CTBC Bank files two pre-foreclosure actions totaling $35M at adjacent Williamsburg buildings

CTBC Bank filed two pre-foreclosure actions in New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn yesterday, totaling $35 million, at adjacent Williamsburg buildings 485 Kent Avenue and the smaller 49 South 2nd Street, both properties owned by Solomon and Lipa Markowitz.

According to the complaints, “Borrower and Guarantors defaulted on their obligations under the terms of the Loan Documents by, inter alia: (1) failing to make full payment of all amounts due on the Note and Loan Documents by the Maturity Date of September 2, 2025; and (2) failing to pay past due real estate taxes plus interest with respect to the Premises…”

485 Kent Avenue Case LINK

49 South 2nd Street Case LINK

Court records represent the position of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete. Crain’s reported on the court cases earlier.

The Markowitz brothers bought 285 Kent Street in 2001 for $3 million, according to a PincusCo analysis of transfer records.

The property

The office building in Williamsburg has 44,832 square feet of built space and 30,618 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 75,600 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 253 feet and is 170 feet deep with a total lot size of 37,800 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is M3-1 which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $21.6 million. The most recent loan totaled $25 million and was provided by CTBC Bank on August 19, 2021.

Prior sales and revenue

The 44,832-square-foot property generated revenue of $2.9 million or $64 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

Development

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on July 23, 2014.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received one DOB violation in the last year.

The property was involved in one lawsuit and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The suit was a $25 million commercial foreclosure concerning a loan filed on November 4, 2025, by CTBC Bank against Solomon Markowitz and Lipa Markowitz.

The neighborhood

In Williamsburg, The bulk, or 39 percent of the 50.4 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 25 percent of the space. In sales, Williamsburg has the 5th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.9 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Williamsburg is the most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 41.9 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 83 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the six commercial properties representing 75,932 square feet of the 87,707 square feet. The largest owner is Cta Digital, followed by Iconiq Capital and then Lipa Markowitz. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Cta Digital owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 44,832 square feet and a city-determined market value of $18.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single office property. It is located in Brooklyn.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 289 Kent Avenue, PincusCo identified six commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those six items, two were sales above $5 million totaling $18.6 million. The most recent of the two was Lipa Markowitz which bought the 9,500-square-foot industrial (F4) on 34 South 1st Street for $9.6 million from Shiu Ban Chan on October 23, 2025. Of those six items, four were loans above $5 million totaling $49.2 million. The most recent of the four was Lipa Markowitz in which borrowed $7.2 million from Northfield Bank secured by the 9,500-square-foot industrial (F4) on 34 South 1st Street on October 23, 2025.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page