The Heskel Group
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IN THE NEWS

No stranger to the press, The Heskel Group has been the subject of hundreds of articles in such publications as The New York Times, Time Magazine and New York City dailies such as The Daily News, New York Post and Newsday. The ventures of The Group have also been documented by local community weeklies and industry trade papers such as Construction News and Real Estate Weekly. The Group has been contacted for inclusion in numerous articles connected with Forest Hills, Queens. A complete Press Kit is available with over a thousand major and small press articles, including various TV shows. 

Below is a sample listing.

APRIL 29, 2014

Another theater closes in Forest Hills to make way for an urgent care center
NY Daily News
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APRIL 14, 2014

Roll credits: Forest Hills theater Closes
Queens Chronicle
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APRIL 17, 2014

Forest Hills Theater Set to Close Down
Queens Tribune
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DECEMBER 17, 2012

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Queens investor nabs Midtown retail condo
Heskel Group pays $11.3M for space leased by CVS
The Forest Hills, Queens-based Heskel Group has purchased a retail condominium in Hell’s Kitchen from developer Alchemy Properties and its partner Jamestown Properties for $11.3 million last week. The two-level space leased for 25 years to drugstore chain CVS was the Heskel Group’s second acquisition of 2012. 

Read More 
(the Real Deal)


JULY 16, 2012

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FEBRUARY 23, 2012

991 Third Avenue sells for more than $4,000 psf
The Heskel Group closed last night on a $18.42 million purchase of a three-story glass retail building across the street from the Bloomingdale’s flagship, CEO Yeheskel Elias confirmed. It marks the first Manhattan purchase for the Queens-based developer.

Read More 
(the Real Deal)


JANUARY 17, 2012

Queens Aims for Apple Core
New York Daily News
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DECEMBER 21, 2012

THE REAL DEAL
Forest Hills mainstay sells commercial building for $13.35M
By Adam Fusfeld

Prominent Forest Hills developer Heskel Group has sold a commercial building on Austin Street for $13.35 million, according to public records filed this week. The buyer is a Flushing-based limited liability company called Sawyen. 

The property is a 21,000-square-foot building with ground-floor retail space and office space in the basement and second floor at 70-10 Austin Street near 70th Avenue, that has been anchored by a Sprint store for more than 20 years. Sprint recently renewed its lease at about $120 per square foot, according to Heskel Group founder Yeheskel Elias, keeping the property 100 percent occupied. Other tenants include an AT&T store, several medical offices and Heskel Group's office. 

Heskel built the structure in 1987 for $2.6 million and spent another $2.5 million to renovate it and add another floor of office space in 2002, Elias said. 

"I felt I realized all I could from the property," Elias said. The sale was off-market and no brokers were involved as the buyer, who Elias would only identify as a wealthy investor, approached Elias directly and had been badgering him to sell the property for more than a year. Sawyen's capitalization rate is on the acquisition, which closed Nov. 18, is about 6 percent. The owner "can't really reinvent the wheel there; it's a good performing property in a solid area," Elias said. Sawyen could not be reached for comment. 

Elias has recently shifted his focus from Forest Hills, where he has been acquiring and developing assets on or near Austin Street since the early 1970s, and said he has begun searching triple-net leased single-entity properties throughout the city where less management is required. He said he is nearing a deal for at least one such retail bank property in Manhattan, and has his eyes on several other free-standing branches of Chase, Bank of 
America and TD Bank.


OCTOBER 29, 2008

Forest Hills commercial hub facing rezoning

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 
One way to prevent more bulky, out-of-character buildings from springing up in the commercial core of Forest Hills is to prohibit tall structures by rezoning the area. This is what Community Board 6 (CB6) did on Wednesday, October 22 by voting in favor of the low-density zoning proposal for the commercial area, along a section of Austin Street, that was put forth by the city. 

The area's developers, however, say that this proposal would stifle much needed development in Forest Hills that can bring jobs.

