Bukharian congregation sues to enforce $16M purchase in Holliswood, $15M sale in Forest Hills

The Beth Gavriel Bukharian Congregation of Forest Hills filed a lawsuit yesterday in New York State Supreme Court in Queens seeking to enforce a pair of 2021 contracts in which the congregation buys a Holliswood development site valued at $16 million while at the same time it sells a school building in Forest Hills for $15 million. The complaint alleges that the congregation is ready to close, but the sellers have not yet cleared a series of unsafe building liens on the Holliswood property, and sent a note terminating the two contracts.
Case 704050/2026 LINK

The pair of contracts signed in 2021 call for the Beth Gavriel Bukharian Congregation to buy the development site at 87-37 Palermo Street, in Holliswood, valued at $16 million from Steve Cheung, Mou Yang Lam and Kwan Cho Cheung, who paid $10.86 million in 2015 for the shuttered Holliswood Hospital property. At the same time, Steve Cheung, Mou Yang Lam and Kwan Cho Cheung would buy the school building for Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion at 75-24 Grand Central Parkway in Forest Hills, valued at $15 million.

According to the complaint, “By letter dated October 6, 2025 (the “Termination Letter”), Defendants’ counsel, in breach of the Contracts, purported to terminate the Contracts due to the Defendants’ own inability to convey title to the Holliswood Premises pursuant to the Holliswood Contract. Enclosed with the Termination Letter was a check for $150,000, representing the return of the Contract Deposit… By letter dated November 25, 2025, Plaintiff’s counsel formally rejected Defendants’ purported unilateral termination… Defendants have not taken the necessary steps to comply with and remove the Notices of Pendency and instead purported to unilaterally terminate the Holliswood Contract… Defendants have not taken the necessary steps to comply with and remove from the record the Notices of Pendency and instead purported to unilaterally terminate the Forest Hills Contract…. [Holliswood contract: Seller shall take the steps necessary to comply with and remove of record prior to Closing all lis pendens/notices of pendency against the Premises relating to “Unsafe Building and Structure”, including, without limitation the following: Lis Pendens filed 3/9/2016, Index No. 585/16, Lis Pendens filed 11/30/2016, Index No. 10991/16 and Lis Pendens filed 11/30/2016, Index No. 10993/16.”

The property

The school building at 75-24 Grand Central Parkway in Forest Hills has 28,629 square feet of built space and 21,115 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 49,815 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 200 feet and is 105 feet deep with a total lot size of 20,500 square feet. 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 $5.8 million.

Development

Over the past five years, there has been no NYC Department of Buildings new building, demolition, or alteration permit application valued at more than $20,000 filed for this parcel.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

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

The neighborhood

In Forest Hills, The majority, or 61 percent of the 14.8 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 12 percent of the space. In sales, Forest Hills has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $128.8 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 22nd highest in Queens. For development, Forest Hills has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 10th highest in Queens. It had 754,325 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 5 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of seven of the 14 commercial properties representing 130,215 square feet of the 216,237 square feet. The largest owner is Bluestone Organization, followed by Gamertz-Cedarcroft and then Joseph Keane. On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 17,778 square feet. The largest is a 10-unit, 8,908 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by George Baharestani with plans filed July 26, 2018 and permitted June 6, 2019. The second largest is a 10-unit, 8,870 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Nelson Leong with plans filed July 7, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.

The surrounding

This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of Yeshiva shaarei zion ohel bracha in the past 24 months.

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

The property

The specialty building at 87-37 Palermo Street in Holliswood has 73,000 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has three buildings with frontage of 140 feet and is 157 feet deep with a total lot size of 95,600 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R1-2 which allows for up to 0.5 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $13.2 million.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

This property was sold for $10.9 million on July 7, 2015.

Development

Zsolt Szabo of The Holliswood Hospital submitted a new building construction project for a 63,665 square-foot institutional (I-2) building at 87-29 Palermo Street. The plan was filed on October 26, 2011. It calls for the construction of a 14-foot tall, one-story building and was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings under job number 420497803. The project is described in the filing as: installation of a 658 square feet metal office trailer accessory to the existing hospital.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received three DOB violations, $7,500 in ECB penalties, and $7,500 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 Holliswood, The majority, or 65 percent of the 1.4 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 14 percent of the space. In sales, Holliswood has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $3.4 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 61st highest in Queens. For development, Holliswood has not had any major developments in the last two years.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 11 of the 28 commercial properties representing zero square feet of the 95,710 square feet. The identified owner is Steve Cheung. On the tax block, there were 27 new building construction projects totaling 76,330 square feet. The largest is a one-unit, 5,228 square-foot residential (R-3) building submitted by Steve Cheung with plans filed April 24, 2017 and permitted February 9, 2018. The second largest is a one-unit, 4,621 square-foot residential (R-3) building submitted by Xiu Cheung with plans filed November 24, 2024 and permitted September 18, 2025.

The surrounding

This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of 193-01 Clover Hill Road in the past 24 months.

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