November 18, 2009

Stimulus Funding for Flatbush Affordable Housing

Using money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Tax Credit Assistance Program, the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development earlier this week announced that ten affordable housing projects around the city would receive a total injection of more than $28 million; the ten projects would collectively add 600 units of housing. Just one of the projects is in Brooklyn, reports The Eagle. It's a 53-unit development planned for 97 Crooke Avenue in Flatbush. The $2,239,000 in government funding will go to construct 32 units of supportive housing and 21 units of affordable housing for those making 60 percent of the area median income.
B’klyn Housing Benefits From Stimulus Funding [Brooklyn Eagle] GMAP

Posted by Brownstoner at 10:14 AM | Comments (1)
Categories: Affordable Housing, Developers, Flatbush, News

September 23, 2009

Subpoena for Fraudulent Spencer St Developer

The courts issued a subpoena last week to developer Mendel Brach, whose residents won a $10.9 million judgment for his fraud and negligence at his four-building, 72-unit development on Spencer Street in Bed-Stuy. Brach had issued plans in 2002 for the buildings to be educational housing facilities, thus taking advantage of a zoning variance to build taller condominiums, The Real Deal reports. Additionally, Brach had failed to obtain a certificate of occupancy, amend his offering plan, and comply with zoning regulations. Without a certificate of occupancy, the residents who bought units at 191, 195, 197, and 201 Spencer Street cannot legally rent, sell, or refinance their homes. "We all closed in 2004 and we've all been paying our mortgages on what is a valueless property," unit owner Sara Monestime told The Real Deal. Brach, through his attorney, stated: "Recently, I consented to judgments on behalf of the attorney general and the unit owners for the buildings. I will continue to do everything in my power to help the attorney general and the unit owners bring the buildings up to the highest standards possible." Brach has said that he cannot afford the needed repairs, however, and the Department of Buildings has charged the homeowners with the responsibility of financing them. GMAP
Brach Hit with Subpoena at Spencer Street [Real Deal]

Posted by jscheff at 9:00 AM | Comments (12)
Categories: Bedford Stuyvesant, Developers

August 31, 2009

Dreamland Closed for Summer

After developer Joe Sitt locked down Dreamland amusement park on Coney Island on August 21 because of over half a million dollars in owed rent, park operator Anthony Raffaelle swore he would find legal recourse to reopen it. (Dreamland, the roller rink, is still very much open!) The Brooklyn Paper reports that Raffaelle went to the state Supreme Court on August 28, asking for a court order forcing Sitt to unlock the gates, yet the judge did not make an immediate decision and instead put off the case until Friday, September 18. This means that, in all likelihood, the park will remain shuttered for the rest of the summer.
Coney's Dreamland Will Be Closed [Brooklyn Paper]
Joe Sitt Is No Dream Operator [Brownstoner]
Will Dreamland Reopen? [Brownstoner]
Photo by

Posted by jscheff at 10:15 AM | Comments (2)
Categories: Commercial Real Estate, Coney Island Area, Developers

Bruce Ratner, Moving on Down

Bruce Ratner, the developer behind the controversial Atlantic Yards mega-project, might be on the market for a less expensive home, reports the New York Post. He has sold his current home, a 4,500-square-foot house on a seven-acre estate in Montauk, for $10 million. The Post does not cite a source, but mentions that Ratner is looking in Quogue "for something less pricey, on the ocean, and closer to the city." The Post asks whether this indicates "tough times" for the developer, but we're assuming that anyone who can sell their home for $10 million can't be all that beleaguered.
Ratner Moving West [NY Post]
Photo by Tracy Collins

Posted by jscheff at 10:00 AM | Comments (4)
Categories: Developers

August 25, 2009

Will Dreamland Reopen?