Click to view entire article 


OCTOBER 15, 2007

Two New York retail properties bring $32 million
by Chad King

Rockville, Md.-based Federal Realty Investment Trust has sold two Forest Hills, N.Y.-area retail properties for $32 million to a group of investors led by owner Heskel Elias of The Heskel Group. No brokers were involved in the transaction.Federal Realty acquired both buildings, which total 39,500 square feet, in 1997. One retail property contains 17,500 square feet and is home to Duane Reade and Staples while the other 22,500 square-foot building houses the Gap. The deal is part of a reverse 1031 exchange with a 166,200 square-foot shopping center in Charlottesville, Va. Federal Realty acquired Shoppers' World in May.
Federal Realty is an investment company that specializes in real estate development, management and acquisition.

Address: 10716 71st Ave., Forest Hills, N.Y. and 69-39 Austin St., Forest Hills, N.Y.
Size: 39,500 square feet


FEBRUARY 15, 2007

A developer’s plan to build a world class hotel in the heart of Forest Hills is still on the drawing board, but the project may not be quite as sweeping or ambitious as originally thought, city officials said. This week, developer Heskel Elias insisted he is still intent on bringing luxury lodgings to the neighborhood, but may have to revise earlier plans as he negotiates with city officials over zoning and traffic rules.

Click to view entire article


FEBRUARY 13, 2007

Forest Hills Alive With Hotel Buzz

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FEBRUARY 4, 2007

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NOVEMBER 9, 2006

The Queens Courier November 9, 2006

Hotel proposed for Forest Hills
By Pete Davis

Known to many community residents as “Mr. Forest Hills,” Heskel Elias and his development group have put together plans to bring an $80 million world-class, five-star hotel, spa and mixed-use center to Austin Street.

Elias' development group, The Heskel Group, Inc., met with the planning and zoning committee of Community Board 6 last month about plans for a 15-story, 150-room hotel that would also include restaurants, shops and even additional parking for residents along 70th Avenue and Austin Street.

“People have to dream, [like when] Robert Moses wanted to build a bridge…This is my dream for Forest Hills, my dream for the community I love,” Elias said.

Click to read entire article


NOVEMBER 2, 2006

Forest Hills Ledger
Austin St. to get 5-star lodgings
Drivers searching for elusive parking spaces on Austin Street may get help from an unexpected source: a proposed 15-story luxury hotel which, yes, will bring more traffic but will also include more public parking spaces.

Community Board 6 Land Use Vice-chairman Norman Tepper said at last month's meeting that real estate developer The Heskel Group is eyeing a lot at the corner of Austin Street and 70th Road for a 150-room hotel to be completed by late 2008.


Click to read entire article


SEPTEMBER 21, 2003

Changes in store for Forest Hills' Shops
Daily News, Sunday, September 21, 2003
"As retail slows down, we need to really compensate with solid tenancy like the medical field, which brings a constant flow of tenants to the area," said [Heskel] Elias. 
(Speaking about the newly reconstructed building at 70-10 Austin Street which Heskel Elias owns.)


Click to view full article


MAY 5, 2002

Daily News 
Sunday, May 5, 2002
Excerpt from article:
Then, Austin St. only had 30 to 35 shops. Today, 120 stores line the street, 20 of them outlets of big chains, said Heskel Elias, owner of  The Heskel Group, the real estate developer responsible for much of the modernization of Austin St., beginning in the mid-1970s....
Elias said the small-town attention from shopkeepers still exists, adding, "The big companies are bringing in the traffic and the mom-and-pop stores will feed off of that. Prosperity still needs to take place. People want to see new stores and change."



DECEMBER 5, 2001

Queens Business Today, December 5, 2001
Austin Street's success story
click to read article

SEPTEMBER 17, 2001

Movement Afoot To Keep Giuliani In Mayor's Office


Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has been showered with praise for his handling of the World Trade Center disaster, and many in the city are suggesting that he head up the city's impending reconstruction efforts. However, in the following report, NY1's Andrew Kirtzman explores a movement to keep the term-limited mayor in office. He's a battlefield general, leading his troops. He's a father figure, calming the city's worst fears by saying, "Were going to become a stronger nation as a result of being tested like this."

