Edward Ostad pays $4.4M for 8-unit walkup on Yorkville corner

Edward Ostad through the entity 1739 2nd Ave Partners LLC paid $4.4 million to the estate of the late Rhoda Crane and Michael Crane through the entity Treasures & Gems, Ltd. for the eight-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 250 East 90th Street with an alternate address of 1739 Second Avenue, at the corner of those two streets in Yorkville, Manhattan. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on February 10, 2025 and was recorded on February 14, 2025. The property has 8,023 square feet of built space and 11,222 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 19,250 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $548 and the price per buildable square foot is $228 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The signatory for Rhoda Crane and Michael Crane was David M. Repetto. The signatory for Edward Ostad was Edward Ostad. The contract date was December 17, 2024. David M. Repetto is the representative for the estate of Rhoda Crane. Jacqueline Crane is a niece of Rhoda Crane.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Edward Ostad purchased 37 properties in 35 transactions for a total of $143 million and has no record he sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Rhoda Crane had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes David Repetto, head officer and Stuart Reiser, officer. The business entity is Treasures And Gems Ltd.

The property

The residential walkup building with 8 residential units in Yorkville has 8,023 square feet of built space and 11,222 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 19,250 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 75 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,925 square feet. The zoning is C2-8 which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $5 million.

Violations and lawsuits

The property was involved in one lawsuit and one bankruptcy over the past two years. The suit was a $2.3 million commercial foreclosure concerning a loan filed on March 10, 2023, by Lawrence Rosenblum against Michael Crane. Repetto filed the bankruptcy, 24-10570-dsj, in the Southern District of New York in April 2024. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received one DOB violation, $3,125 in ECB penalties, 114 housing violations, $9,225 in OATH penalties, and one housing litigation in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 14 of the 24 commercial properties representing 171,611 square feet of the 264,955 square feet. The largest owner is S.W. Management, followed by Aya and then Moshe Khoshkheraman.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 81 percent of the 264,955 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 13 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Edward Ostad owned at least 62 commercial properties with 783 residential units in New York City with 774,186 square feet and a city-determined market value of $184.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $214.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as Signature Bank, New York Community Bank, and Amalgamated Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 42 percent of the 774,186 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 37 percent of the space. The bulk, or 54 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 25 percent of the space.

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