Judge says Haysha Deitsch can’t pay seniors with deposit from Sugar Hill

A Brooklyn judge stopped developer Haysha Deitsch from paying the remaining residents of his assisted living facility with a down payment from the company trying to buy the building.

Supreme Court Justice Wayne Saitta on Thursday barred Haysha Deitsch, owner of 1 Prospect Park West, from tapping into a $7 million down payment provided by Sugar Hill Capital Partners, the New York Daily News reported. Deitsch wanted to use the money in order to pay elderly residents to move out. Earlier this year, he agreed to pay five elderly women $3.35 million so that the building could be converted into condos.

Sugar Hill entered into contract to buy the facility in 2014 for $76.5 million. Deitsch moved to evict 100 seniors from the building, and allegedly employed tactics like turning off the facility’s air conditioning and serving rotten food to force the tenants out. After a lengthy court battle, a judge ordered Deitsch to pay the five remaining tenants $3.35 million to leave, but he defaulted on the final payment last month.

Attorneys for Sugar Hill filed a motion to prevent Deitsch from using the company’s down payment — which has been held in escrow since 2014 — to pay the residents. A spokesperson for Sugar Hill told the newspaper that Deitsch is not cooperating, threatening bankruptcy and trying to keep the down payment “for his own benefit.” [NYDN] — Kathryn Brenzel