In the span of a week, Rudy Giuliani, one of the city's most polarizing figures, has been transformed into an almost universally acclaimed leader. The New York Times calls him the "Mayor of the Moment." The Daily News wants the next mayor to keep him on to lead the reconstruction efforts. And a growing number of his fans don't want him to leave at all when his term expires in December. "I don't think anybody could be better," says retired firefighter John McSweeney. "As a matter of fact, I hear there's a movement to keep him and his commissioners on for another year, which I think would be a good idea."

Queens developer Heskel Elias thinks so too. He's launched a campaign to do just that. "I'd like to have the state legislature postpone the election for one year and give us a chance to recoup from what's happened," says Elias. Election law experts say the legislature and the governor actually could postpone the election, or lift the term limits preventing Giuliani from running again. But it's not likely.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told NY1 he is against the idea. So are Democratic candidates for mayor Mark Green and Peter Vallone. All say postponing the election would be a victory for the terrorists. They say the already-delayed September 11 primary should proceed as re-scheduled on September 25. A spokeswoman for Giuliani declined to comment on the idea. But the fact that it's being discussed at all is a testament to Giuliani's rising popularity. One reason is his icy persona has melted away as he's tried to keep the city together.

In an astonishing moment at St. Patrick's Cathedral Sunday, he healed his most searing wound by hugging the man he's fought on and off since 1994: Governor George Pataki. The two lost friends in the calamity, and have been working side by side ever since. He's even grown kind to the press corps, which has so irritated him over the years. This was Giuliani in Long Island Sunday after the funeral of Fire Department Chief Pete Ganci: "Thank you very much for the very tasteful and beautiful way in which you've covered this."

The amount of goodwill towards Giuliani is noticeable wherever he goes. When he left for his car for the service Sunday, the crowd of mourners applauded him for the third time.

- Andrew Kirtzman


SEPTEMBER 19, 2001

Queens Courier, September 19, 2001
Elias: Keep Rudy In Office A While Longer

click to read article

AUGUST 16, 2001

The Queens Gazette, August 16, 2001
Olympic Airways Lands On Austin Street

click to read article

JULY 19, 2001

Queens Chronicle, Thursday, July 19, 2001
Austin Street Business Dist. To Get a Facelift

click to read article

APRIL 10, 2001

Gap to Close 6 City Stores Small Manhattan shops to go

Newsday
(excerpted from article) But Yeheskel Elias, a landlord and real estate developer who recently completed the 22,000-square-foot Gap Superstore in Forest Hills, said he does not expect The Gap to cut stores in Queens. 
"Queens is not saturated," he said.


MARCH 9, 2001

Newsday
Gap Dresses for Opening In New Forest Hills Store

click to read article

AUGUST 6, 2000

Daily News, Sunday August 6, 2000
Gap's Growing in Forest Hills

click to read article

AUGUST 24, 2000

Times Ledger, August 24, 2000
Forest Hills gets a lofty new Gap

click to read article

AUGUST 23, 2000

Queens Courier, August 23, 2000
Austin Street: Where Shopping is King

click to read article

SEPTEMBER 11, 1999

Newsday, Saturday, September 11, 1999
Hillary's Explanation Consultation process on clemency was lacking
Hillary Rodham Clinton showed up Friday in a rainy Forest Hills...momentarily insulated from the uproar over the release of Puerto Rican nationalists.
Note: In a private meeting with Heskel Elias that day, Hillary Clinton remarked that the building is impressive [107-16 Continental Ave., new home of Duane Reade drugstore] She added that she was glad that the architectural integrity of the building was preserved.

SEPTEMBER 12, 1999

New York Times, Sunday, September 12, 1999
The Final Curtain Looms For a Onetime Glamor Girl 
A developer [The Heskel Group] wants to raze the Bayside Theater and build a mini-mall.


Click here to read entire article

SEPTEMBER 15, 1999

 The Queens Courier, September 15, 1999
Duane Reade Opens In Forest Hills

JULY 27, 1999

Newsday, Tuesday, July 27, 1999
Mulling Multiplex Plans
A 70 year movie theater may be transformed into a modern multiplex with a shopping center if a deal between United Artists and a Forest Hills real estate developer is finalized.

