilous 2009" by rolling up their sleeves, spitting on their soft, bejeweled hands and getting down to work. As Bob Colacello marvels, these plucky young scions are "expanding the family business… striking out independently, launching a career in the arts… plunging into philanthropy."
'Observer' Offered Cleaning Lady Half The Pay Before Firing @9:45 AM
A little bit more on the New York Observer's firing of the long-time cleaning lady: apparently the paper's owner, Donald Trump's maybe-soon-to-be son-in-law Jared Kushner, offered her the possibility of staying on—if she worked for half the pay! What a world. (Perhaps she was pulling down six figures? We suspect: no.) And also, who knew Dilbert was so totally on the money these days? 6
Jared Kushner FIRES CLEANING WOMAN @3:32 PM
Jared Kushner, the publisher of the New York Observer, has fired the paper's long-time cleaning woman, according to multiple sources at the paper. Who buys an (over-priced) $3.225 million two-bedroom in the same month they fire a 60-something-year-old Eastern European cleaning woman? And also, not to be too practical, but: who is taking out the trash? "No one" is the word from inside. We assume he'll just add the Observer's space to a cleaning contract for some of this other buildings—just like he consolidated the back-office staff between his business. This is where I'd normally say something about how he must be a good person because he spends money on having a newspaper but I don't have it in me right now. 5
Harvard Grads Help Others! Needlessly! @9:48 AM
New York Observer publisher Jared Kushner is now on Twitter. Barely. So is his brother Joshua, whose only usage so far has been to note that he has launched Unithrive.com. "Think this could be a game changer," he says of his new website. It offers no-interest loans of up to $2000 from alumni to current U.S. and Canadian citizen Harvard students—a school which both brothers attended and to which Joshua will return for his MBA after a summer at Goldman Sachs. Harvard, of course, is a need-blind admissions school—around 2/3rds of students receive financial aid. The class of 2008—Joshua's class!—graduated with a median debt of just $8,300. According to Harvard, "Currently there are a number of families with incomes greater than $180,000, who because of extenuating circumstances, receive need-based financial aid." Change that game, yo! 3
Jared Kushner Spoils Fairly Decent Cover Story @8:12 AM
Jared Kushner too dim to stick to talking points.
Outgoing Observer editor Peter Kaplan cited "more time with family" and "my contract's up" and "my work here is done!" with reporters when he announced yesterday that he was leaving his job after 15 years. But Observer boy publisher and Ivanka Trump dater Jared Kushner can't bear to keep himself out of the message: "We decided about a month ago that it was time for him to move on," Kushner told the Post. Oy, honestly? (Full disclosure: I dislike Jared Kushner, even though I respect that he's putting some of his money into paying for a newspaper.) 7
George And Hilly And Ben Silverman @9:38 AM
George Gurley, The New York Observer's resident gadabout, might have his "George and Hilly" columns–in which he whines about not wanting to marry his gorgeous, though slightly psychotic, girlfriend–turned into a TV show, if Observer executive editor Peter Stevenson's wife Sarah Dunn has her way. She's written a pilot for NBC, also called George and Hilly, that, we hear, takes place at The Observer. Now, about that casting! READ MORE 0
