At the Bedford Mosholu Community Association (BMCA) meeting in October, its president, Barbara Stronczer, announced the news with some resignation: another private home came down in the neighborhood.

This time it happened at 208 E. Mosholu Pkwy. S. near East 203rd Street, an aged rooming home owned by Arian Borici up until 2017, according to building records. In a few years, an eight-story apartment building will rise, thanks to the neighborhood’s decades-old zoning laws that allow for taller buildings across the community’s intricately tight streets. The home came down the same time as 3008 Perry Ave., just a few houses down, was bulldozed. There, what was once a 3-story home will be replaced with an 8-story, 33-unit property.

To the detriment of BMCA, it’s another home that’s gone to developers, as the story of Bedford Park, built as a suburban neighborhood, goes, slipping away from the neighborhood once remembered. For Stronczer, who’s lived in the neighborhood for decades, the trend began after the 2011 rezoning. And it’s nothing she’s ever seen.

In the Bronx, traditional home ownership has always faced challenges: Incomes of residents in the borough fail to keep up with rising housing costs, while black and Hispanic families have a hard time getting low-interest loans. Now, since the 2008-2009 foreclosure crisis, a wave of buyers, from individual “house flippers” to investors and developers, are snapping up properties, reaping big profits and making the dream of homeownership simply that—a pipe dream—for more and more residents. Even middle class residents are being forced to move or rent, cut off from building long-lasting generational wealth.

Demolished Homes
Catherine Clarke of University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP), a social services nonprofit, has noticed the green fences surrounding once 1- to 4-family homes cropping up in Bedford Park and portions of Kingsbridge Heights as of late. All she has to do is walk outside her office that rests at the corner of East 196th Street and the Grand Concourse, a nexus where development has become the norm.

“Those are areas where it’s very difficult to understand data-wise, or even through official documents, what is happening,” said Clarke.

Clarke and her team took note of the high number of homes purchased that were later demolished or under construction, compiling their findings in a report dubbed, “Is the Bronx Building? Look for Yourself.” Clarke’s report—using public records—showed close to 50 projects under construction within Community Boards 7 and 12. Fourteen of the 43 properties surveyed in the report that are now being primed for residential construction within Community Board 7 were once homes, according to an analysis of the report’s figures that had used public records. Finding the actual buyers proved difficult for UNHP; others impossible for them.

Bedford Park and Kingsbridge Road have long been zoned for homes as high as 14 stories, drawing ire from residents who claim the existing resources—schools, the local 52nd Precinct, and sanitation services—cannot handle the population boom.

At East 202nd and East 203rd streets by East Mosholu Parkway, four 1- to 4-family homes were knocked down to make way for two massive buildings by the Brooklyn-based nonprofit developer CAMBA. The co-owner of the lot, Peter Fine, purchased the row of homes, partnering with CAMBA to usher in two affordable/supportive housing properties financed by city subsidies. Fine is a fixture in the world of New York real estate, owning at least 56 apartment buildings in the Bronx through his Atlantic Development Group LLC.

In recent months, Fine has expanded his footprint even more in the neighborhood by purchasing four more 1- to 4-family homes from homeowners on East 203rd Street, between East Mosholu Parkway South and Valentine Avenue, adjacent to the pending CAMBA project. Fine, through various limited-liability corporations (LLC) with mailing addresses in Brooklyn, obtained permits to demolish the homes. It’s unclear what types of properties will rise, though he has been in the business of building high-rises. A spokesman for Fine said there are no definitive plans for the properties, though an announcement will be made once it happens.

Last month, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey S. Berman, filed a lawsuit against Atlantic Development Group over claims his buildings are not in compliance with the Fair Housing Act, specifically over access into the buildings. An attorney representing Fine, told Westfair Online the case is without merit.

Whatever is built in those properties, it appears Fine will have the upper hand given the existing zoning laws that dictate what gets built in that neighborhood. Community Board 7, which serves the area, attempted to stymie that development by introducing amendments that would downzone the area. Those attempts failed, with planning officials arguing that the bulk of the neighborhood’s buildings are compliant with the zoning laws.

“They’re taking their directives from the Mayor’s Office who wants to build, build, build,” said Stronczer.

It doesn’t help that on top of the zoning laws, the area is not marked as an historic district that limits development. For its part, BMCA is looking to reverse that through its Six to Celebrate designation, where the Historic Districts Council is helping to preserve the character of the neighborhood. The group, which lobbies the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and touts its involvement in the creation of over 100 historic districts in its 49-year history, puts a spotlight each year on six neighborhoods it considers important to New York architecture, culture and history and in need of preservation. In a statement, HDC described Bedford Park as an “elegant and diverse residential community” with a “bucolic character.”

