{"id":2456,"date":"2024-10-23T09:48:52","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T13:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/?p=2456"},"modified":"2024-10-23T09:48:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T13:48:52","slug":"community-outcry-follows-court-decision-against-developers-acquisition-of-historic-bedford-stuyvesant-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/community-outcry-follows-court-decision-against-developers-acquisition-of-historic-bedford-stuyvesant-property\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Outcry Follows Court Decision Against Developer’s Acquisition of Historic Bedford-Stuyvesant Property"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Asar John<\/a><\/p>\n

When a judge blocked the sale of an empty lot in Bedford Stuyvesant by a nonprofit to a developer in late September, it was a call that many area residents thought was long overdue.<\/p>\n

Some even spent their entire day attending the hearing at Kings County Supreme Court on Sept. 20, listening to the state Attorney General\u2019s office argue against the sale of 441 Willoughby Ave., where the\u00a0Jacob Dangler mansion<\/a>\u00a0once stood. Once all was said and done, the residents\u00a0had a much clearer picture: the developer, Tomer Erlich, who\u00a0tore down<\/a>\u00a0the mansion in 2022 to the community’s dismay, seemed to be calling all the shots for the\u00a0United Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star,<\/a>\u00a0a masonic organization.<\/p>\n

Judge Aaron Malsow, who listened to the state Attorney General\u2019s office argue against the sale, said \u201cthere are serious concerns about this entire transaction,\u201d which included the Order selling the lot for $4.3 million, according to\u00a0Brownstoner<\/a>. Maslow also mentioned the organization\u2019s questionable management of its assets as a reason for denying the lot\u2019s sale and called into question its failure to record proper IRS tax forms since 2014.<\/p>\n

For Jules Bartkowski, an area resident who sat through hours of court hearings to learn what the AG\u2019s office, the agency that needs to approve a sale of a real estate asset by a nonprofit, had to say, the details he learned felt like a bombshell.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most shocking thing was that [Erlich] Tomer got them [Order of the Eastern Star] to consent to this process without taking on any independent resources \u2013 counsel, appraisers, real estate brokers \u2013 anyone that was seemingly on their side,\u201d said Bartkowski.<\/p>\n

Bartkowski said it was upsetting to learn that the lawyer for\u00a0Eastern Star was also the same lawyer who represents Erlich. In addition, the $4.3 million lot appraisal was conducted by the developer, not the\u00a0masonic organization. When the AG’s office\u00a0sought an independent appraisal in 2023, it\u00a0determined 441 Willoughby Ave. was worth about $6.2 million and found that the Order was in debt by over $2 million.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Christopher Fenelus, a member of the organization\u2019s parent group, The Hiram Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, admitted to acting as a broker for the sale, although he was not authorized to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a doctor telling you you need all your teeth taken out,\u201d said Bartkowski, referring to the inadequate appraisal of the property. \u201cThat\u2019s the moment where you know you know you\u2019re dealing with a scammer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"img_4210\"
Michael Williams in front of his Willoughby Avenue home. Photo: Charles Hill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the core of the issue is how the Eastern Star mismanaged their funds and had to rely on a developer to bail them out, residents said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to know, where did the money go?\u201d said Michael Williams, a lifelong Willoughby Avenue resident who also attended the hearing.<\/p>\n

Williams said he had a conversation with a member of the Order about the then-rumored sale of the property right before the pandemic in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018we\u2019ll never sell this building, we\u2019ll never sell it\u2019 and next thing you know, I see this developer get a demolition permit form the Department of Buildings,\u201d said Williams, who questioned how a developer was able to raze the building, despite his conversations with the member.<\/p>\n

Williams said it was shocking to find that the AG’s office had documents that proved the Order allowed Erlich to demolish the historic structure (as it was going through landmark proceedings). In this agreement, the Order would be named as the applicant for a demolition permit and the developer would absorb any incurring costs for the\u00a0application.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s shameful that they [Eastern Star] tried to fix their problem,” by allowing a private developer to call\u00a0all the shots,\u00a0said Bartkowski.<\/p>\n

Emails made to the Order of the Eastern Star were not returned, and their lawyer, Shveta Kakar, declined to comment at this time.<\/p>\n

With the judge blocking the sale, the fate of 441 Willoughby Ave. remains in limbo.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this is giving him more of a black eye than the community,\u201d said Williams, who then proposed the idea of garnering a community effort to bid on the property. \u201cI just don’t want this developer to get it because the way he went about doing things, it was so rough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Developer Tomer Erlich declined to comment on the story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Asar John When a judge blocked the sale of an empty lot in Bedford Stuyvesant by a nonprofit to a developer in late September, it was a call that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5888,"featured_media":2457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brooklyn","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCommunity Outcry Follows Court Decision Against Developer's Acquisition of Historic Bedford-Stuyvesant Property - NYC Political News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/community-outcry-follows-court-decision-against-developers-acquisition-of-historic-bedford-stuyvesant-property\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Community Outcry Follows Court Decision Against Developer's Acquisition of Historic Bedford-Stuyvesant Property\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Asar John When a judge blocked the sale of an empty lot in Bedford Stuyvesant by a nonprofit to a developer in late September, it was a call that […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/community-outcry-follows-court-decision-against-developers-acquisition-of-historic-bedford-stuyvesant-property\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NYC Political News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-23T13:48:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/10\/2021_12_image_67235329-768x1024-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"NYC Politics Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"NYC Politics Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/community-outcry-follows-court-decision-against-developers-acquisition-of-historic-bedford-stuyvesant-property\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/community-outcry-follows-court-decision-against-developers-acquisition-of-historic-bedford-stuyvesant-property\/\",\"name\":\"Community Outcry Follows Court Decision Against Developer's Acquisition of Historic Bedford-Stuyvesant Property - 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