Two Hudson Yards residents score $25M for refusing to leave

Two residents of a four-story building at 10^th Avenue and 34^th Street received a $25 million payout after stallingpart of the Hudson Yards redevelopment project by refusing to vacate.

According to a New York Post report, thecorner was slated for redevelopment by real estate giantTishman Speyer, who had bought the property and its surroundings for $438million.But the developer couldn’t proceed with its plans until the pairmoved, the Post claimed, and they refused to budge.

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The two residents, identified in court papers referenced by the Post as Gary Schwedock, 58, and Steven Kobrick, 36, now reside on the top floor of Riverbank West, a 44-story doormanbuilding at 560 W. 43rd St. with concierge service, a pool and roofdeck.

Their lawyer, David Rozenholc, is known for lengthy appealcases, so Tishman offered the men a multimillion-dollarsettlement to avoid a prolonged battle, Crain’s New Yorkreported.

Rozenholc told Crain’s that Tishman was right in assuming he would continue to fight.

“I would have taken the next step and come up with another argument. … [Even] if [the developer] wins every step of the way, it will takethem five years,” he said.

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“In all the years I have been doing this, this is the most intenseperiod of development, and real estate values are just continuing togo up,” the lawyerwas quoted by the Post.

Ben Shaoul, a major residential developer quoted by Crain’s, called Rozenholc “the mostfeared tenant attorney with respect to development sites. … I don’t think he has ever lost a case.”