Tag Archives: New York real estate

Change.org Petition Launched for Harlem Grandmother, Sherri Culpepper, in 12 Year Battle with NYC Over Squatters

HARLEM, N.Y. /ScoopCloud/ -- A fourth generation Harlemite, Sherri Culpepper took over her family's brownstones in 2012 and has been in a twelve-year wrangle with varying New York City agencies to maintain ownership of her two properties. In the process, numerous freeloading individuals are now "legally" housed in one of her brownstones and have been residing there for twelve years without paying rent and utilities or upkeeping any maintenance! Culpepper, has filed a formal legal complaint (Supreme Court Index #159115 /2022) against numerous New York city agencies, including The City of New York, the New York City Department of Finance, the New York City Department of Buildings, and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

She is in an ongoing battle against the squatters and the city, fighting to harness support for her plight as well as other homeowners in a similar dilemma. Her daughter, Bria, has started a Change.org petition (https://shorturl.at/myzL3) to support her mom.

Sherri Culpepper is a hard-working grandmother who has enjoyed an illustrious and multi-faceted career. The veteran urban radio producer has never said no to a challenge. She even changed careers after the age of 50, becoming an operating engineer, mastering a large variety of construction equipment, including cranes, bulldozers, and front-end loaders before joining the International Union of Operating Engineers - Local 15, not a small feat as a Black woman. However, the predicament she now finds herself in while trying to preserve her family legacy and save her home is a situation she never saw coming.

Culpepper's building has been systematically entangled in a web of condemning bureaucracy. First, her single-family home was erroneously designated as a Single Room Occupancy (SRO). SROs are a form of housing that is typically designed for persons with low or minimal incomes who rent small, furnished single rooms with a bed, chair and sometimes a small desk. Second, her biggest blow came in 2014 when the brownstone was unceremoniously "selected" by the Housing Preservation and Development's (HPD) Alternate Enforcement Program, better known as the "slumlord" program, and served with 52 violations and fines. Forty-nine of them had been corrected decades before, but never administratively removed from the record books, in turn creating additional ongoing issues and setbacks for her. Both the SRO and HPD codes have allowed the freeloaders "legal," no-rent housing.

As one of a diminishing number of original Harlem brownstone homeowners, Culpepper alleges these efforts were enacted to force her to sell her historical property in a massive gentrification effort seen throughout many urban cities. In addition to the SRO designation and HPD's tactics, Culpepper has been continuously served an onslaught of ongoing violations and fines over the years.

"Brownstones hold generational history and wealth here in New York, yet, per gentrification, so many of the original owners have been displaced by the city and corporate contractors coming to takeover. I have refused to sell and so here we are, over a decade later and I find myself with more than seven tax liens, numerous retained and since fired attorneys, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, erroneous violations, legal fees, and interest. And on top of that, I am still taking care of numerous people living free in my home because the city has sanctioned it. I believe my so-called 'tenants' are being supported and encouraged to create violations, damage, and vandalize my property!" cites Culpepper. "It's disappointing that in 2024, redlining and systemic racism continue to hold and prevent certain communities from what's just and fair."

When Culpepper took ownership of the home in 2012, she also inherited a house full of cousins who had been living rent free because of family ties. The cousins started renting out spaces in the home to total strangers. Along with contending with the cousins and new tenants, Culpepper, a grandmother, and mother of three, found herself in ongoing legal entanglements with the city. Her home was identified as one of the most distressed in the community district, despite not fitting the criteria required of the program. In fact, she attests that she has been overly attentive with the upkeep of the property because of the skills garnered from her professional construction background.

Culpepper's great grandparents moved into the brownstone in 1929, with a family of nine people at the time, including her great grandfather's church occupying the parlor floor. The brownstone holds deep, cultural, and familial ties as her great grandfather was also the accountant for freedom fighter, Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey in the early 1930's! In addition, her great uncle was one of the Port Chicago 50, a group wrongly accused of mutiny by the U.S. Navy in 1944 and represented by NAACP's attorney, the Honorable Thurgood Marshall. Until 1974, for 42 years, the family rented the property before the owner finally sold the real estate to her great grandmother and four of her children. For the last 88 years, the only people living in the building were immediate family members and an occasional close family friend passing through.

