Joseph Chetrit Allegedly Defaults on Personal UES Townhouse

Joseph Chetrit is dealing with financial issues on the homefront, but perhaps not for long.

The Chetrit Group principal allegedly defaulted on a $19 million mortgage on his Upper East Side townhouse, Crain’s reported. The lender, Popular Bank, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan state Supreme Court, threatening to foreclose on the six-story brownstone.

Chetrit told the publication that the default was a mistake and that he had reached an agreement with his lender to make the loan current. A Popular spokesperson did not verify the claim.

Chetrit allegedly owes $17 million on the 30-year mortgage, plus interest and late charges, according to the suit. The developer signed for the mortgage in 2019 and lives in the home at 114-116 East 76th Street with his wife, Nancy.

Chetrit purchased the 34-foot-wide townhouse in 2007 for $8.7 million, combining two properties across from Lenox Hill Hospital, which was the seller. At times it seemed like the townhouse was being marketed — even briefly appearing in an Official listing for $60 million last spring — but Chetrit denied wanting to sell it.

Joseph and his brother, Meyer, have sold other properties on the same stretch of the neighborhood. They sold one townhouse to David Koch for $40 million in 2018 and another to a shell company for $25 million in 2020. The latter was one of the first big sales in the city following the onset of the pandemic.

Personal residences are not the only places where Chetrit is facing difficulties. Madison Realty Capital moved to foreclose on a planned two-tower, 1,300-unit development in Two Bridges after Chetrit allegedly defaulted on an $8 million loan used to finance the site’s acquisition.

Chetrit ultimately chipped in more equity to extend the loan for one year, avoiding foreclosure for the time being.

— Holden Walter-Warner