Jay Neveloff
Jay Neveloff
Chairman of the Real Estate Practice at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel
Jay Neveloff is one of the behind-the-scenes legal titans of the New York-area real estate world with a client roster that includes or has included the Witkoff Group, Westbrook Partners, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, the Trump Organization, CIM Group, NYU Medical Center, Clipper Equities and the Related Companies.
As such, the Manhattan-based Neveloff has been involved in some marquee deals in recent years. In 2018, he was part of the Kramer Levin team that advised the Walt Disney Company in its acquisition of the rights to the Trinity Church-owned 4 Hudson Square for 99 years for $650 million. He also represented Related in its ongoing development of Hudson Yards, the Nederlander Organization in its rebuilding of the Palace Theatre in Midtown, and Anbang Insurance Group’s redevelopment of the Waldorf Astoria. He also repped brokerage Stribling & Associates in its sale to Compass in spring 2019.
Neveloff, too, doesn’t see the coronavirus pandemic as interrupting the long-term type of deals and deal-making that he works on. In fact, the activity at his law firm suggests that New York real estate has weathered the crisis solidly, if with difficulty. For instance, Kramer Levin has closed more than $300 million in condo sales since mid-March, he said.
And Neveloff expects a trend in property recapitalizations coming out of the pandemic. There’s “a lot of dry powder” out there ready to make up for the financial shortfalls due to the pandemic’s fallout, he said.
“It’s almost like a game of musical chairs,” Neveloff said. “When the music stops, somebody has to pay. Who’s going to pay? Who’s going to meet the shortfall? Is it the landlord, is it the tenant, is it the lender, is it the borrower?” These questions will be answered because, he added, “nobody wants to lose a deal.”—T.A.
