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CNBC Analyst Claims She Was Tricked Into Buying Million Dollar Apartment With Brick-Wall View
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 12, 2016
Modified Jun 12, 2016
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 12, 2016
Modified Jun 12, 2016
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A frequent CNBC analyst and retail expert claims in a new lawsuit that she was tricked into purchasing a million dollar apartment in Tribeca which would have "full city and skyline views"—but which turned out to have a gorgeous view of a brick wall.
The Post reports that Stacey Widlitz, president of SW Retail Advisors, says she chose a one-bedroom, one-bath unit at 5 Franklin Place, a 20-story building that opened in 2015, because of the advice of her then-lawyer and Douglas Elliman real estate agent. That attorney, Godfrey Lee, and the Elliman agents all assured her the apartment, which was under construction when she purchased it, would have the skyline views.
In her lawsuit, she says she made it clear "that the views from the apartment were vital to a deal and were the determining factor as to whether or not [she] would purchase." She visited the site in 2014 while it was being built, but couldn't tell what her apartment would be facing at that point: "The building was wrapped in scaffolding and plastic, not all the floors were built, and there was no way for [her] to identify the exact location of the apartment in the building."
After paying $1.39 million for it and being consistently assured that she would have a view, she was horrified to find "that the windows in the apartment faced directly into a brick wall." She is seeking unspecified damages from both Lee and Elliman.
Tagged
brick walls
manhattan
real estate
Stacey Widlitz
tribeca
views
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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