Riverside Developers USA downsized plans for a Bedford-Stuyvesant housing complex two years after the local community board rejected its proposal to rezone the site.
The firm is looking to build a seven-story residential property at 376-378 Flushing Avenue, according to documents filed with the Department of Buildings on Tuesday. The proposed 111,000-square-foot structure would contain 78 apartment units, with amenities such as a recreation room, a laundry room and a parking garage. The previous proposal for the site was for a 176,700-square-foot rental building.
Riverside proposed to build two new rental properties at 376-378 Flushing Avenue and 43 Franklin Avenue in 2016. That version of the plan featured 296 apartments divided between 304,000-square feet.
The site is zoned for manufacturing, and prohibits residential use. The local community board rejected the proposal with a narrow vote of 18-17.
Riverside, headed by Zelig Weiss, gained control of the site after a dispute with partner Yoel Goldman. In a lawsuit filed in 2016, Goldman claims that Weiss took the controlling stake in the property after orchestrating a “sham merger.” Goldman and Weiss were 50-50 partners of Rose Castle Redevelopment LLC, which owned the Flushing Avenue and Franklin Avenue properties. According to the lawsuit, Weiss and fellow investor Fedor Itskovitch collaborated on the sale of a “phantom/income interest” that reduced Goldman’s holdings to 40 percent.
In spite of the dispute, Weiss and Goldman continue to jointly own several properties, including the William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg.
Riverside did not immediately respond to requests for comment.