UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): November 22, 2013 (November 18, 2013)

American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Maryland

(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

405 Park Avenue, 15th Floor

New York, New York 10022

(Address, including zip code, of Principal Executive Offices)

(212) 415-6500

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Item 2.01. Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets.

Viceroy Hotel

On November 18, 2013, American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT, Inc. (the “Company”), through a wholly owned subsidiary of its operating partnership, closed on the acquisition of a leasehold interest in the newly constructed Viceroy New York located on West 57th Street in Manhattan. The seller of the hotel was AREP Fifty-Seventh LLC. The seller has no material relationship with the Company and the acquisition was not an affiliated transaction.

The purchase price of the hotel was $148.5 million, exclusive of closing costs. The Company funded the purchase price with proceeds from its ongoing initial public offering. The Company may seek financing post-closing from a lender yet to be identified. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to secure financing on terms that it deems favorable or at all.

The hotel contains approximately 129,000 rentable square feet, 29 stories, 240 rooms, a restaurant, a rooftop lounge expected to open in 2014, a fitness center, an indoor pool and meeting spaces. The hotel commenced operations and opened to guests in October 2013. The hotel was designed by architectural firm, Roman and Williams, and is managed by Viceroy Hotel Group, which currently manages luxury hotels in locations including Santa Monica, Miami, Beverly Hills, Snowmass, Anguilla, Abu Dhabi and the Maldives. The food and beverage operations have been leased to an unaffiliated third party joint venture.

Item 8.01. Other Events.

On November 22, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing the Company’s acquisition of a leasehold interest in the Viceroy Hotel described in Item 2.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K.

A copy of such press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated by reference herein.

The statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and members of its management team, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based, and generally are identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “seeks,” “strives,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “should” or similar expressions. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements, including as a result of those factors set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time, unless required by law.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.