$7M pre-foreclosure at 10-unit rental in Clinton Hill

First Central Savings Bank alleges a group of borrowers who own the 10-unit 251 Dekalb Avenue, in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, is in default on a $7 million mortgage, and the lender filed a pre-foreclosure action yesterday in Brooklyn State Supreme Court.

Case LINK

According to the complaint, “Borrower defaulted under the Loan Documents by failing to timely make the payment due on November 1, 2023. Thereafter, the Note matured by its terms, and the Borrower failed to pay the amounts due on the maturity date thereof… By letter dated January 16, 2024, Plaintiff notified Borrower of its default (the “Default Notice Letter”) under the Loan Documents and demand was made to cure same.”

The complaint identified Stephen Werdiger as the guarantor. The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development identifies Mordechai Rosenblum as head officer and Mark Tress as officer.

The partners bought the property in 2016 for $5.8 million, and in 2018 refinanced the property with First Central Savings Bank, obtaining a $7 million loan.

The owners renovated the property, starting in 2017. Morty Rosenblum of JM Holdings 1 LLC, one of the owner entities. submitted a major alteration application for a rehab of two-unit, 12,578 square-foot residential (J-2) building at 251 Dekalb Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on June 9, 2017 under job number 321583504 and was permitted on September 14, 2018. It called for a rehab of the four-story building. The project is described in the filing as: interior renovation and conversion of use as per plans filed herewith.

The property

The mixed-use building with 10 residential units in Clinton Hill has 12,578 square feet of built space and 256 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 12,822 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has two buildings with frontage of 61 feet and is 84 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,411 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6B which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.1 million.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received five DOB violations and $1,200 in OATH penalties in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Clinton Hill, The bulk, or 34 percent of the 10.8 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 17 percent of the space. In sales, Clinton Hill has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $317.3 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 24th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Clinton Hill has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 33rd highest in Brooklyn. It had 213,438 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 2 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the 10 commercial properties representing 30,166 square feet of the 132,047 square feet. The two identified owners are Akelius and Moshe Tress. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Moshe Tress owned at least one commercial property with 10 residential units in New York City with 12,198 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single mixed-use property. It is located in Brooklyn.

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Mordechai Rosenblum, head officer and Mark Tress, officer. The business entities are Jm Holdings 1 Llc and Jm Holdings 1 Llc.

The surrounding

This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of 255 Dekalb Avenue in the past 24 months.

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