Tenants claim Colonial Management hindered bid to organize

Building owners reportedly have not made payment on $122M mortgage since May 2012

From left: 711 Fairmount Place and 2401 Davidson Avenue
From left: 711 Fairmount Place and 2401 Davidson Avenue

Tenants in six properties that are part of a 42-building real estate portfolio on the brink of foreclosure are preparing to file suit against management in Bronx Supreme Court.

Tenants of 711 Fairmount Place, 511 Sheridan Avenue and 2401 Davidson Avenue, among others, allege that problems in the building range from a nearly-bursting pipe to a blocked, broken-down elevator. The tenants also claim Colonial Management thwarted their attempts to organize.

Lawyers currently have signed affidavits from tenants in six such properties outlining their attempts to organize and management’s alleged reciprocal efforts to break them up. Managers, in turn, have circulated a petition asking residents to affirm their opposition to a tenant organization.

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“We don’t want the tenants to show up at these meetings,” the manager of one building, who asked to remain anonymous, told New York World. “We’re doing our work. There is nothing going on.”

The portfolio is owned by Normandy Real Estate, Vantage Properties, Westbrook Partners and David Kramer, who owns Colonial Management, the article states. The group has not made any payments on a $133 million mortgage since May 2012, according to New York World. They have until April 2 to find a lender to refinance, or foreclosure proceedings will resume. [The New York World]Julie Strickland