But until that happens, Bedford Park homes are ripe for being picked off. 

“There is a very wide perception, we’ve heard it said the Bronx is the next Brooklyn. So there’s a wide perception that there’s a lot of up value in the Bronx and people are testing that,” said Clarke. “Norwood and Bedford Park are great places to test the market because they’re thriving neighborhoods. You have more working class and more middle class people; you have the train, they’re pretty stable neighborhoods, the crime rate is pretty low. It’s a little secret, but they’re really desirable neighborhoods.”

Fix and Flip
Identifying buyers isn’t so easy given the rise of 1- to 4-family properties being purchased through LLCs, commonly known as shell companies. LLCs, which costs $200 in New York State to form, often make purchases on behalf of individual investors. LLCs shield the identities of buyers, making impossible to trace, while insulating them from lawsuits. Federal officials have long criticized the nature of LLCs since they pose the potential of using illegitimate funds to purchase homes, creating a mechanism to launder money.

The Center for New York City Neighborhoods (CNYCN), a nonprofit engaged in research and housing advocacy, has noted the rise of LLC-purchased homes. In the last decade, LLC-purchased homes have doubled, reaching a high in 2017 in the five boroughs when 18 percent of home purchases were done through LLCs, according to the center’s report that examined the 10-year aftermath of the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. 

“Investor purchases are now at a higher level than where they were in years leading up to the foreclosure crisis,” said Caroline Nagy, deputy director for policy and research at CNYCN. “Additionally, the increase in investors is making it much harder for average New Yorkers to be able to afford and purchase a home mostly because they’re driving the price up and also because they tend to deal in all cash. Most people need mortgages to buy homes so it’s really difficult for [individuals] to compete with LLCs or corporate investors, just because even if they can compete on price, the financing makes the investors that much more competitive.”

In Norwood, for instance, a group of investors tied to former Goldman Sachs financier George Wellde purchased 3259 Decatur Ave., a three-family home a year after the original occupants – Luz Catano and Mercedes Galdamez ­– foreclosed. The home was priced at $340,000, falling within the range of what a middle-class family in New York City could afford to buy. After the group flipped it, the property was sold to Monsur and Moynul Miah, a Queens couple who’ve rented out the property after $227,800 in renovations, according to city documents. Records show they purchased the home for $749,000 (the real estate website Zillow inexplicably shows it sold for $2.6 million), easily taking this home off the working class housing market. Monsur Miah did not return requests for comment.

Just over a half mile from Decatur Avenue, rehab work is under way at 306 E. 206th St. The home fell into a state of disrepair when its owner, Martin Brennan, occupied the home. Brennan, who died in 2018, had purchased the home in 2007 for $300,000, but later filed for bankruptcy. The home was eventually purchased for $580,403 by Raston LLC in December 2018 through a lien sale, a near 100 percent markup from what Brennan paid. Raston LLC financed its mortgage through Bayport Funding LLC, a firm specializing in “Fix and Flip” investments.

From 2017 to June 2019, there have been 39 home sales of which 13 were purchased by LLCs in Norwood, according to a Norwood News analysis using data provided by AATOM, a real estate research group. Norwood falls within the 10467 zip code. Within that zip code, but outside of Norwood, 482 homes were purchased from 2017 through June 2019 of which 143 were purchased through LLCs, according to the data.

Another report by CNYCN entitled “How Real Estate Speculators Are Targeting New York City’s Affordable Neighborhoods,” showed 17 percent of home sales in Williamsbridge/Baychester were deemed “flips” in 2017.

CNYCN reserves the term “flipping” for home buyers who buy and sell a home in less than a year. The LLC with the most purchases from 2017 to June 2019 in the Bronx, according to the AATOM data, is 1908 Hunt Avenue LLC, which executed 21 transactions of 1- to 3-family homes across the Bronx. An analysis of the data shows the LLC flipped at least 16 of the 21 homes it rapidly purchased from March 2017 to June 2019, taking homes that ran on average $359,306 from its original price and selling them at an average $619,175, nearly double the cost. Of the 16 homes, two received renovations that included the installation of solar panels. Even so, 1908 Hunt Avenue LLC pulled in a total of $3.9 million in profits within a year and a half span. Records show the representative to be Neil Smith. He did not respond to requests for comment.

Though Bedford Park and Norwood have seen a wealth of activity, the epicenter of LLC-purchased properties in the Bronx was found within Community Board 12, a district largely comprised of suburban-esque neighborhoods that’s predominantly home to black homeowners, according to CNYCN. There, 97 of 153 sales at prices affordable to a buyer at New York City’s median income in 2018 were investor buyers, translating to mean 63 percent of total home sales that would have been affordable to a family with the city’s median income went to investor buyers, according to the Center. The neighborhood also saw the most foreclosures compared to the rest of the borough in the last 10 years, with 7,000.

