Reader report: Large portfolio of East Village buildings ready to change hands

[233-235 E. 5th St.]

We've heard from several residents in recent weeks about the impending sale of several buildings on East Fifth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

Here's part of an email from one of the residents:

My building, like four others on the block (223, 229, 231, 233 and 235), is owned by Morton Tabak and Co. LLC. When I originally rented the apartment, I rented it from Morton Tabak himself, who was a very nice man and a decent landlord. Several years ago, his family took over the management of the building, at which point they switched the ownership to the LLC. They're not as nice as Mr. Tabak was, but there have been no major problems dealing with them.

Twice now in the past few weeks there have been notices posted near our mailboxes mentioning the "sale" of the Tabak buildings on Fifth Street and inviting tenants to meetings about it.

Now a tipster tells us that the East Fifth Street buildings are part of a larger portfolio that's changing hands.

Here's some preliminary information from the tipster:

The Tabak family is currently in the process of selling 17 of their buildings — most of them in the East Village. The buyer is Brook Hill Properties/Goldmark Property Management. As of now we are not aware of any official closings.

However, some tenants have already been contacted by Brook Hill Properties introducing themselves as the new landlord. They are measuring apartments and taking photos of people’s spaces. In addition, an official letter was emailed to some tenants announcing the transfer of "management and ownership" to Brook Hill Properties.

At the same time many tenants are being told that this is only a transition in management. The whole process has been opaque and extremely disorganized.

Goldmark Property Management made headlines in the spring when residents at 444 E. 13th St. claimed that the company "has waged a campaign of harassment aimed at driving them out of their rent-regulated apartments," according to published reports. A staff attorney at the Urban Justice Center, who is representing the East 13th Street tenants, told reporters that "there are tape recorded conversations where the landlord is threatening to drop dynamite on the building and then let everyone 'figure it out themselves.'"

Have more information on what's going on with the Tabak-owned buildings? Please hit us up via email.