23 Wall Street retail owes $189K in late common charges, condo board alleges

The owner of the landmarked retail and commercial building 23 Wall Street owes $188,873 in back common charges, the condominium board for the building alleged in a lien filing yesterday.

The board said the three units owed by the entity CS Wall Street LLC have not paid common charges since January 2020.

The ownership of the units has been fought over for years. A Singapore-based company China Sonangol purchased the units with a total of about 150,000 square feet of commercial space, from condo developer Africa Israel in 2008 for $150 million. Brokers noted the vacant space in the building was a challenge for Lower Manhattan retail.

Retail investor Jack Terzi of JTRE signed a contract in 2016 to buy the units, but the sale never closed and Terzi sued in state court. In January, the NY Post reported the parties had reached an agreement which would allow Terzi to control the space through a 99-year lease.

This new lien filing adds to the financial complexity of the building and is not the first time the owner has fallen far behind in common charges, according to city records. In fact, the owner owned more than $400,000 as of January 2020 through non-payments stretching years, but then paid those arrears off, the records show. The owner had been slow to pay even before that, with the first lien against the units filed in 2012.

But after settling up in January,  the owner again stopped paying the common charges, leading to the newest liens filed by the property’s manager, FirstService Residential.

Africa Israel converted 15 Broad and 23 Wall Street into condominiums. 23 Wall, built in 1913, and known as the J.P. Morgan & Co. Building, was designated a city landmark in 1965.