Investor pays $3.6M to William Zeng Zhang Shao for 6-unit walkup in LIC

UPDATED 4:40 p.m., April 27, 2026: An investor through the entity Fifty One Avenue LLC paid $3.6 million to William Zeng Zhang Shao through the entity 542 51ave Property LLC for the six-unit residential walkup building (C2) at 5-42 51st Avenue in Long Island City, Queens. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on March 5, 2026 and was recorded on March 12, 2026. The property has 4,875 square feet of built space and 125 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 5,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $738 and the price per buildable square foot is $720 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 seller bought the property on February 24, 2021, for $2.6 million. The signatory for William Zeng Zhang Shao was William Zeng Zhang Shao. The contract date was February 4, 2026.

Transaction Participants

Attorney Anthony Simari of Cassin & Cassin LLP participated in the transaction on behalf of the buyer.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller William Zeng Zhang Shao purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $1.5 million and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $4.1 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes William Shao, head officer and Lianwu Shao, officer. The business entity is 542 51st Ave Property Llc. The 4,875-square-foot property generated revenue of $134,550 or $28 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential walkup building with 6 residential units in Long Island City has 4,875 square feet of built space and 125 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 5,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,500 square feet. The zoning is M1-4/R6B which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 2 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.4 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations 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 six of the 14 commercial properties representing 38,811 square feet of the 115,398 square feet. The largest owner is Richard Schaps, followed by Josh Schuster and then Giovanna D’Amato.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 38 percent of the 115,398 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 35 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that William Zeng Zhang Shao owned at least two commercial properties in New York City with 7,825 square feet and a city-determined market value of $6.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $7.3 million in debt, borrowed from Bank of Hope. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 60 percent of the 7,825 square feet of built space are mixed-use properties, with retail properties next occupying 40 percent of the space. The bulk, or 60 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 40 percent of the space.

UPDATED to remove the name of a private individual.

Direct link to Acris document. link