By DAVID CRUZ

Editor’s Note: The Norwood News presents part two of a special two-part report on the nature of limited liability corporations and its relation to housing matters. 

Determining the Owner
In the time that Sadia Rahman, an attorney for the Urban Justice Center, took the case to get repairs made for 3094 Villa Ave. tenants, determining just who owned the building was indeed the toughest part. The identity was not key to taking the party to court, but a matter of answering just who would allow a building to fall into disrepair.

The building’s entanglement with Bronx Housing Court began when the four-story building went into foreclosure two years ago. The previous owner went by Blue Whale Villa LLC, with Daniel M. Shlufman serving as the managing agent/attorney, according to documents from the Department of State. No name of an actual title owner was revealed.

Under its care, the corporation allowed the building to rack up 300 open violations, 44 of which are deemed C violations, viewed by the city Housing Preservation and Development agency as the most life-threatening. The company has since dissolved, and no names of the owner were ever revealed, according to Rahman.

New York Community Bank seized the property, later giving legal authority for Blue Whale Villa LLC to sell the mortgage to Bronx Summit Funding LLC.

The mystery behind the property owner continued after Blue Whale Villa LLC, through Bronx Summit Funding LLC, recently sold the deed to Villa De Partners LLC for $1.4 million.

Rahman eventually determined the new owner of the building, though by chance. An affidavit that initially went unnoticed showed the property to be owned by Michael Aryeh, a real estate tycoon represented by Gem Stone Properties. That property management company along with Aryeh was mentioned in a previous, unrelated lawsuit.

Bronx Summit Funding LLC and Villa De Partners LLC share the same office in midtown Manhattan—619 W. 54th St., suite 10A. The office is also the same as Heritage, Convent, Reliance and Gem Stone Properties LLC, which are all linked to Aryeh, according to a review by the Norwood News.

“That’s what’s happening here, and it’s legal,” said Rahman.  “The principals of both organizations are the same people. I can be six CEOs of an organization if I want, there’s nothing to preclude one person from having a whole bunch of corporations under their names.”

A person purported to be the manager of 3094 Villa Ave. declined to speak to the Norwood News.

Piercing the Corporate Veil
Revealing the parties behind an LLC often involves “doing your homework,” as attorney David Lesch put it. A Bronx attorney practicing law for 24 years, Lesch has functioned as a receiver and has also sought the identities of shifty landlords. In all cases, the only way to reveal the names of owners is by piercing the corporate veil, a legal action. “Every time a deed is transferred or a property is transferred, you can usually do a search and find out who that is,” said Lesch. “You have to go to the proper websites.”

Most websites, however, involve paying a nominal fee, though other free sites include the city’s Department of Finance tool dubbed Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS). The action applies only when certain criteria are met. Members, for instance, would be in violation if they ignore holding meetings that should include minutes.

But regardless of procedure, Lesch sees the need for protecting the assets of landlords as a vital component to spurring real estate business. “Think about the rationale behind an LLC,” said Lesch. “You want to encourage new business. You’re not going to encourage new business if everyone’s personal assets are going to be in jeopardy.”