Popular Bank files $6M pre-foreclosure at 3 Prospect Lefferts Gardens walkups

Popular Bank filed a $6 million pre-foreclosure action against the owner of three Prospect Lefferts Gardens walkups at 305 Clarkson Avenue, 309 Clarkson Avenue and 311 Clarkson Avenue. The complaint alleges the loans are in

According to the complaint, the borrower did not make the monthly payment due on December 1, 2023, or any payments after that. “On February 12, 2024, Plaintiff sent another Notice of Default to Borrower and Guarantor concerning Borrower’s failure to pay the required monthly payment due on December 1, 2023, January 1, 2024, and February 1, 2024.”

Case 514109/2024 LINK

Court filings represent the position of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete.

Yeshaya Wasserman, identified in the complaint as the guarantor, bought the three buildings in 2013 for $2.05 million in three transactions.

He then refinanced them several times, ultimately borrowing $6.05 million in 2019.

The walkup building at 305 Clarkson Avenue with 8 residential units in Prospect Lefferts Gardens has 8,280 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 37 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 3,749 square feet. The zoning is M1-1 which allows for up to 1 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $861,000.

The mixed-use building at 311  Clarkson Street with two residential units in Prospect Lefferts Gardens has 1,800 square feet of built space and 74 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 1,874 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 18 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,874 square feet. The zoning is M1-1 which allows for up to 1 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $533,000.

The mixed-use building at 313 Clarkson Street with one residential units in Prospect Lefferts Gardens has 1,800 square feet of built space and 74 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 1,874 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 18 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,874 square feet. The zoning is M1-1 which allows for up to 1 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $538,000.

The owner

The owner of 305 Clarkson Avenue according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is Ari Koth, head officer. The business entity is Western Clarkson Estates 305 Llc.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 309 Clarkson Avenue, PincusCo identified three commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those three items, one was in new building development. It was a new building permit issued on May 7, 2024 for a 219,002-square-foot residential (R-2) building with 291 residential units at 329 Clarkson Avenue. Of those three items, two were loans above $5 million totaling $254.3 million. The most recent of the two was Hudson Companies in which borrowed $72.5 million from Apollo Global Management secured by the 225,332-square-foot, 252-unit rental (D6) on 318 Clarkson Avenue on October 5, 2023.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.