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Investor slams Cheskie Weisz in suit over Crown Heights dev site

Haim Kahan alleges CW Realty boss cheated him out of $4.5M

An investor took aim at CW Realty founder Cheskie Weisz in a lawsuit over the recent sale of a controversial development site near the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Haim Kahan filed a lawsuit against the new owners of the Spice Factory development site this week, claiming the CW Realty boss cheated Kahan out of $4.5 million, Crain’s reported. Kahan wants his money back, as well as an ownership stake in whatever development takes root at 960 Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights.

During the summer, Kahan said he invested money with Weisz to serve as a down payment on a purchase for the Spice Factory site, but the site sold last month to a different developer. Kahan alleges Weisz overinflated the value of the deal to take more cash from the investor.

CW Realty hasn’t formally responded to the lawsuit, but disputed Kahan’s allegations to Crain’s.

CW Realty moved to purchase the property, despite it being in contract with Centers Healthcare Group. But the firm alleges Kahan pulled financing for the deal at the last minute, allowing Centers Healthcare to nab the site. CW Realty told the outlet it is preparing to sue Kahan.

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A spokesperson for CW Realty pointed out that Weisz isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit, despite being featured prominently in the complaint; the defendant is 960 Franklin LLC, which appears to be the buyers in the deal.

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Last month, Isaac Hager and Daryl Hagler purchased the site, where Bruce Eichner’s Continuum Company once aspired to build a 1,500-unit residential development. They paid $43 million in an all-cash deal for the site, owned by Zev Golombeck. Eichner initially agreed to buy the site, but a zoning fight helped scuttle the deal.

In June, Golombeck filed plans for a six-story, 293-unit property, which doesn’t require a rezoning. The buyers could either go forward with those plans or conjure up a different idea; Hagler is associated with Centers Health Care, a nursing home operator.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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BrooklynCrown HeightsCW RealtyDevelopmentReal Estate Lawsuits