On one side is 100 Park Avenue, where the real estate investment trust appears to be firmly in control. The sale of a minority stake in the building to Rockpoint at a $425 million valuation gave SL Green a clear, early win as it heralded a planned $2.5 billion fire sale.
The move came just weeks after the company bought Prudential’s 49 percent stake at a $360 million valuation, injected new equity into it and quickly turned around and sold a stake at a higher price.
That kind of sequencing sends a message: This is not a sellout. The 900,000-square-foot tower is 95 percent leased, supported by Alvarez & Marsal’s 220,000-square-foot deal, and is located just south of Grand Central; it’s exactly the kind of asset that continues to attract capital.
By selling partial interests rather than entire buildings, SL Green frees up cash to deal with high interest rates while keeping its hand on the wheel. Management has viewed the sell-off as balance sheet management rather than a pullback, and has already said it plans to buy again this year.
In Midtown, however, the tone is much more combative. At Worldwide Plaza, SL Green and RXR are fighting in court to block a UCC foreclosure that they say is intended to strip control of the property rather than recover the mezzanine debts. The lawsuit against Extell Development portrays the auction as rushed, restrictive and tilted to deter genuine bidders.
It’s a high-stakes fight over who gets influence in restructuring nearly $1 billion in CMBS debt.
The background is ugly. Worldwide Plaza is only about 63 percent occupied, lost Cravath as an anchor tenant and was valued at $345 million last year, a sharp decline from its pre-pandemic peak.
Together, the properties show SL Green playing both sides of the cycle: cashing in where demand and liquidity still exist and digging in where the path forward depends less on lease wins and more on control, timing and the courts.
As 2026 begins, there was no shortage of real estate news in New York. Here are some of the other big stories of the week.
Judge rejects Mamdani’s bid to pause Pinnacle auction, paving the way for a takeover by Summit
In the first major test of Zohran Mamdani’s real estate policy plans, a bankruptcy judge rejected the city’s bid to pause the auction of more than 5,000 rent-stabilized apartments. The decision allows Summit Properties to move forward with a potential acquisition of Joel Wiener’s Pinnacle Group portfolio, although the results of Thursday’s auction were still not public at the time of writing.
“Broken promises” and unpaid bills: Law firm representing Chetrit seeks to withdraw from case
Attorney Elliott Joffe accused the Chetrits of non-cooperation, providing unreliable information and unpaid legal bills, and is seeking to withdraw from representing Meyer Chetrit. The developer is fighting a $132 million judgment owed to a Maverick Real Estate Partners entity following a foreclosure case, as well as criminal charges of tenant harassment.
Judge awards JLL $22 million over Moshe Silber’s mortgage fraud
Moshe Silber and his business partner, Fred Schulman, had to repay $21.7 million to their lender, JLL. The pair pleaded guilty more than a year ago to a mortgage fraud scheme in which they obtained an inflated loan for a 976-unit rental property in Cincinnati.
Housing market whirlwind: Mamdani wastes no time in attacking ‘bad landlords’
Mamdani began his term attacking “bad landlords,” including appointing tenant advocate Cea Weaver as director of the relaunched Office to Protect Tenants. The city also holds “Rental Ripoff” hearings for tenants to air their complaints and shape future policy.
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SL Green begins $2.5 billion sell-off with 100 Park deal
Holliday, Rechler and Barnett face off in Worldwide Plaza foreclosure battle: “mock auction”
Judge rejects Mamdani’s bid to pause Pinnacle auction, paving the way for a takeover by Summit
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