SCHEDULE 14A

                               (RULE 14A-101)
                  INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
                          SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
        PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(A) OF THE SECURITIES
                   EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 (Amendment No. )

      Filed by the registrant |_|
      Filed by a party other than the registrant |X|

      Check the appropriate box:
      |_|   Preliminary proxy statement   |_|   Confidential, for Use of the
                                                Commission Only (as permitted 
                                                by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
      |_|   Definitive proxy statement
      |X|   Definitive additional materials
      |_|   Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-11(c) or Rule 14a-12

          First Union Real Estate Equity and Mortgage Investments
          -------------------------------------------------------
              (Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

                           Gotham Partners, L.P.
          -------------------------------------------------------
                  (Name of Person Filing Proxy Statement)

Payment of filing fee (Check the appropriate box):

      |X|   No fee required.
      |_|   Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(4)
            and 0-11.

      (1)   Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

      (2)   Aggregate number of securities to which transactions applies:

      (3)   Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed
            pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11:

      (4)   Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

      |_|   Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
      |_|   Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by
Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting
fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration
statement number, or the form or schedule and the date of its filing.

      (1)   Amount previously paid:

      (2)   Form, schedule or registration statement no.:

      (3)   Filing party:

      (4)   Date filed:

For Immediate Release
- ---------------------

Contacts:      Bill Ackman           or    George Sard/David Reno
               David Berkowitz             Sard Verbinnen & Co
               Gotham Partners             (212) 687-8080
               (212) 286-0300


                      GOTHAM PARTNERS DENIES IT IS IN
                  DISCUSSIONS WITH FIRST UNION REAL ESTATE

                    ----------------------------------

   GOTHAM SAYS FIRST UNION BOARD HAS FIDUCIARY DUTY TO ALLOW SHAREHOLDERS
           TO DETERMINE COMPANY'S FATE AT MAY 19 SPECIAL MEETING

      New York,  April 20, 1998 -- Gotham  Partners,  L.P. today  announced
that,  contrary  to false and  misleading  statements  by First  Union Real
Estate  Investments  (NYSE:FUR),  Gotham is not engaged in any  discussions
with the First Union Board of Trustees or management  or a recently  formed
special  committee  of the Board.  Gotham is one of First  Union's  largest
shareholders.

      On Friday April 17, First Union  issued a press  release  claiming it
had formed a special  committee of its Board to evaluate  alternatives  for
the company, retained Credit Suisse First Boston in an expanded capacity to
assist in that  process,  and stated that the committee has been talking to
Gotham and other  large  First  Union  shareholders  who  support  Gotham's
proposals.  Gotham has had no  contact  with the  committee  except for one
discussion with a committee  member several weeks ago. In that  discussion,
Gotham  refused to entertain any  settlement  proposal that did not give it
the right to immediately  designate a majority of the members of the Board.
There is no  current  dialogue  between  Gotham  and the  committee  or the
Company, other than in connection with court proceedings.

      First  Union's  announcement  provides  no  details  as to how Credit
Suisse First Boston's role has been expanded. If Credit Suisse First Boston
is  seeking  an  acquirer  for the  Company,  Gotham  urges  the  Company's
independent  trustees to reject any alternative  involving a forced sale of
First Union at a small  premium to current  market  value.  In light of the
uncertainty  associated  with the  Company's  paired-share  structure,  the
deteriorating   financial   performance   of  the  Company   under  current
management, and the hurried nature of a sale in such close proximity to the
May 19 special  meeting of  shareholders  (at which Gotham expects that its
nominees  will be  elected  to a  majority  of the  seats on the  Company's
Board), Gotham believes now is the wrong time to sell.

      In Gotham's view, the Company's current trustees owe a fiduciary duty
to  shareholders  to permit them to determine  the course of the Company at
the May 19 shareholder meeting.

      Gotham  continues  to  believe  that  the only  way for  First  Union
shareholders  to attain  maximum value for their shares is to vote in favor
of Gotham's proposals at the May 19 shareholder meeting. Among other items,
Gotham has proposed an alternative  slate of directors which intend to make
changes in the senior management and business plan of First Union.

   BACKGROUND

      Gotham has been a shareholder  of First Union since 1996. On July 14,
1997, Gotham sent a letter to the First Union Board of Trustees  expressing
its strong  concerns about  management  and the strategic  direction of the
Company and  requesting  a meeting  with the Board of  Trustees.  The First
Union Board of Trustees refused and despite numerous  subsequent efforts by
Gotham has continued to refuse to address Gotham's concerns.

      As a result, Gotham is soliciting proxies to replace the entire class
of three First Union Trustees up for election at the May 19 meeting,  which
includes  First  Union  chairman  and  chief  executive  officer  James  C.
Mastandrea,  with Gotham nominees William A. Ackman and David P. Berkowitz,
both  principals of Gotham  Partners,  and James A.  Williams,  chairman of
Michigan  National  Bank.  Gotham is also proposing to increase the size of
the First Union Board of  Trustees  from nine  members to 15 members and to
fill the six new seats with Gotham nominees. If all of the Gotham proposals
are  approved by First Union  shareholders  and its nominees  elected,  the
Gotham nominees would hold nine of the 15 seats on the First Union Board.

      Under court  order,  First  Union is  required to hold a  shareholder
meeting on May 19 in lieu of its 1998 annual meeting,  which was originally
scheduled  for April 14, 1998 but was  cancelled by the Company.  The court
has also ordered First Union not to provide any new employment  benefits or
compensation  outside the ordinary  course of business  and has  prohibited
First Union from any  transfer of assets not for fair market value prior to
the election and seating of directors.

      Gotham Partners is a private New York investment  partnership.  First
Union is a stapled-stock real estate investment trust (REIT).

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