AG Approves $5.9 Million Sale of Contested Dangler Mansion Site in Bed Stuy

In a new turn for the much-disputed property at 441 Willoughby Avenue in Bed Stuy, the New York State attorney general has approved its sale 16 months after blocking its purchase by another developer in court.

The approval notice from February 10 shows 441 Garden LLC with developer Mendel Fleischman as principal will pay $5.9 million for the lot on the corner of Willoughby and Nostrand avenues, formerly home to the more than 120-year-old Jacob Dangler Mansion.

The news comes after the attorney general’s office blocked the sale of the site in September 2024 to developer Tomer Erlich, who controversially demolished the historic French Gothic Revival structure in 2022 while it was in the Landmarks review process.

In his decision, Judge Aaron Maslow said he had serious concerns about the deal, including that the $4.3 million price offered was too low, the failure of the nonprofit owner United Grand Chapter Order of the Eastern Star to manage its assets, and that a so-called member had “absconded with a portion of them,” among other things. The AG’s office had argued that the $4.3 million offered, minus $2.098 million in mortgage debt and hundreds of thousands less for other alleged debts, was far less than what the property was worth, and should be rejected.

The recent approval notice shows that of the new $5.9 million sale price, the nonprofit will pay $3,684,049.62 towards its outstanding mortgage and interest, and $76,929.82 will go to lawyer’s fees stemming from the foreclosure case and auction.

The nonprofit will also pay $354,000 in brokerage fees, $38,350 in transfer taxes, $106,695.18 in outstanding real estate taxes, and $27,866.50 in other legal and processing fees. United Grand Chapter Order of the Eastern Star will end up with $1,614,295.73 in proceeds, which will be held in an escrow account that cannot be accessed without the approval of the attorney general or the State Supreme Court. The attorney general must also approve any changes in the parties included in the agreement. The nonprofit did not respond to a request for comment.

The history of the site is one with many twists and turns. In 2021, whispers of its sale led to fears amongst locals that the more than 120-year-old Jacob Dangler Mansion would be lost. Justice for 441 Willoughby was formed, and quickly held rallies and organized to get the building landmarked.

Thanks to a communication glitch between the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Department of Buildings, demolition permits were issued during the Landmarks review process, and Erlich quickly razed the mansion.

Despite the loss, Justice for 441 Willoughby has continued to organize for local preservation, and in 2024 the group’s work paid off when the LPC voted to approve the new Willoughby-Hart Historic District.

The group has also continued to organize around the future of 441 Willoughby Avenue, working alongside GrowHouse and the BLAC Land Trust to remove the property from the tax lien sale last year and to explore whether it could become a community land trust site.

Justice for 441 Willoughby said in a statement on the approval of the sale: “It’s disheartening that after many years of advocating for the preservation, protection, and future of this site, we lost it seemingly overnight to a private developer with multiple violations to his name. All the work we did could not compete with the private market. The situation at 441 Willoughby Avenue is not an anomaly, we can name others – 375 Stuyvesant comes immediately to mind. They both are clear case studies demonstrating why a proactive, city- or state-level acquisition tool is urgently needed. But we aren’t giving up yet. The fight isn’t over, not on Willoughby Avenue and not in Bed Stuy at large.”

Member Becca Abellera said the situation was an example of how “community slips through the cracks of development” adding “community is the price we pay for a ‘build at all cost,’ capitalist model like City of Yes.”

Molly Salas, another longtime organizer with the group, said “as our neighbors are being displaced throughout Bed Stuy, 441 Willoughby is an example of why meaningful proactive measures are needed for vulnerable sites, and we need our elected officials to advocate for us and intervene alongside us.”

What is needed is a fund “that would allow a community land trust to move at the speed of the market after removing property such as this one from a tax lien sale. Because in the end, the result was still one that we did not want – the property being free for a speculative buyer to come in and capture it,” said Shanna Sabio of GrowHouse and the BLAC Land Trust.

Meanwhile, Erlich is still in court fighting the nonprofit both over the sale to 441 Garden LLC and the money he says he’s owed due to the prior sale falling through. Curiously, when the sale to a new buyer goes through, Erlich, who did not respond to a request for comment, may also receive the money owed by the nonprofit on the mortgage. In 2023, the mortgage was reassigned from Advill Capital LLC to a corporation named E&SD Management that has a Florida address linked with Erlich.

The firm 441 Garden LLC is yet to file an application for a new building permit. Fleischman, who is linked to firms Garden Group and Berkowits Realty LLC and could not be reached for comment, is tied to a number of other Brooklyn new developments and properties, including 234 Quincy Street in Bed Stuy and 202 North 4th Street in Williamsburg, city records show.

Related Stories

• Court Nixes Sale of Dangler Mansion Site, Throwing Its Future Into Question
• Bed Stuy Residents Want Brownstone Blocks Landmarked in Aftermath of Dangler Demo
• Bed Stuy’s Dangler Mansion Razed in Hours. Now a Stop Work Order Has Been Issued (Video)

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