JULY 21, 1999

The Queens Courier, July 21, 1999
Editorial - This Multiplex [Bell Blvd., Bayside] Deserves the Community's Support
Last week's action by the Bayside Business Assoc. took Heskel's abilities and record of integrity and business success into account. That's why they gave his project their unqualified endorsement.

JULY 14, 1999

Daily News, Wednesday, July 14, 1999
A reel effort to save a landmark theater
The Heskel Group has been negotiating with United Artists to purchase and develop the property along 39th Avenue and Bell Blvd. [Bayside, Queens]

Click to Daily News to read article


JULY 8, 1999

Forest Hills Ledger, July 8, 1999
Austin St. Developer Honored
Forest Hills' Heskel Elias feted by state Sen. Hevesi
click here to read entire article

MARCH 24, 1999

Daily News, Wednesday, March 24, 1999
Curtain Set to Rise on Cinema
Moviegoers in central Queens will have another 400 seats to fill beginning next week with the opening of the remodeled and modernized two-screen Brandon Cinemas in Forest Hills.

Click to Daily News to read article

DECEMBER 27, 1998

Newsday, December 27, 1998
Business Boom / Developers - and Shoppers - Flock to Forest Hills

Click to read article

NOVEMBER 26, 1998

Queens Tribune, November 26 - December 2, 1998
Midway Re-Opening Begins March of the Multiplexes

NOVEMBER 26, 1998

The Queens Gazette, November 26, 1998
New UA Nine-Plex Brightens the Forest Hills Landscape

NOVEMBER 23, 1998

Daily News, Monday, November 23, 1998
Midway all the way back
Renovated Forest Hills movie house is reopened

NOVEMBER 18, 1998

Queens Resident, November 18-24, 1998
Cover Story: Sneak Preview - A peek inside the long awaited Midway Theater renovations

OCTOBER 13, 1998

Newsday, Tuesday, October 13, 1998
Duane Reade Buys Stores…And Inks Forest Hills Deal

SEPTEMBER 4, 1998

Daily News, Friday, September 4, 1998
Legend Gets Makeover
Recast landmark theater set for 2nd run

APRIL 19, 1998

Daily News Sunday, April 19, 1998
Build it And They Will Shop

MARCH 29, 1998

New York Times, March 29, 1998
Town & Country Close to Manhattan
(Descriptive article on Forest Hills, Queens)
"I [Yeheskel Elias] landed in Forest Hills in 1971 and I bring in what hasn't been done here before."

Click here for more NYC Daily Publication Headlines


MAY 1, 1997

The Queens Courier, May 1, 1997
$100 Million Theater-Store Deal Set
"I want to see the street [Austin Street] as special as it is and much more with the feeling represented by the Forest Hills Inn."

SEPTEMBER 4, 1997

The Queens Courier, September 4, 1997 
Midway Renovation Signals New Era For Queens Theaters

Click here for more Local and Trade Publication Headlines


HESKEL'S RESTAURANT


Heskel’s Restaurant throughout it’s tenure was considered one of the hottest spots in all of the New York area. From 1979 – 1988 this restaurant/night club was included in celebrated New York Post’s Walter Kaner’s weekly dining out column,  posting celebrity performers that appeared regularly such as LaToya Jackson, The Weather Girls and Madonna, and celebrities that were spotted there such as Mary Tyler Moore, Sharon Stone, Nicholas Cage and Danny Aiello. The goings on at Heskel’s popped up in the Daily News’ People and Faces and Places section and the famous New York Post’s Cindy Adams gossip column. The newspapers also followed the many charity events held there such as the Annual Christmas party of Police Department’s Honor Legion for children and widows of police officers killed in the line of duty. CEO, Yeheskel Elias has come to the aid of The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation many times with such events as his Run to Victory, I Love New York Pro/Celebrity Tennis Tournament and signing appearances by various famous Yankee baseball players such as Lou Piniella and Bucky Dent at Heskel's Restaurant. These events were also duly noted by the press.
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