Courts roundup: 432 Park resi board seeks $165M; $6M pre-foreclosure in Astoria, $4M in Grand Central

432 Park condo owners seek $165M from sponsors, contractors: The residential section of the 432 Park Avenue condominium board alleges in a tort case filed April 25, 2025 in New York State Supreme Court, that the building’s sponsors CIM Group and Harry Macklowe’s Macklowe Properties along with its architect and contractors, hid concrete facade problems from buyers, leading to a claim of $165 million in damages. The New York Times, the New York Post and others have reported on this case. This is the second lawsuit tied to allegations of construction flaws at the building, with the earlier case [655617/2021] ongoing. CIM Group and the architect denied the new charges, the New York Times reported, and planned to seek dismissal.

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

An attorney representing the sponsors said in a hearing last month that was part of the 2021 litigation but related to this new action, that the actual damage to the building is minimal. The residential unit owners, as plaintiffs, “were finally forced to admit that they spent $6 million [litigating] and four years of control of this building to fix anything, and a grand total, Judge, of $279,000 on this facade.”

Case 155479/2025 LINK

According to the complaint, “This lawsuit arises from a deliberate and far-reaching fraud orchestrated by the Sponsor and its affiliates, concealed during the construction and sale of one of the most high profile residential towers in the world — 432 Park Avenue, New York, New York (the “Building”). It stems from a related action [655617/2021] before Justice Melissa Crane currently pending in this Court that Plaintiffs, on behalf of all residential unit owners and commercial unit owners (“Unit Owners”), commenced against the Sponsor and others seeking over $160,000,000 in damages…Plaintiffs learned late in the discovery phase of the Related Action: (1) that Defendants had specific, actual knowledge since the outset of construction that the Building’s white concrete façade’s design was wholly defective and would never hold up…Sponsor fired every consultant that warned that Sponsor’s “fixes” were inadequate…Offering Plan’s so-called “minor revisions” was a change in the description of the façade. The new language modified the original statement that the high strength and density of the concrete “will prevent water penetration” to now state that the “high strength concrete’s density and properly sealed windows have been designed to prevent water penetration”… [Plaintiffs] have suffered and will continue to suffer damages in an amount to be determined at trial, but reasonably believed to exceed the sum of $165,000,000.”
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page

Private lender files $6M pre-foreclosure at 3 Astoria rentals:  ASLD Realty through the entity CI Steinway LLC alleges a $6 million loan secured by 25-02 Steinway Street, 25-12 Steinway Street and 25-22 Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens, was in default. PincusCo reported on the properties in April 2025 after the ASLD Realty affiliate bought the notes, in a transaction completed on March 25, 2025.

Case LINK

According to the complaint, $6.5 million was due as of April 30, 2025.

The three properties each have 40 residential units and combined have 90,556 square feet of built space and 10,313 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 100,890 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data.
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page

Flagstar files $4M pre-foreclosure at Grand Central office building: Lender Flagstar Bank filed a $4 million pre-foreclosure action alleging a loan secured by the 11,445-square-foot office building at 20 West 38th Street in Grand Central was in default.

Case LINK
Flagstar Bank alleges payment and maturity defaults on a loan with an original principal of $5 million but now has principal of $4.06 million. According to the complaint, “Bravo Management failed to make the monthly payments of principal and interest and escrow and other amounts due under the Loan Documents for February 1, 2025 and thereafter… In addition, pursuant to the Loan Documents, the Loan matured on April 1, 2025… the failure by Bravo Management to pay to the Bank the entire unpaid principal balance of the Loan and all accrued and unpaid interest and other charges that became due on the Maturity Date constitutes an event of default. There is now due and owing to the Bank on the Note, Consolidated Mortgage and other Loan Documents, as of May 5, 2025, the principal sum of $4,057,619.00, plus unpaid accrued interest at the standard rate…”

The office building in Grand Central has 11,445 square feet of built space and 13,274 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 24,720 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 98 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,472 square feet. The zoning is M1-6 which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.3 million.
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page