The Koreins have named more names.
The family that owns the land underneath 1 Penn Plaza has called out more high-profile brokers who they say refused to take a position against Vornado Realty Trust for fear of losing the company’s business.
Leo Korein said that Doug Harmon (then at Cushman & Wakefield), Michael Cohen of Colliers and Woody Heller at Branton Realty Services declined to represent the Korein family in their rent dispute with Steve Roth’s powerful REIT.
“None of them was willing to become involved in the appraisal proceeding adverse to Vornado,” Korein wrote in an affidavit attached to the lawsuit his family filed in February.
Heller, Korein said, would only agree to represent the family if Vornado gave its approval. Others Korein called out include Vin Carrega of Avison Young and Sarah Pontius of Artisan Alliance.
None of the named brokers responded when The Real Deal reached out for comment.
The Koreins’ dispute with Vornado has exposed the rarely spoken about power dynamics happening behind the scenes at real estate’s highest levels.
The family last month filed a lawsuit asking a judge to accept the $1.9 billion figure their appraiser came up with as a valuation for the 2.5 million-square-foot skyscraper. The three-person panel that rejected the valuation, the Koreins claimed, was unfairly influenced by Vornado’s appointed appraiser, Darcy Stacom.
The family said they struggled to find impartial advocates because they rarely if ever sell properties, whereas Vornado is a constant source of income for the city’s top brokers.
“For Manhattan real estate brokers, Vornado is a giant in the market,” the lawsuit reads. “Because landlords like Vornado pay the commissions for both the landlord’s and the tenant’s brokers, remaining in Vornado’s good graces can be vital to a broker’s livelihood.”
In the original complaint, the Koreins named Bob Kankal and Stacom, along with Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark, as people or companies who said they couldn’t take sides against Vornado.
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Steve Roth pulls the strings of NYC’s top brokers, Koreins say
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