Developer buys iconic Slave Theater site in Bed-Stuy 

Eli Hamway picks up three-parcel assemblage with 160K buildable sf 

1215 Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant
1215 Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant

Developer Eli Hamway bought Bedford-Stuyvesant’s historic Slave Theater for $18.5 million as part of an assemblage offering more than 160,000 buildable square feet.




Behind the story:

Slave Theater

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The derelict theater – which became a hotbed of civil rights activity following the high-profile, racially-fueled attacks in Howard Beach in 1987 – is part of a three-parcel assemblage that Brooklyn-based investor Yosef Ariel amassed between 2013 and 2014 for a total of $5.2 million.

Hamway, who is developing several projects in Prospect Heights and Williamsburg, paid $18.5 million for the assemblage, according to property records filed with the city Tuesday.

The sites include the theater’s home at 1215 Fulton Street, fronting the busy commercial strip — as well as two on the other side of the block at 10 and 16 Halsey Street, fronting the residential street.

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