Pinches Abowitz pays $4.8M to Marcal Group for 66-unit dev site in Far Rockaway

Pinches Abowitz through the entity Foam Place Holdings LLC paid $4.8 million to Marcal Group through the entity 11-19 Foam Place Holdings LLC for the 66-unit project at 11-19 Foam Place in Far Rockaway, Queens.
There is a new building plan for a 66-unit, 45,647 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Marcal Group and filed by Abraham Caller with plans filed February 16, 2022 and permitted May 24, 2022.
The deal closed on January 11, 2024 and was recorded on January 31, 2024.
The seller bought the property on February 5, 2018, for $2.1 million. The signatory for Marcal Group was Mark Caller. The signatory for Pinches Abowitz was Pinches Abowitz. The contract date was July 5, 2023.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Pinches Abowitz purchased three properties in one transaction for a total of $2.3 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Marcal Group purchased five properties in two transactions for a total of $58.5 million and sold four properties in two transactions for a total of $138.5 million over the same time period.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 74 feet and is 143 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,176 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 $593,000.

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 $50 in OATH penalties in the last year.

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 had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $104.3 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Far Rockaway has 3.9 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 2nd highest in Queens. It had 3.9 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 31 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the 10 commercial properties representing zero square feet of the 41,038 square feet. The identified owner is Eric Mendel.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 113,730 square feet. The largest is a 66-unit, 45,647 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Marcal Group and filed by Abraham Caller with plans filed February 16, 2022 and permitted May 24, 2022. The second largest is a 93-unit, 35,936 square-foot hotel/dormitory/shelter (R-1) building submitted by Marcal Group and filed by Sukharj Kaur with plans filed April 11, 2014 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 66 percent of the 41,038 square feet of built space are mixed-use buildings, with office buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Marcal Group owned at least 13 commercial properties with 61 residential units in New York City with 318,842 square feet and a city-determined market value of $59.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $79.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as Valley National Bank, CIT Bank, and Israel Discount Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 85 percent of the 318,842 square feet of built space are office properties, with retail properties next occupying 11 percent of the space. The bulk, or 66 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Brooklyn next at 30 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Pinches Abowitz owned at least four commercial properties in New York City. The portfolio has $9.7 million in debt, borrowed from S3 Capital. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 1,188 square feet of built space are A5 properties, with development properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

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