The N.Y.U. Schack Institute of Real Estate Alumni Association celebrated in late July at the VIP Benefactor Reception in the N.Y.U. President’s Penthouse. Honored at the event were Tim Zietara ’96, vice president and portfolio manager, Torchlight Investors, who received the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient, and David T. Welsh ’97, founding managing principal, Normandy Real Estate Partners who will be the Honorary Banker in September at the 19th Annual Evening of Monopoly

By Michael Vardaro

Take any subway in New York, and you’ll see a clear picture of just how energy-dependent our lives have become. Fewer and fewer people are reading the awkwardly large pages of the New York Times. Instead, the electronic version now gets the nod. Cell phones, personal music players and the new breed of tablets all merrily run on batteries powered by our electric grid.

By Daniel Geiger

Morgan Stanley is said to be closing in on a deal to renew and expand its lease at One New York Plaza in what would be a roughly one million s/f transaction. The bank, which has long been rumored to be considering the lease, has a little over 700,000 s/f in the tower, but will likely consolidate another office facility it has in downtown Brooklyn into the property. The bank, which has long been rumored to be considering the lease, has a little over 700,000 s/f in the tower, but will likely consolidate another office facility it has in downtown Brooklyn into the property. Morgan Stanley recently renewed a portion of its Brooklyn space, which is located at One Pierrepont Plaza.

Thornton Tomasetti, the international engineering firm, has been selected as structural engineer for Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which when completed will be the world’s tallest building at 1,000+ meters. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year. The structure will be the centerpiece of Kingdom City, a new urban development of more than 23 million square meters.

Fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld’s Gramercy Park apartment is officially on the market. Corcoran’s Wendy Sarasohn and Jamie Joseph listed the three bedroom, 3.5 bath apartment at 50 Gramercy Park North last week at $6.5 million, according to StreetEasy.com. Lagerfeld never actually lived in the pad that he paid $6.575 million for in 2006. The listing notes the home has over 40 ft of unobstructed views of historic Gramercy Park and “is ideal for both elegant entertaining and easy modern living.”