Father-son team Victor and Harry Einhorn purchased rental building 78 St. Marks Place in 2011 for $950,000, according to city records, and filed permits the following year to construct a two-story commercial building on the site. However, some sleuthing by Times reporter Michael Powell has revealed that what the Einhorns actually have planned, predictably, is a brand new condo tower. (The sleuthing consisted of Powell asking Harry Einhorn if he was going to build a "nice residential tower," to which Einhorn replied, "That's correct.") The applications, the last of which was filed in September, still list the building as a two-story commercial, with the architect listed as one Asher Hershkowitz, for whatever that's worth.
Of course, before the Einhorns can bring Park Slope its much needed condo tower, they'll have to dispose of the pesky tenants, most of whom are families that have lived in the building for decades. Last December, they were offered buyouts of $50,000 and two weeks to decide. They declined, and negotiations are ongoing. Some background on the Einhorns, via Powell:
Last year, on Christmas Eve, they served eviction papers on a day care and senior center in Williamsburg. Victor Einhorn was convicted of an $8 million fraud in 2002. The federal judge noted his "history of deceit" and "blatant" law breaking.
I asked his son about this history. His father, he replied, was his bookkeeper. "What does he have to do with my company?" he asked.
I noted Victor Einhorn introduced himself as the landlord to the tenants, and their law firm copied his father on correspondence with the state. They seem like fun guys.
· After Decades at a Walk-Up, Tenants Fear Losing a Home [NYT]
· Victor Einhorn coverage [Curbed]
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