Pinches Abowitz pays $3.6M for two properties in Far Rockaway

Pinches Abowitz through the entity 1815 Cornaga LLC paid $3.6 million to Mark Weiss through the entity Roc 1815 Realty LLC for the office building (O2) at 18-15 Cornaga Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens and industrial building (G7) on Cornaga Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens. The expected use is ground up development. Abowitz bought the neighboring building as well, for $5.8 million.
The deal closed on March 25, 2025 and was recorded on April 4, 2025. The two properties have 7,268 square feet of built space and 28,860 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 36,092 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $502 and the price per buildable square foot is $101 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 Mark Weiss was Mark Weiss. The signatory for Pinches Abowitz was Pinches Abowitz.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Pinches Abowitz purchased five properties in three transactions for a total of $15 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Mark Weiss purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $4.6 million and sold three properties in one transaction for a total of $5.8 million over the same time period. Out of the two properties, one with a total of 7,268 square feet of built space generated revenue of $180,028 per year.

The property

The office building in Far Rockaway has 7,268 square feet of built space and 28,860 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 36,092 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 99 feet and is 112 feet deep with a total lot size of 11,300 square feet. 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 $698,000.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have not received any significant violations in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot buildings, one out of the two buildings received a initial certificate of occupancy in the last ten years. There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Far Rockaway, The majority, or 65 percent of the 12.8 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space. In sales, Far Rockaway has the 26th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Queens with $58.5 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Far Rockaway has 1.4 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 5th highest in Queens. It had 1.6 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 12 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 18-15 Cornaga Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of seven of the 16 commercial properties representing 274,718 square feet of the 298,971 square feet. The largest owner is Related Companies, followed by Bawa Nand Mallick and then Pinches Abowitz.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 133,165 square feet. It is a 149-unit, 133,165 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Related Companies and filed by Jamar Adams with plans filed August 12, 2019 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 88 percent of the 298,971 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 3 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Mark Weiss owned at least three commercial properties in New York City with 33,759 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 64 percent of the 33,759 square feet of built space are mixed-use properties, with retail properties next occupying 36 percent of the space. The bulk, or 64 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 36 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Pinches Abowitz owned at least 11 commercial properties with 197 residential units in New York City with 38,629 square feet and a city-determined market value of $7.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $58.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as S3 Capital, Popular Bank, and Webster Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 41 percent of the 38,629 square feet of built space are retail properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 34 percent of the space. The bulk, or 61 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 36 percent of the space.

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