Do parcels rezoned last year on Atlantic Avenue for 17 stories now have just one developer? Pariente seemingly takes control of second site.

It looks like one developer, not two, will be developing two 17-story buildings on parcels that got spot rezonings last year.

In April 2022, Council Member Crystal Hudson approved the spot rezonings of two parcels along Atlantic Avenue in Prospect Heights/Crown Heights, allowing 17-story buildings as long as the developers agreed to include more and deeper affordability than in previous rezonings: 35% below-market housing at a blended average of 54% of Area Median Income, or AMI. (Deal documents took seven months to surface.)

The 870-888 Atlantic Ave. site. Nov. 2022

At that time, the developer of 1034-1042 Atlantic Avenue was Elie Pariente of EMP Capital, and the developer of 870-888 Atlantic Avenue was Yoel Teitelbaum of Y&T Development. 

Pariente bought the land in March 2022, though details of his transaction--which would've revealed his relatively low cost basis--didn't surface until after Hudson's announcement. 

Teitelbaum didn't own the land. He told Hudson during a 3/8/22 hearing that he had an agreement to purchase the property by 1/7/23, indicating it was a hard deadline. No sale document has surfaced in the city's database. 

The owner of the land, according to a 4/28/22 Restrictive Declaration enshrining the promises Hudson announced, was Odyssey Realty, while Teitelbaum was a Contract Vendee, meaning he had the obligations of ownership because he'd agreed to buy the property.

The 1034-1042 Atlantic Ave. site, Sept. 28, 2023

According to a 6/22/22 document filed with the Department of Buildings (DOB), Teitelbaum was listed as the owner.

A year later, however, a 6/13/23 document filed with the DOB shows Pariente as the owner.

Work down the block

Now, Pariente has a track record, having built the Pacific Grand development and having started work on the 1034-1042 Atlantic project. 

And there's time pressure to get these built by June 2026, to take advantage of the grandfathered-in 421-a tax break. (Both properties had foundation work started by the 6/15/22 deadline.)

What happened?

A rendering of 1034-1042 Atlantic Ave.

Did Pariente buy Teitelbaum out? (Did Teitelbaum ever buy the property?) 

Was Teitelbaum a serious buyer in the first place?

Is there some other ownership arrangement hidden in an LLC?

It's a mystery, since neither responded to queries. But no sale, to either Teitelbaum or Pariente, has surfaced in city records. 

Presumably more information will surface if and when construction work proceeds.