Joel Schwartz pays $17M for 25-unit dev site in Williamsburg, borrows $39.8M

Joel Schwartz through the entity Roebling Apartments LLC paid $17 million to Usher Oscar Wiesner and Yitty Blumenfeld through the entity 312-B, LLC for the mixed-use building (K4) at 312 Roebling Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The expected use is cash flowing.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, B00745331, for a 25-unit, 53,974 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Yisroel Greenfeld and filed by Yisroel Greenfeld with plans filed May 31, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.
The deal closed on February 12, 2026 and was recorded on February 18, 2026.
The signatory for Usher Oscar Wiesner and Yitty Blumenfeld was Usher Oscar Wiesner and Yitty Blumenfeld. The signatory for Joel Schwartz was Joel Schwartz. The contract date was September 12, 2022.

To finance the purchase and construction, Joel Schwartz borrowed $39.8 million from BridgeCity Capital.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Joel Schwartz purchased 11 properties in eight transactions for a total of $29 million and sold five properties in five transactions for a total of $17 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Usher Oscar Wiesner had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The 21,770-square-foot property generated revenue of $471,103 or $22 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The mixed-use building in Williamsburg has 21,770 square feet of built space and 6,829 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 28,613 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 110 feet and is 111 feet deep with a total lot size of 11,775 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.9 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 received one DOB violation, five housing violations, and $100 in OATH penalties in the last year.

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 6th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $2 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Williamsburg is the 2nd most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 42 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. There were six pre-foreclosure suit filed among other mixed-use buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of six of the 12 commercial properties representing 95,299 square feet of the 148,264 square feet. The largest owner is Gilman Management, followed by Viking Management and then Robert Chan.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 49,320 square feet. It is a 13-unit, 49,320 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Yisroel Greenfeld and filed by Yisroel Greenfeld with plans filed May 31, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 79 percent of the 148,264 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Joel Schwartz owned at least 104 commercial properties with 1,685 residential units in New York City with 1,094,811 square feet and a city-determined market value of $186.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $1.7 billion in debt, with top three lenders as BridgeCity Capital, Citibank, and Popular Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 56 percent of the 1,094,811 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 16 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.

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