Much of why LLCs are the preferred method of doing business stems from its versatility for members, according to Nataly Goldstein, an attorney specializing in LLCs. “You could change the rules of the LLCs, the assets of the LLC, the proportion of profits and losses that each member gain just by drafting and re-drafting the document, which doesn’t get recorded. So there are no recording fees there. So it’s a pretty cheap and easy way to be flexible in the management of LLCs.”

As for disclosing the names behind LLCs, Goldstein notes it’s “counterproductive” to do so as it could open them up to lawsuits. “If you were to publish who the actual members are, then you’re exposing exactly to the liability that you’re trying to protect yourself from,” said Goldstein.

Speculators Amok
Much of why Williamsbridge has been swept up by investor buyers could be from its swell of homes available in the neighborhood.

And many of the transactions don’t happen through traditional home buying involving other homebuyers, but aggressive sales pitch tactics from real estate firms.

Residents living within Williamsbridge confirmed it, pointing to the barrage of mailers from realtors they receive and routinely throw out. One resident who went by Yvonne G., said realtors usually “leave cards. They leave stuff at the door. They call on the phone.” “They’re not really interested in living in the home,” said Yvonne of the realtors, pointing to the lack of care renters have put on homes in her neighborhood. “People who don’t own homes, they don’t take care of the homes.”

A few houses down, Douglas B., another homeowner, has taken note over the litany of solicitations he’s spotted. The pattern is troubling for Douglas, who believes the conversion of owner-occupied homes to rentals leads to less neighborhood vigilance. “A lot of private residences … got people living there that don’t care. When you could see somebody walk down the street and just throw garbage because they don’t have to ever sweep up in front of their house, that tears down a community,” said Douglas. “It’s all about the money.”

Back in Bedford Park, Elizabeth Quaranta, a homeowner living within moderate income means, stands among those who won’t sell, warding off continued pitches from developers who’ve encouraged her to “name her price.”

“I do get text messages about selling the property. And I also get people out on the porch; they come through the gate and they ask me if I’m willing to sell the house,” said Quaranta, who lives next door to a property purchased by a group of investors who’ve attempted to convince her to sell as they oversaw renovations.

In some cases, men have arrived unannounced during the early afternoons, not to pitch but to snap photos. “They’ll take a picture, or they’ll take out a little notepad and they’ll write things down, and then they’ll walk away. I guess that’s their way of scouting out the neighborhood?” said Quaranta.

Rafaela Santos, another Bedford Park homeowner, gets solicitations too. She doesn’t bother saving any of them as many simply keep forwarding her letters that appear to be handwritten, only to find them pro-forma. In some cases, she’s received fliers reading “we also have investors who are willing to purchase properties.”

“More often than not I just throw them out because they become quite a [lot],” said Santos, saying that she’s been solicited in person by a woman purporting to be a new resident. “She seemed quite persistent in asking a lot of questions about the neighborhood, so I started wondering if it was true—if she actually moved in the neighborhood.”

That solicitation came from Lucy Alvarez. In a telephone interview with the Norwood News, Alvarez defended the practice. “I receive over here a thousand of [those letters]. If it doesn’t apply to me I just throw away,” said Alvarez. “That’s the way people do business. We ask, ask, ask, and sometimes they say yes. If it’s not, then throw away. There is no problem for that.”

Her next-door neighbor, Marilyn Villamar, a 50-year resident of Bedford Park, gets business cards and newsletters. “You’re constantly inundated with junk like that,” said Villamar. “Sometimes you get these phone calls. [I’m] saying, ‘How did you get this number?’”

Santos and Villamar plan to stay in their home. Santos expressed concerns that more and more properties are simply being bought out, including 3008 Perry Ave., which she characterized as “sad.” Villamar concluded simply that “money talks.”

Soliciting, it seems, is common practice that could easily yield major returns.

“It sounds like a lot of work to target people one on one, but just think of the profit,” said Nagy. “Sometimes these people, by getting people who aren’t selling their homes on the market they can get a home for several hundred thousand dollars below the market, and then when they flip it that’s all profit. So, all you have to do is get one or two people and you’re making hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

In many instances, representatives of LLCs—relying on a list of homeowners on a tax liens list compiled by the city (as of September this year the Bronx ranks third in the number of 1- to 4-family homes with a tax lien)—spend the day canvassing neighborhoods, scouting for desperate homeowners willing to sell, or simply bombard them with mailers.

