Pinches Abowitz signs $12.6M construction loan for development in Far Rockaway

Pinches Abowitz through the entity Foam Place Holdings L.L.C. as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Popular Bank valued at $12.6 million for the development building (V1) at 11-19 Foam Place in Far Rockaway, Queens.
There is a new building project 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 February 2, 2024.
The owner bought the property on January 11, 2024, for $4.8 million from Marcal Group. The signatory for Pinches Abowitz was Pinches Abowitz.

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.

Development

On the lot, there are two active new building construction projects and major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million, totaling 81,583 square feet. The largest is a new building project for a 93-unit, 35,936 square-foot 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 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 $110.4 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 two of the 10 commercial properties representing zero square feet of the 41,038 square feet. The two identified owners are Pinches Abowitz and 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 borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Pinches Abowitz owned at least five commercial properties with one residential unit in New York City with 1,188 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) 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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