From top: Blusetone principals Eli Tabak, Marc Mendelsohn and Ari Bromberg; from left: 1585 and 1589 East 172nd Street

[Updated 12:06 p.m. at Sept. 16 with buyer information] The real estate investment firm the Bluestone Group, which denied for months it would unload a six-building portfolio of once severely distressed Bronx properties, sold the package for $17.6 million, a source close to the deal said.

The sale closed yesterday as part of a bankruptcy case filed by the former ownership company BXP 1, controlled by investor Susumu Endo. The buyer was Anthony Gazivoda, owner of Gazivoda Realty, a prominent landlord in the Bronx Albanian community, an employee at Gazicvod said. Gazivoda himself was not immediately available for comment. Bluestone, led by principals Eli Tabak, Ari Bromberg and Marc Mendelsohn, purchased the defaulted notes on the six properties, with a face value of $13.15 million, for about $10 million in June 2010, according to city property records. [more]

Clockwise from top left: Bronx landlord Sam Suzuki; 621 Manida Street in the Bronx; Omni New York partners Mo Vaughn (right) and Eugene Schneur; and 1271 Morris Avenue in the Bronx

From the August issue: For the owners of distressed properties, it’s a harrowing ride to stabilization. Note sale, foreclosure, bankruptcy or recapitalization, there is no easy path from financial trouble to stable footing. And while some savvy investors have seized control of valuable New York City properties, many owners and lenders have lost billions of dollars through distressed real estate sales and restructurings since the financial crisis began. This month The Real Deal examines five deals and how they unfolded.
In the fourth distress deal from the series, Ocelot Capital Group and partner Eldan-Tech tried to unload a portfolio of Bronx rental properties, but were unable even as the housing conditions in the apartments continued to decline. Controversial manager Sam Suzuki took over, but could not close on a purchase. Ultimately baseball slugger Maurice “Mo” Vaughn’s Omni New York acquired first the mortgages and then the deeds, and now is rehabilitating the buildings (note: correction appended). Click here to read the story. [more]

Embattled landlord Sam Suzuki was released from Manhattan Detention Complex on
Friday after spending [more]

The effort to increase affordable housing in the city is remaining in high gear despite recurring budget cuts elsewhere. By the end of the year, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, led by Commissioner Rafael Cestero, is on track to complete its 100,000th unit of either rehabilitated or new public housing. The agency’s goal is 165,000 affordable apartments by 2014 and is also helping to refinance overleveraged affordable properties. The Dec. 2 sale of 14 South Bronx Buildings to Omni New York, headed by former Mets first baseman Mo Vaughn, is one example of how the city’s involvement has been met with success. Omni replaced Ocelot Capital Group, which had abandoned the buildings and defaulted on the mortgage, and the city, which had already overseen $1.3 million in repairs there, had worked with the $29 million loan holder Fannie Mae to arrange the sale. The city has allotted $750 million to similarly aid overleveraged properties in the future, which in turn will save 20,000 to 30,000 affordable units. [Crain's]