Pre-foreclosure roundup: $11.9M in Washington Heights, $6.6M in East Flatbush

Lenders filed two pre-foreclosure actions yesterday, the larger was for an $11.9 million loan secured by the newly built 36-unit building at 531-535 West 159th Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and the smaller was for a $6.6 million loan secured by the 14-unit building at 651 Brooklyn Avenue in East Flatbush.

The larger building was divided into two commercial condominium units, with a total of 36 residential units, which has 37,651 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 75 feet and is 99 feet deep with a total lot size of 7,494 square feet. The zoning is R7-2 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential.
Case LINK

The lender is the Blackstone Group through SIG CRE 2023 Venture LLC, while the defendant is Dror Rosenfeld. The property is affiliated with Heritage Real Estate Partners. The lender filed the case in Manhattan State Supreme Court on September 18, 2024.

According to the complaint, “As of the September 16, 2024, the unpaid principal balance under the Note is $11,556,869.85. Borrower failed to timely make the monthly payments due and owing under the Note and Loan Documents and, as a result, an Event of Default (the “Payment Default”) occurred with respect to Borrower’s non-payment. An Event of Default therefore exists pursuant to Article II of the Mortgage. ”

Court records reflect the position of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete.

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on July 27, 2020.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received two DOB violations and six housing violations in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Washington Heights, The bulk, or 45 percent of the 66 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space. In sales, Washington Heights has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $381.4 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 20th highest in Manhattan. For development, Washington Heights has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 17th highest in Manhattan. It had 1.9 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 16 of the 21 commercial properties representing 367,013 square feet of the 415,445 square feet. The largest owner is Bijan Nassi, followed by Eliezer Sternhell and then George Huang. On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 29,437 square feet. It is a 36-unit, 29,437 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Heritage Real Estate Partners and filed by Jeremy Markowitz with plans filed June 15, 2015 and permitted February 12, 2016.

The owner

The owner according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is Jeremy Markowitz, head officer. The business entity is Residential Industries II LLC.

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

East Flatbush case

The second case relates to a walkup building, 651 Brooklyn Avenue, with 14 residential units in East Flatbush that has 13,820 square feet of built space and 24,410 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 38,270 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 207 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 15,749 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 $1.2 million.

The plaintiff is Series 2015-SB9 through the special servicer Greystone Servicing Company, and the defendant is Yeshaya Wasserman. The lender filed the case in Brooklyn State Supreme Court on September 18, 2024.

Case LINK

According to the complaint, “As of the date hereof, the total outstanding principal balance is $5,673,410.75, which amount does not include accrued interest, late charges, default interest, servicing fees, including but not limited to special servicing fees, loan collections costs, legal or any other costs associated with curing the Defaults… On the November 2023 Payment Date, Borrower failed to remit the required Monthly Payment under the Loan Documents and on each successive Payment Date following the November 2023 Payment Date (the “Payment Default”). Borrower has failed to remit the required Monthly Payment on each successive Payment Date following the November 2023 Payment Date. ” Greystone Servicing Company is the special servicer.

Prior sales and revenue

This property was sold with 6 other properties for $4 million on January 28, 2009.

The 13,820-square-foot property generated revenue of $236,315 or $17 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

Development

Over the past five years, there has been no NYC Department of Buildings new building, demolition, or alteration permit application valued at more than $20,000 filed for this parcel.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received 19 housing violations, $75 in OATH penalties, and one housing litigation in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In East Flatbush, The bulk, or 32 percent of the 42.6 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space. In sales, East Flatbush has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $376.2 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 19th highest in Brooklyn. For development, East Flatbush has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 12th highest in Brooklyn. It had 1.5 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the four commercial properties representing 561,747 square feet of the 589,767 square feet. The two identified owners are Moshe Zlicha and Nyc Department Of Education. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The owner according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is Aron Lasker, head officer. The business entity is Eastern Hawthorne Realty 651 Llc.

The surrounding

This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of 667 Brooklyn Avenue in the past 24 months.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page