A&E cuts debt on 3 Queens rentals from $162M to $40.4M

A&E Real Estate Holdings refinanced three loans secured by three Queens rental buildings that had an original combined debt of $162.3 million, reducing the new debt to $40.4 million. A&E Real Estate Holdings obtained the financing in three new loans from Customers Bank.

Deutsche Bank originated the loans in 2018 and sold them to Lone Star Funds for an undisclosed amount in November 2024, as PincusCo reported previously.

A&E Real Estate Holdings bought the debt back from Lone Star Funds at a discount, according to a source familiar with the transactions. The purchases are part of a trend of landlords buying back debt on rent-regulated or retail buildings that have lost significant value.

The signatory for Douglas Eisenberg‘s A&E Real Estate Holdings was Alex T. Bruce and Margaret Brunn . The signatory for Customers Bank was Elizabeth Arato .

In the first, A&E Real Estate Holdings through the entity 132-25 Maple Avenue Ventures, LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Customers Bank valued at $17.2 million for the 180-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 132-25 Maple Avenue in Flushing, Queens.
The deal closed on July 31, 2025 and was recorded on August 14, 2025. The prior lender was Lone Star Funds which held debt that had an original loan amount of $48.2 million.The property has 161,520 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $106 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The owner bought the property on June 21, 2018, for $51.1 million.

In the second, A&E Real Estate Holdings through the entity 132-57 Sanford Avenue, LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Customers Bank through the entity Customers Bank valued at $12 million for the 126-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 132-57 Sanford Avenue in Flushing, Queens.
The deal closed on July 31, 2025 and was recorded on August 14, 2025. The prior lender was Lone Star Funds which held debt that had an original loan amount of $54.6 million.The property has 113,348 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $106 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The owner bought the property on June 21, 2018, for $40.4 million.

In the third, A&E Real Estate Holdings through the entity 41-40 Denman Street Ventures, LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Customers Bank through the entity Customers Bank valued at $11.2 million for the 122-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 41-40 Denman Street in Elmhurst, Queens.
The deal closed on July 31, 2025 and was recorded on August 14, 2025. The prior lender was Lone Star Funds which held debt that had an original loan amount of $59.4 million.The property has 99,180 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $112 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The owner bought the property on June 21, 2018, for $36 million.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Margaret Brunn, head officer and Brian Garland, agent. The business entity is 132-25 Maple Avenue Ventures, Llc. The 161,520-square-foot property generated revenue of $3.7 million or $23 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential elevator building with 180 residential units in Flushing has 161,520 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 301 feet and is 160 feet deep with a total lot size of 60,155 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $13.6 million. The most recent loan totaled 0.0 and was provided by Lone Star Funds on November 14, 2024. The property has 90 rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2023.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received 58 housing violations and $500 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of eight of the 14 commercial properties representing 384,905 square feet of the 424,505 square feet. The largest owner is A&E Real Estate Holdings, followed by Warren Switzler and then Werber Management.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 69 percent of the 424,505 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that A&E Real Estate Holdings owned at least 177 commercial properties with 15,576 residential units in New York City with 14,459,508 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.8 billion. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $2.8 billion in debt, with top three lenders as Signature Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Mesa West Capital respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 76 percent of the 14,459,508 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 24 percent of the space. The bulk, or 49 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 32 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. 132-25 Maple Avenue link
Direct link to Acris document. 132-57 Sanford Avenue link
Direct link to Acris document. 41-40 Denman Street link