Holden Walter-Warner

Gov. Kathy Hochul this week floated a pied-à-terre tax targeting second homes in New York City valued at $5 million or more, a proposal designed to generate roughly $500 million annually and plug a growing budget gap. The move, unveiled in the 11th hour of budget negotiations , blindsided brokers and developers already bracing for policy shifts under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The cast of characters who make up the Big Apple's real estate industry is vast and eclectic. Players can ply their trade anywhere in the country they want, but only the strongest survive in New York.

The firm is plotting an 86-story, 1,200-foot-tall building at 80 West 67th Street, according to public filings by an executive vice president for Extell. The plans call for 430 residential units and amenity spaces, as well as 25,000 square feet of retail space. Otherwise, the filing is short on details.

For Mark Epstein, there's no escaping the dark shadow cast by his brother Jeffrey. There's just a chance to keep plugging along with his real estate career while Jeffrey remains a top news story seven years after his death in a Brooklyn jail cell.

Plus, Steven Ostad sues his brothers, Michael Stern fights an online troll and more in this week’s New York City real estate news.

Michael Weil's GNL agreed to acquire industrial REIT Modiv Industrial in a $535 million all-stock transaction, the companies announced this week. The deal values Modiv's stock at $18.82 per share, a 17 percent premium on the company's closing price on Friday.

We’ll take you through the highlights of the biggest The Real Deal event of the year.

Dweck, of Dweck Group, faces seven lawsuits in New York state court seeking at least $14.4 million over allegations that include unpaid loans, diverted escrow funds and checks tied to frozen or nonexistent accounts. The complaints sketch out a network of investors and lenders who claim they kept wiring money into deals.

Plus, Penn Station finds a master developer, the mayor launches his first rezoning initiative and more in New York real estate news.

A joint venture between the two companies paid roughly $300 million for five open-air retail centers, the firms announced on Wednesday. The retail centers span markets, including properties in Carlsbad, California; Falls Church, Virginia; Altamonte Springs, Florida; and Sugar Land, Texas.