When a judge blocked the sale of an empty lot in Bedford Stuyvesant by a nonprofit to a developer in late September, it was a call that many area residents thought was long overdue.
Some even spent their entire day attending the hearing at Kings County Supreme Court on Sept. 20, listening to the state Attorney General’s office argue against the sale of 441 Willoughby Ave., where the Jacob Dangler mansion once stood. Once all was said and done, the residents had a much clearer picture: the developer, Tomer Erlich, who tore down the mansion in 2022 to the community's dismay, seemed to be calling all the shots for the United Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, a masonic organization.
Judge Aaron Malsow, who listened to the state Attorney General’s office argue against the sale, said “there are serious concerns about this entire transaction,” which included the Order selling the lot for $4.3 million, according to Brownstoner. Maslow also mentioned the organization’s questionable management of its assets as a reason for denying the lot’s sale and called into question its failure to record proper IRS tax forms since 2014.
For Jules Bartkowski, an area resident who sat through hours of court hearings to learn what the AG’s office, the agency that needs to approve a sale of a real estate asset by a nonprofit, had to say, the details he learned felt like a bombshell.
“The most shocking thing was that [Erlich] Tomer got them [Order of the Eastern Star] to consent to this process without taking on any independent resources – counsel, appraisers, real estate brokers – anyone that was seemingly on their side,” said Bartkowski.
Bartkowski said it was upsetting to learn that the lawyer for Eastern Star was also the same lawyer who represents Erlich. In addition, the $4.3 million lot appraisal was conducted by the developer, not the masonic organization. When the AG's office sought an independent appraisal in 2023, it determined 441 Willoughby Ave. was worth about $6.2 million and found that the Order was in debt by over $2 million.
Additionally, Christopher Fenelus, a member of the organization’s parent group, The Hiram Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, admitted to acting as a broker for the sale, although he was not authorized to do so.
“It’s like a doctor telling you you need all your teeth taken out,” said Bartkowski, referring to the inadequate appraisal of the property. “That’s the moment where you know you know you’re dealing with a scammer.”
At the core of the issue is how the Eastern Star mismanaged their funds and had to rely on a developer to bail them out, residents said.
“I want to know, where did the money go?” said Michael Williams, a lifelong Willoughby Avenue resident who also attended the hearing.
Williams said he had a conversation with a member of the Order about the then-rumored sale of the property right before the pandemic in 2020.
“He said, ‘we’ll never sell this building, we’ll never sell it’ and next thing you know, I see this developer get a demolition permit form the Department of Buildings,” said Williams, who questioned how a developer was able to raze the building, despite his conversations with the member.
Williams said it was shocking to find that the AG's office had documents that proved the Order allowed Erlich to demolish the historic structure (as it was going through landmark proceedings). In this agreement, the Order would be named as the applicant for a demolition permit and the developer would absorb any incurring costs for the application.
“It’s shameful that they [Eastern Star] tried to fix their problem," by allowing a private developer to call all the shots, said Bartkowski.
Emails made to the Order of the Eastern Star were not returned, and their lawyer, Shveta Kakar, declined to comment at this time.
With the judge blocking the sale, the fate of 441 Willoughby Ave. remains in limbo.
“All of this is giving him more of a black eye than the community,” said Williams, who then proposed the idea of garnering a community effort to bid on the property. “I just don't want this developer to get it because the way he went about doing things, it was so rough.”
Developer Tomer Erlich declined to comment on the story.