Quaranta’s also received an email from another would-be buyer, Tali Isufi of Propco Holdings, offering to buy her home. “Propco Holdings already owns over $100 million worth of properties in Bronx and we’re interest[ed] in buying new properties,” wrote Isufi in an August email to Quaranta. “Please let us know if you are interested in selling and we’ll send you an offer right away. Additionally, if you have other properties in Bronx that are for sale, we might be interested in them as well.”

This prompted Quaranta to respond with a lengthy explanation on why she won’t sell. “[He] actually responded within seconds, and he wrote, ‘Interesting response,’” said Quaranta.

Propco Holdings is based in Queens, though its footprint is large. On its website, it promotes investors to pump investments into Opportunity Zones, defined as low-income communities in need of investments through Opportunity Funds that offer tax incentives to long-term investors.   

“It is hoped that this program will lead to neighborhood and business district revitalization as well as encourage entrepreneurship in the Opportunity Zones. Examples: Gentrification of distressed areas,” read the website. “New Housing developments. Expansion funding for business, New developments in underdeveloped areas, e.g. shopping centers, manufacturing plants, business offices.”

Nearly half the Bronx is carved out into opportunity zones. Isufi from Propco Holdings did not return an email or phone call seeking comment.

Quaranta’s stream of letters, emails, and text messages offering money for her home could work against speculators. New York State’s “no solicitation zone” bars speculators from flooding neighborhoods with notices.

But Quaranta’s not sure there’s enough buy-in from the community. “I think they see the dollars,” said Quaranta of her neighbors.

“It’s not illegal to get someone to commit someone to sell your home for much less than what it’s worth, but it is amoral, it’s wrong, and it’s something we really want more resources for community members to fight back against,” said Nagy. “It’s taking advantage of people’s desperation. A lot of people who are in trouble don’t know that they can get help. Help is available, that it’s free, that could actually keep them in their home.”

State Senator Jamaal Bailey—whose district covers Norwood, Bedford Park, and Williamsbridge—agrees that homeowners at the end of their rope are fueling these investments.

“The prices of the house is an upward trajectory. The 1- and 2-family homes are priced way higher than they should be in this neck of the woods and that’s because you have these speculators that are trying to offer all cash deals for these buyers,” said Bailey. “When somebody comes in front of you, and waves X amount of dollars in front of you and you’re still under water from the foreclosure, your concern, rightfully so, [is] about making sure your family’s okay and taken care of.”

Finding Solutions
Sustaining the owner-occupied housing market is possible, and has been done in the last few decades, according to Clarke of UNHP. She points to owner-occupied homes built within Community Board 6, a district that falls southeast of Bedford Park and Norwood. There, community-based planning—a term commonly used by the city Department of City Planning that envisions the future of neighborhoods through collaboration with existing residents–made that a possibility, thanks to New York City Housing Partnership. The initiative saw the nonprofit group acquire empty lots along Crotona Parkway for private contractors to build 2- to 3-family homes.

“The homes are still very well maintained, and the owner gets some rental income and they appear to be owner-occupied as well,” said Clarke, adding homeownership could thrive even more if the city placed a greater interest in subsidizing affordable homeownership. “It is a shame that we are losing homes and I do think a conversation needs to happen that [asks] what is it that we want to do?”

On the legislative front, state lawmakers have either introduced or passed bills aimed at reducing rapid home purchases by anonymous buyers. One of the new provisions makes the names of home buyers available through a request via the Freedom of Information Act.

Another tactic proposed is a Flip Tax Bill that would impose a 20 percent tax on properties sold within one year and a 15 percent tax on properties sold after one year but less than two years after the purchase. The bill was introduced in February, but tabled in committee to the relief of groups such as the Landlords New York group that suspected the bill would be “forgotten” about and “fade into obscurity.” A representative for the group did not return an email seeking comment.

Bailey said he’s supportive of the Flip Tax bill proposed by Brooklyn state Sen. Julia Salazar, suspecting the wave of home flipping will cause another “unnatural” housing bubble that’s “going to pop back on us.”

Quaranta, meantime, will continue to ward off any more solicitations, unlike her neighbors who’ve succumbed to offers. Quaranta—despite being offered $1.5 million for her home—intends to stay.

“They’re removing the option of people who want to buy homes,” said Quaranta of speculative buyers. “It would be a great option to own a home and take in the fact that there is this community and neighborhood where you have that opportunity to own something. They’re forcing these buildings with rentals. I don’t see co-ops going up. I don’t see condos. I see rentals, rentals, rentals. They’re changing the geographic footprint here. And they’re doing it without the rest of the community agreeing with it. It’s almost like they took over.”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.