By Al Barbarino 2/20 7:30am

Controversies

(Photo: The Real Deal)

Round 2: City Landlords Kick and Scream Back Following Allegations of Broker Leapfrogging

Some city landlords are kicking and screaming back after an article published in The Commercial Observer yesterday morning cited sources who allege that a new wave of city landlords are leapfrogging brokers to get at retail tenants directly—but many continue to claim that the landlords do just that.

Wharton Properties’ Jeff Sutton, who sources name among several landlords, sought to set the record straight yesterday, claiming that “95 percent of the deals I do have brokers” and calling the implication that he does otherwise “disgusting.”

“Some deals where I’ve had relationships [with] tenants for many years, who don’t have brokers, I do myself, but how could you put me in that category,” he said.  “I’ve never ever gone around anybody.” Read More

By Al Barbarino 2/19 8:00am

Controversies

Joe Sitt

Retail Brokers ‘Kicking and Screaming’ as Landlords Skip the Middle Man

Some commercial real estate brokers are “kicking and screaming” about the audacity of some city landlords who they claim are disregarding their “exclusives” with retailers by attempting to land tenants on their own.

The idea of “skipping the middle man,” once thought of as a tool for efficiency, is enraging some brokers, who tell The Commercial Observer that large retail owners including  Joe Sitt, Jeff Sutton and Joe Moinian, are steering out of their way – but digging deep under their skin.

“Totally not kosher,” one perturbed president of a top city brokerage wrote in an email to The Commercial Observer.  “It puts the retail brokers in a difficult spot and it is morally incorrect.” Read More