$5.3M pre-foreclosure filed at 16-unit project in Bed-Stuy, owner died in Florida crash

Toorak Capital Partners filed a pre-foreclosure action alleging a loan with an original principal of $5.29 million given in 2018 to Victor Battaglia Jr. and secured by a new construction 16-unit project at 245 Franklin Street in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, was in default.

The property is a construction site with an unfinished, 16-unit project.

Victor Battaglia Jr. of Premier Drywall Group Inc submitted a new building construction project for a 16-unit, 11,441 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 245 Franklin Avenue in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with the New York City Department of Buildings on May 26, 2017 under job number 321584825 and it was permitted on January 28, 2019. It calls for the construction of a six-story building.

In August 2021, Victor Battaglia was killed in an automobile crash as the passenger, riding in a Ferrari in which the driver was speeding as high as 100 miles per hour in Florida, according to news reports. The driver, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, lost control of the vehicle and it crashed. The driver survived.

According to the complaint, “Borrower defaulted under the Loan Documents by failing to make any payment or pay the Loan in full when it matured on October 1, 2022. The Loan remains unpaid, and, Borrower is, therefore, in default.”

No certificate of occupancy had been applied for as of March 21, 2023.

The parcel has frontage of 28 feet and is 120 feet deep with a total lot size of 3,360 square feet. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $942,000.

Case LINK

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.