Questions raised about Brooklyn investor’s suicide at Essex House

Jumeirah Essex House

A Brooklyn investor who jumped to his death from his 19th-floor Jumeirah Essex House apartment earlier this month was ensnared in a slew of real estate-related disputes and had a number of questionable business partners, according to the Daily News. While the medical examiner ruled Solomon Obstfeld’s death a suicide, friends are skeptical that the extremely religious, Bobover Hasidic Jew and father of five would have — or could have — killed himself by jumping over a nine-foot wall on his terrace with no chair and no witnesses.

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Suicide is forbidden under Jewish law, and his family has told the community that Obstfeld had a heart attack. At the time of his death, Obstfeld was trying to sell the 3,300-square-foot Essex House home, a combination of three units, for $6.5 million. He was also feuding with Rabbi Yishayahu Yosef Pinto, a powerful and popular spiritual advisor within the real estate and business community, whose sweetheart lease deal for one of Obstfeld’s other, vacant Essex House units had recently soured. Meanwhile, Obstfeld recently won an ugly legal battle over Prospect Heights’ Hello Living condo project. [NYDN]