We mentioned yesterday that Joe Sitt, founder of Thor Equities, locked the gates to the amusement park Dreamland on Friday, due to rent owed him by the park's operator, Anthony Raffaelle. The move garnered the developer plenty of bad press, but, to be fair, it did turn out that Raffaelle did owe Sitt around $500,000 in rent, and Sitt's spokesman, Stefan Friedman, defended the move with the following explanation: “Dreamland has been locked out because it has not come close to meeting its financial obligations in many months. We are hopeful that Dreamland will soon pay its rent so it can quickly reopen the rides and allow Coney Islanders and visitors to continue enjoying what has been a spectacular summer so far.” The Brooklyn Paper reports that Raffaelle acknowledged that he owes Sitt the half million dollars, but called the lock-out illegal nonetheless, because Sitt locked the site without a court order. He plans to return today with a court order to reopen the site. Meanwhile, other die hard Coney Islanders (like the person behind Kinetic Carnival, which is responsible for the image above) are still calling for Sitt's head on a stick.
Coney Carney Vows to Reopen on Tuesday [Brooklyn Paper]
Joe Sitt Shuts Down His Coney Amusement Park [Brooklyn Paper]
Joe Sitt Is No Dream Operator [Brownstoner]

Posted by jscheff at 9:30 AM | Comments (5)
Categories: Coney Island Area, Developers

August 24, 2009

Joe Sitt is No Dream Operator

Joe Sitt, founder of Thor Equities (and, by extension, owner of large swaths of this city), shut down Coney Island's Dreamland on Friday due to the operator's failure to pay rent, reports The Brooklyn Paper. Last year, Joe Sitt had shut down Astroland, the amusement park in operation since 1962, only one year after purchasing the land. He opened Dreamland to succeed Astroland, but now seems to be attempting to earn a master's degree in shutting down amusement parks. Brooklyn Councilman Dominic Recchia, a former ally of Sitt, told the Daily News: "This is a heartless person who only cares about money."
Joe Sitt Shuts Down His Own Park [Brooklyn Paper]
Coney Island's Dreamland Shut Down [NY Daily News]
Thor Bringing 'Dreamland' to Coney [Brownstoner]
Photo by Anthony Catalano

Posted by jscheff at 9:00 AM | Comments (6)
Categories: Coney Island Area, Developers

August 7, 2009

Goldman Sachs Buying Up Fulton Street

In My Brooklyn Report's series on urban blight along Fulton Street, Michael Corley notices that Goldman Sachs' real estate investment arm has taken keen interest in a certain stretch of Fulton Street in Bedford Stuyvesant, buying up at least six neighboring properties in the vicinity of Marcus Garvey Boulevard, including at least one vacant lot. In his piece, he raises questions about the possible motives of Goldman Sachs, namely whether the financial behemoth plans to oust locals in favor for higher-paying suburbanite baby-boomers moving back to the city. Mr. Corley's piece is the second in a three-part series, so we are curious to see if he finds evidence of sketchy political dealings or whether this is, simply, a savvy investment maneuver by Sachs. Update: Looks like this really isn't such big news. As a commenter points out, we wrote about this a year and a half ago! See the post here. GMAP
Goldman Sachs Finds Opportunity in Bedford Stuyvesant [My Brooklyn Report]
Whose [sic] Responsible for the Urban Blight at 1576 Fulton Street [My Brooklyn Report]
Photo by Jonathan Scheff/Brownstoner

Posted by jscheff at 9:00 AM | Comments (71)
Categories: Bedford Stuyvesant, Developers

July 20, 2009

Jeff Levine: 'Cockeyed Optimist'

The Times ran an interview with Jeff Levine this weekend in which the developer of Williamsburg's Edge, a self-described "cockeyed optimist," talks about the present market's challenges. Levine says lack of financing is the biggest barrier to recovery these days but that he thinks New York, last to the downturn party, will also make one of the quickest exits. More interesting: Levine says Phase 2 of the Edge is unlikely to be on the drawing board anytime soon because of lack of financing, and sales at Phase 1 of the development—while marked by high points like the sale of a $5.25 million penthouse—are basically stalled at the 20 percent mark. Nevertheless, unlike neighboring Northside Piers, he's not dropping prices at the project: "We have not reduced prices at all. Obviously, if we have a willing partner who wants to buy a unit, we will work with them to facilitate their purchase — whether that means we help with their closing costs or help them with their parking requirements."
The 30-Minute Interview: Jeffrey E. Levine [NY Times]
Photo from The Real Deal.

Posted by Gabby at 9:30 AM | Comments (40)
Categories: Condos, Developers, Williamsburg