Famed MONY tower that inspired hit song sells for a lot less cash than it fetched a decade ago in troubling sign for NYC market

The Midtown office tower that inspired the 1968 hit song “Mony Mony” has sold for much less “mony”  than its previous owner paid for it.Yellowstone Real Estate forked over a mere $185 million — a massive $420 million haircut from how much the famed Mutual of New York tower fetched a decade ago — to purchase the remaining debt on the near-empty office building now simply called 1740 Broadway, according city Department of Finance records.Blackstone had shelled out $605 million to buy it from Vornado in 2014 — or nearly  $1,000 per square foot for the 621,000 square-foot 1950-vintage, Deco-style tower between West 55th and 56 streets.A $308 million loan on the property was sent to special servicing in 2022.The fire-sale price reflects the crisis in the investment-sale market for commercial properties, where some office values have tumbled by up to 50%.But 1740 Broadway’s discount was perhaps the most severe to date for an aged but still viable, recently renovated Midtown tower.Insiders were divided over how bad an omen the lowball price is for future sales.CBRE vice-chairman Stephen B.

Siegel told The Post that Blackstone’s $605 million purchase price in 2014 simply reflected the mood of the time, when property values were at all-time highs and several Manhattan trophy buildings traded for more than $2 billion.“Blackstone had a good plan for it, but things didn’t work in their favor,” said Siegel, who was not involved in the 1740 Broadway deal.Facing exits by Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands and law firm Davis+Gilbert that left  most of the tower vacant, Blackstone spent tens of millions of dollars to modernize 1740 with a handsome new lobby, tenant amenities and a popular new restaurant, Iris.But the pandemic doomed Blackstone’s re-leasing efforts.The private equity firm handed back the keys in 2022.One major dealmaker told us at the time that Blackstone’s “purchase price was bananas for an older building in the West 50s that need...