First a quick plug for everyone to come out on Sunday for the grand finale of Bronx Week, the parade on Mosholu Parkway up here in the northwest part of the borough. Last year was a blast. This year should be no different. Come celebrate the Boogie Down!
Now, to the news!
Weekend weather: Thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening, with temperatures in the low 70s. Saturday will be warm, high 70s expected, and hopefully rain-free. Sunday (parade day) looks like it could go either way. If it doesn't rain, (there's a 30 percent chance it will), then it should be a lovely, mostly sunny, day in the low 70s.
Story of the Day: Bank Criticized for Dumping Over-Leveraged Properties
Last week, just as city officials, local advocates and federal bank authorities were in talks with New York Community Bank to find suitable buyers for their long list of distressed properties, it turned out that the bank had already sold the mortgage note for one of those distressed properties, the Sholem Aleichem Houses in Van Cortlandt Village. City officials were not happy, particularly because they sold the note to Riverdale-based Chestnut Holdings. Last year, the bank, which city officials say has dumped mortgages for about three dozen distressed buildings, wanted badly to unload the 10 rapidly deteriorating Milbank buildings to Chestnut. But Chestnut ended up pulling its bid after city officials criticized it for being too high. A bid that high, they and other housing advocates said, would lead it be "over-leveraged" or worth less than they paid for it, which can lead to all sorts of problems. Sholem Aleichem, a beautiful, sprawling complex of buildings off of Sedgwick Avenue, has gone through several rough periods ever since it was founded as cooperative by Yiddish-speaking socialists in the 1920s. It currently has nearly 1,000 housing code violations and tenants there are now contemplating a rent strike.
Quick Hits:
A man was arrested yesterday for selling pipe bombs out of his Subaru in Co-op City.
An armed robbery in Morrisania was caught on videotape.
The mobile Bronx Children's Museum makes it's debut on Sunday at the Bronx Week Parade (yet another reason to come out to Mosholu Parkway).
The Bronx Zoo is facing a $4.7 million cut in Mayor Bloomberg's budget proposal.
A Fieldston mansion is selling for $3.9 million.
Producer (and Alicia Keyes' husband) Swizz Beatz raised money for the Bronx Charter School for the Arts.
Another reason to show up Sunday: Arm wrestling!
And, finally, we'll leave you with this clip of a Darth Vadar trombonist playing at the Andrew Jackson senior center on E 156th Street.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Friday, May 20
Monday, April 25, 2011
Milbank Buildings Sold to Scarsdale Landlord
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| Milbank's 10 Bronx buildings have over 4,000 housing violations among them. (File photo by J. Evelly) |
Steve Finkelstein bought the mortgage and the deeds to the properties in a $28 million deal, the article reports, promising to start serious and immediate repairs at the violation-riddled buildings, and agreeing to report to HPD within 30 days about what work he's done.
Finkelstein, who owns 31 other buildings in the Bronx, told Crain's he expects to face an "amazing amount of work," but that he's sending eight-man crews into every building to start on repairs.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, April 8
Weather: Cloudy with a high of 54, and a slight chance of rain this afternoon.
Story of the Day: Black Steps Down
As we mentioned yesterday, Cathleen Black, the former magazine executive and controversial Schools Chancellor, stepped down from the post yesterday after only three months on the job. Black was appointed by Mayor Bloomberg last fall, a move that drew criticism across the board (and from a number of Bronx electeds) because of Black's scant education experience.
Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., sent out a press release yesterday in response to Black's announcement saying he "wishes her well" and praising her replacement, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott. Here's some background on the new Chancellor.
Quick Hits:
The beloved Bronx Zoo cobra that went missing for a week last month has now officially been named. More than 60,000 people voted in the name-that-cobra contest that ended with the clever moniker "Mia." Cute.
An aide at M.S. 219 in Morrisania was arrested yesterday for allegedly showing pornographic photos on his cell phone to a 15-year-old female student.
A group of housing advocates, tenants and elected officials are calling for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to take action against New York Community Bank, which owns the mortgages on 34 dilapidated apartment buildings in the Bronx that are in foreclosure. (See more here.)
Residents in Co-op City are sounding off over a loud hissing noise made by a nearby power plant.
Two men were killed and a third was injured last night during a shootout near Devoe Park. No arrests have been made yet.
Mount Eden residents are shaken after a deadly shooting on Monday. Derick Cochran, 37, was shot and killed during a basketball game on the courts of the Highbridge Community Life Center.
A group of grandparents are holding bake sales to raise money for programs at the Grandparent Family Apartments, in Morrisania, which are being threatened by state budget cuts.
A former south Bronx homicide detective has penned a novel inspired by his experiences covering the beat.
