City sues Weinreb entities to force repairs, alleges properties poorly maintained

In another in a series of lawsuits the city has brought against the owners of large multifamily portfolios, the city alleges that Jacob Weinreb and his Weinreb Management have not maintained up to code a portfolio of approximately 11 buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, with more than 1,000 units. Of those approximately 1,000 units, about two thirds, or 670 units, are rent-regulated, meaning the owner may not charge market rents, according to the lawsuit filed February 9.

The city filed similar suits last year, accusing the Parkoff Organization, Yechiel Weinberger, and others of also not maintaining certain buildings in their portfolios.

The lawsuits come as the city-affiliated New York City Housing Authority struggles to repair its properties, and estimates it will need $40 billion to upgrade it’s aging housing stock.

According to a PincusCo analysis of city records, Weinreb Management owns 20 buildings with a total of 1,650 units. The firm in May 2020 refinanced four of those with a total of $79.6 million in debt from Capital One. Those are the only loans issued in the past 30 months. The company has not bought or sold property in that time.

The allegations in a lawsuit are the positions of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete. Weinreb has not yet filed a response.

In the Weinreb case, the city alleges, “At issue in this case are 11 residential properties owned by Defendants, containing over 1,000 units, including approximately 670 rent-regulated units (the “Premises”)… The New York City Department of Buildings (“DOB”) has issued violations for failure to maintain the buildings’ façades, failure to maintain the buildings in code compliance, work without a permit, and other Administrative Code violations. Additionally, the Fire Department of the City of New York (“FDNY”) has issued nearly two dozen violations under the Fire Code for five of the buildings.

“For many years, Defendants have failed to maintain their buildings, particularly the façades, accumulating over 200 violations from DOB and nearly two dozen violations from FDNY for dangerous and unsafe conditions,” the city alleges.

The properties are 3950 Blackstone Avenue, 350 Central Park West, 51 West 86th Street, 65-61 Saunders Street, 1205 College Avenue, 455 Ocean Parkway, 46 East 91st Street, 145 East 92nd Street, 2401 Broadway, 420 West End Avenue, and 777 West End Avenue.