Jason Muss

Tell us about a deal that did NOT go through this year and why it didn’t happen?

Well, most deals don’t go through, of course, but one in particular that sticks out was a multi-family deal south of New York where the bids were due at a time when the airlines were canceling thousands of flights! My own flight was canceled, and the deal just wasn’t in the cards.

Have you refinanced anything in 2022? How difficult/easy was it?

We were fortunate to complete both a Fannie Mae deal early in the year on a multifamily deal in the South, and a retail financing on a deal we own on Austin Street in Queens that we were able to lock in just before rates jumped dramatically. We recently locked the rate on another retail property of similar size at a rate 150 basis points higher than the one on Austin Street, and we’re relieved to have even gotten that done. Quality of asset, ownership and leverage levels will be determining factors in the future.

There’s a lot of Class B and C office in NYC. If you could lay your hands on them at a really great price, what would you do with them?

Raze them and build anew.

What market outside of NYC do you like and why?

Tel Aviv. The tech scene is a close second in the world to Silicon Valley, and the level of entrepreneurship is off the charts.

There’s a midterm election this year. How closely are you following, and do you think the national political climate will have an effect in New York?

It will affect congressional races for sure. The New York gubernatorial race has also been affected, but disparities in registered D’s and R’s make that one less prone to an upset.

How many days per week are you in the office?

Four days.

How many days per week are your tenants in the office?

Our tenants are largely back in the office at least for a good chunk of the week.

NYC apartment rents have reached never seen levels. How much further can it go? How does the housing squeeze play out?

The 2019 change to New York state’s rental laws is a classic unintended consequences scenario. Now that it’s virtually impossible to deregulate and add those apartments into the mix, the remaining units are more scarce and thus more valuable. If NYC recovers from a crime and quality-of-life perspective, then we will see a further upward spiral on rents.

ESG: fad or fixture?

ESG is a fixture if voluntary and organic, not forced upon companies by overreaching money managers.