Here’s a little mystery that I’ve uncovered but have yet to solve. Maybe you can shed some light on it.
The Real Deal reported in February 2025 that 312 East 106th Street in East Harlem sold for just $285,110, a 97 percent discount from its 2016 sale.
It seemed like an example of a rent-stabilized building being eviscerated by the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. It had an air of plausibility because the previous buyer had been Isaac Kassirer’s train wreck known as Emerald Equity Group.
But a 97 percent discount? That seemed too extreme to be true, and it was.
Kassirer had bought properties at prices that could only be justified by future rent increases that later became impossible under the 2019 law.
The 29-unit walk-up at 312 East 106th, which includes an 830-square-foot commercial unit, was part of his mammoth deal for the Dawnay Day portfolio. Emerald Equity paid $357.5 million for the 47-building portfolio — a hefty $311,00 per unit.
The February 2025 price reported by TRD, however, was an unrealistically low $10,000 per unit. Records show mezzanine lender Mack Real Estate forced the sale, and the buyer was Great Neck-based Klosed Properties, run by Steven Kashanian.
In March 2025, the building was sold again — this time for $1.636 million, or $56,000 per unit. Then it sold in January 2026 for $3 million, about $103,000 per unit.
That’s three radically different prices in two years. It’s a safe bet that no one sunk major money into a renovation, because the HSTPA prevents such upgrades to maintain affordability.
The seller in the $1.636M deal was an LLC based at 9 Park Place, third floor, in Great Neck — the same address as Blue Sky Management NY. The buyer was an LLC at 1385 Broadway, Floor 22 — the same address as KSR New York, or Kassin Sabbagh Realty, a commercial real estate firm.
I reached Abraham Kassin by phone, but he said he didn’t have any information on the deals. When I noted that KSR bought and sold the property and that Andrew Kassin signed for the purchase, Abraham declined to comment.
The buyer at $3 million was an LLC at 199 Lee Ave, Brooklyn, a legendary address in Hasidic real estate circles. The LLC’s managing member is Naftaly Lipschutz.
Property records show a January 2026 mortgage for $2 million from C’esta Capital Group and a $3 million mortgage the next month from the same lender.
I have no reason to believe anything untoward went on here. I’m just trying to understand why property records show three closely-spaced sales of the same building for such different prices, and what it says about rent-stabilized sales.
What we’re thinking about: Effective July 1, all requests for dismissals of HPD violations will be processed by a centralized unit at 345 Adams Street in Brooklyn. Will this result in better efficiency? Send your thoughts to eengquist@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Former deputy mayor Alicia Glen’s real estate firm is not the only one in New York City called MSquared. Moshe M. Katz’s LinkedIn profile identifies him as the founder of MSquared Real Estate Corporation. Katz has no apparent connection to Glen’s MSquared Associates Inc., whose website lists only one man (Ian Lundy) among 15 team members.
Elsewhere…
I’m passing the baton for Daily Dirt next week to my colleagues Lilah Burke and Ben Miller, but you can still catch my Reality Check columns three times a week. To get either one in your inbox, click here and scroll down to the Subscriber Exclusive section.
Closing time
Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Thursday was $6.7 million for a 2,371-square-foot condominium unit at 212 West 72nd Street on the Upper West Side. Ammanda Espinal and Maya Kadouri with Douglas Elliman had the listing.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $265.3 million for One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 885 Second Avenue in Kips Bay. Rockpoint sold the 805,467-square-foot, 48-story office building to First Point Partners. Rockpoint had paid $565.8 million in 2019.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $19 million for a 6,600-square-foot co-op at 1 Sutton Place South. Serena Boardman of Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a 16,976-square-foot, nine-story residential project at 1495 Boston Road in Crotona Park East. Nikolai Katz filed the permit on behalf of developer Luce Popaj.
— Matthew Elo
