Bill Cosby hit with second Lenox Hill mansion pre-foreclosure, this for $16M

Lender First Foundation Bank filed a $16 million pre-foreclosure action alleging retired comedian Bill Cosby and his wife were in a payment default on a loan secured by their 12,060-square-foot Lenox Hill townhouse on East 71st Street, in Manhattan. The bank filed the case in New York State Supreme Court on December 28, 2024, naming William H. Cosby Jr. and Camille O. Cosby. The original principal was $17.5 million, however the amount currently owed is now just over $16 million.

71st Street Case LINK

The New York Post reported in 2017 that Cosby was looking to borrow as much as $30 million against the building, but the latest loan secured by the property is for $5.25 million from 2014, which is on top of a $12.25 million loan from 2010. He bought the townhouse in 1987 for $6.2 million, the New York Observer reported in 2005.

According to the complaint, “… effective June 1, 2024, the monthly payment due under the Consolidated Note adjusted so that it became $125,639… The Borrower has not paid any monthly payments or other amounts owed on the Consolidated Note due on or after June 1, 2024… The date set forth in the Default Notice by which the Borrower was required to cure the defaults described therein was December 12, 2024. The Borrower has not cured the failure to pay the past due installments.” The total due is $16,091,375 composed of principal, unpaid interest and fees, the filing says.

Cosby also owns a smaller Lenox Hill home 10 blocks to the south, on East 61st Street with about 5,000 square feet, also subject to a pre-foreclosure action. Less than one month ago, on December 2, 2024, Citibank through the entity Citimortgage Inc., filed a $4.2 million pre-foreclosure action there.

Cosby, by his full name William H. Cosby Jr., and his wife Camille own the East 61st Street building after buying the four-story brownstone in April 1980 for $327,250 through a trust.

61st Street Case LINK

Cosby, famous from a decades-long entertainment career, has been accused by dozens of women of sexual assault. He was convicted of sexual assault by a Pennsylvania court in 2018, but that was overturned and he was released in 2021.

Court cases represent the position of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete.