Special report: How high-flying, risk-loving real estate executives deal with disaster

A special report from The Real Deal — Some bluff and borrow their way through, but others don’t make it Oct 07, 2024 [View in Browser]( [Share](   [Image]( [image]( How high-flying, risk-loving real estate executives deal with disaster Josh Schuster’s phone was blowing up. Six of his development projects were sidelined by the pandemic. Work at a Second Avenue development stopped due to Covid closures, leaving a gaping hole in the ground. Schuster applied for a special permit to lay the foundation, then was shut down again by the Department of Buildings. Defaults were mounting. Schuster faced several lawsuits, and his company, Silverback, was falling apart. Missed phone calls and voicemails buzzed in from investors, lenders, lawyers, contractors and other people looking to get paid. Schuster had to get a second phone to handle personal calls. Young and blinded by ambition, Schuster maintained an image of success long after the reality had crumbled. As calls went to voicemail and his texts went unanswered, he kept his fancy Upper East Side apartment and shelled out money for private schools, country club memberships and a driver to shuttle him to nightclubs and networking events. Some developers bluff and borrow their way through the low points; others collapse, disappear. [Read Full Story]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [YouTube]( [More Newsletters]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Subscribe]( The Real Deal 450 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001 ©2024 TheRealDeal. All rights reserved. [View Online](