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On its way to picking up 800 buildings in the Bronx, the Ocelot Capital Group buys six buildings: one in Highbridge, two in Morris Heights, and three in Soundview for $16.6 million dollars. Included in the deal is a $13.5 million dollar mortgage from the Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn.
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Ocelot, facing a financial shortfall when their Israeli investors cut and run, stops performing routine maintenence on their buildings. In June 2008, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) ordered Ocelot to repair over 3,000 violations and pay $60,000 in fines.
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BXP 1 LLC led by Queens realtor Sam Suzuki purchases the six foreclosed buildings from Ocelot capital for $13.5 million. Suzuki intends to purchase 14 other Ocelot buildings at a later date.
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While the Suzuki buildings languish, Omni New York, LLC, a housing development company led by former New York Met Mo Vaughn, purchases the debt on 14 other Ocelot buildings. Omni pledges to make $1 million in emergency repairs in the buildings.
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1636 and 1640 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd are listed among the city's most distressed buildings by HPD. The six buildings have over 2,000 open violations.
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Bronx Housing Judge Jerald Klein orders Suzuki to jail after he fails to make court-mandated repairs to 1585 E 172nd Street. Suzuki spends 24 days in jail.
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Read the story in Crain'sA month after Suzuki is sentenced to prison, the Manhattan-based Bluestone Group purchases the debt on the buildings for $10 million– a $3.5 million dollar discount. Bluestone promises to make extensive repairs to the buildings.
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After his release from prison, Sam Suzuki is relieved of his responsiblity for 1585 E 172 Street by a Bronx Court.
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A year after Bluestone takes control of the buildings, they are sold to Bronx-based Gazivoda Realty for $21.4 million. Gazivoda, an Albanian realtor, owns over 30 other buildings in the Bronx.