A violent attack that took place last month at a bodega in Mott Haven was caught on surveillance tape. Police released the video this week in attempt to locate the assailant pictured. See below.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Bronx Tenants Storm Bank, Demand Building Repairs [VIDEO]
A group of Bronx tenants from a number of foreclosed, violation-riddled apartments have filed a lawsuit against the bank that owns the mortgage on their properties, hoping to hold the lender responsible for paying for repairs.
The lawsuit was filed last Thursday on behalf of tenants by Legal Services NYC-Bronx, the Urban Justice Center, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board and NY Communities for Change.
That same day, residents from the buildings and organizers rallied at a Manhattan branch of the New York Community Bank. They were turned away after asking to see the branch manager to make their case (see the video, above, for more from the scene.)
"We don't do those types of loans here," the dismayed manager said, after closing the door to her office once protesters filed inside the bank's lobby.
"You have no idea what we're going through, because you live fine," responded Gennet Riley, a tenant who lives in one of the foreclosed buildings at 735 Bryant Avenue. "We're here trying to let you understand that we care about our buildings. We just want you to acknowledge us."
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Crain's on Over-Leveraged Bronx Apartment Buildings
Last week's Crain's New York Business had a couple articles related to multifamily foreclosures. The best of these is by Daniel Massey, who covers the issue of over-leveraged Bronx apartment buildings falling into disrepair and eventually foreclosure in the article, Bronx is Burning Over Failed Deals.
He begins by focusing on Robert Fulton Terrace and Fordham Towers, where the owner, Mark Karasick, overpaid for the buildings at the height of the housing boom, immediately cut back dramatically on services and eventually still ended up in foreclosure.
"CIBC lent Mr. Karasick $36.5 million for the deal in 2007 and recently insisted the purchase price was “well justified,” even though a securities filing shows the mortgage approval was based on a monthly operating cost of ...less than half of what the former owners spent... Cuts in service—maintenance staff was slashed from nine to three—had immediately followed the sale."Massey then discusses how this type of activity is part of larger trend in the Bronx and NYC. For instance, Los Angeles-based Milbank Properties has a portfolio of 10 Bronx buildings, also bought at the peak of the market in 2007, that have gone into foreclosure.
"On its Web site, Milbank says it thought the Bronx buildings were a good investment because of the borough's potential 'to undergo significant gentrification' and the prospect of an 'improved tenant base.'"Massey cites research and reports by affordable housing nonprofits UHAB and ANHD regarding the scope of the problem. Additionally, he references a report by Deutsche Bank that the crisis may not peak until 2013 when "loans that were made during the boom in 2005, 2006 and 2007 mature and are unlikely to qualify for refinancing without substantial infusions of equity."
Based on our own ACRIS research here at University Neighborhood Housing Program, a large number of buildings that will run into problems with refinancing currently have mortgages with New York Community Bank. The same issue of Crain's has a separate article about NYCB and how it is led by New York's "most conservative banker," Joseph Ficalora. While the article, A Tank of a Bank Hits a Rough Patch, focuses on the internal financial health and stock value of the bank, much of this relates to how well NYCB's multifamily loan portfolio is performing (not as good as it's been in the past).
The article describes this type of lending as historically conservative and New York Community's "bread and butter." Yet many of these loans were made during the recent boom years of 2005-2007, and many of these loans have interest-only periods of 3 or 5 years at the outset of the mortgage. As these mortgages convert to a fully amortizing schedule (meaning the owners will have to pay principal and interest), NYCB's default rate may skyrocket if the owners can't refinance and we may see a spike in multifamily foreclosures in the Bronx.
For instance, Hudson Realty Capital's portfolio of Bronx buildings (which include Botanical Square) all have interest-only periods which end in July 2010. By the fall of next year we may know better about how "conservative" NYCB's lending has actually been by what happens at properties like these.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Private Equity “Highlights” from the Bronx
The Real Deal picked up on the Botanical Square buildings and others owned by Hudson Realty Capital and managed by Pinnacle that, as reported on the Bronx News Network and the Norwood News are for sale at a loss (or were, as the listings have been pulled from the website). The article brings up the larger question of whether the buildings are over-financed, with varying responses from tenant advocates, owners, banker and realtor as to whether the income of the buildings can support the mortgage payments.
The City Room blog also takes a look at these same buildings, focusing more on the conditions in the apartments. (Photo from the NY Times) Their piece highlights tenant advocates protesting outside a New York Community Bank branch, who they partially blame for the conditions.Finally, seven buildings owned by another private equity group that may now be defunct have gone into foreclosure. According to foreclosure data from RealQuest, Fannie Mae commenced foreclosure filings on February 27 against 7 buildings owned by Ocelot Properties. The outstanding mortgage balance appears to be about $18 million for the 205 apartments, or about $87,000 per unit. If history is any guide, the conditions for tenants at 1744 Clay Ave, 1663 Eastburn Ave, 2254 Crotona Ave, 422 E 178th Street, 1271 Morris Ave, 806 E 175th Street and 1269 Morris Ave are likely to deteriorate before they improve.
