Pinches Abowitz signs $28M construction loan with Popular Bank for 92-unit project in Far Rockaway

Pinches Abowitz through the entity 1821 Cornaga LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Popular Bank through the entity Popular Bank valued at $28 million for three-parcel development site for the 92-unit building planned for 18-25 Cornaga Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens.

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project, Q01206655, for a 92-unit, 71,798 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Ami Weinstock and filed by Ami Weinstock with plans filed June 3, 2025 and permitted March 31, 2026.
The loan closed on March 27, 2026 and was recorded on April 14, 2026. The prior lender was Grasshopper Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $4.4 million.

The three properties have 10,720 square feet of built space and 37,725 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 48,431 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data.

The loan price per planned development square foot is $390 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 Pinches Abowitz was Pinches (Peter) Abowitz. The signatory for Popular Bank was Wendy Scarlett .

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Out of the three properties, one with a total of 10,720 square feet of built space generated revenue of $90,156 per year.

The property

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 $1.3 million.

Transaction Participants

Eric D. Usinger at The Usinger Law Practice PLLC participated in the transaction on behalf of the lender.

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 received $7,500 in ECB penalties and $7,500 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 $170.4 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Far Rockaway has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 970,852 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 8 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 18-21 Cornaga Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of nine of the 16 commercial properties representing 281,986 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 were three new building construction projects totaling 282,591 square feet. The largest 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 second largest is a 93-unit, 77,628 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Ami Weinstock and filed by Ami Weinstock with plans filed April 11, 2025 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 borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that pinches abowitz owned at least 18 commercial properties with 197 residential units in New York City with 49,297 square feet and a city-determined market value of $10.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $156.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as S3 Capital, Valley National Bank, and Popular Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 35 percent of the 49,297 square feet of built space are retail properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 28 percent of the space. The bulk, or 68 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 30 percent of the space.

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