Culpepper's ultimate dream after securing and maintaining ownership of her brownstones is to use her family's property to continue their legacy of community activism. She hopes to revision her brownstone as an inner city, sustainable, eco-friendly workspace and teach children in the neighborhood about organic gardening, water harvesting, creating green roofs, and utilizing recycled building materials for new constructions.

To contact Sherri Culpepper and support her effort to save her Harlem brownstones, sign the petition at Change.org ( https://shorturl.at/myzL3 ). She can also be reached at sherriculpepper@gmail.com.

MEDIA ONLY CONTACT:
Makeda Smith
Jazzmyne Public Relations
EMAIL: makeda@jazzmynepr.com
PHONE: 323-380-8819

A fourth generation Harlemite, Sherri Culpepper took over her family's brownstones in 2012 and has been in a twelve-year wrangle with varying New York City agencies to maintain ownership of her two properties. In the process, numerous freeloading individuals are now "legally" housed in one of her brownstones and have been residing there for twelve years without paying rent and utilities or upkeeping any maintenance! Culpepper, has filed a formal legal complaint (Supreme Court Index #159115 /2022) against numerous New York city agencies.

OneKey® MLS introduces resource to help New Yorkers find homebuyer assistance programs

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. /ScoopCloud/ -- OneKey® MLS, the largest multiple listing service (MLS) in New York, has enhanced its consumer-facing listing site to help New Yorkers find homebuyer assistance programs they may be eligible for, such as down payment and closing cost assistance. This functionality is made possible through a partnership with Down Payment Resource, a technology company helping the housing industry connect homebuyers with homebuyer affordability programs.

* Enhancement to OneKey® MLS' listing website enables homebuyers to explore down payment assistance and affordable home financing programs through partnership with Down Payment Resource

* 68.3% of the residential housing inventory across OneKey® MLS' nine-county coverage area is eligible for at least one homebuyer assistance program with an average benefit of $28,500

Now, each listing on www.onekeymls.com that is eligible for homebuyer assistance contains a link in the details page to "Find Down Payment Assistance." When users input basic eligibility information, such as income, household size and other program qualification criteria, they are emailed a list of programs and the amount of assistance for which they may qualify.

OneKey® MLS serves nine counties encompassing New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley. An analysis of the MLS's coverage area shows that 68.3% of its residential listing inventory is eligible for at least one of 51 homebuyer assistance programs, including 39 down payment assistance programs, 11 affordable first mortgage programs and 1 housing choice voucher program. Program benefits range from $2,000 to $100,000 and can be used by homebuyers that earn as much as $162,000 per year to purchase homes priced up to $970,000. The average maximum program benefit is roughly $28,500.

"Consumer demand for affordable pathways to homeownership has never been stronger, yet many New Yorkers do not know that there are dozens of programs designed to give them the extra help they need to start building generational wealth through homeownership," said OneKey MLS CEO Richard Haggerty. "OneKey® MLS partnered with Down Payment Resource to empower consumers with the tools that broaden their homebuying choices."

"Homebuyer assistance programs are important tools for helping people attain homeownership, especially in New York, where the housing affordability index hit a 10-year low last month," said DPR Founder and CEO Rob Chrane. "Now, New Yorkers can look to OneKey® MLS and its REALTOR® subscribers for homebuyer assistance program education that may make the difference between renting and homeownership."

About Down Payment Resource:

Down Payment Resource (DPR) is an award-winning technology provider helping the housing industry connect homebuyers with the homebuyer assistance they need. With tool sets tailored for real estate agents, multiple listing services and mortgage lenders, DPR's technology empowers housing professionals to make affordable home financing opportunities more accessible while growing business and forging referral partnerships. The only organization to track the details of every U.S. homebuyer assistance program, DPR frequently lends its expertise to nonprofits, housing finance agencies, policymakers, government-sponsored enterprises, think tanks and trade organizations seeking to improve housing affordability. Its technology is used by five of the top 10 retail mortgage lenders by volume, three of the four largest real estate listing websites and 500,000 real estate agents. For more information, visit https://downpaymentresource.com/.

About OneKey® MLS:

OneKey® MLS, made possible by the merger of MLSLI and Hudson Gateway MLS, is one of the nation's leading Multiple Listing Services, serving over 50,000 REALTOR® subscribers and 4,500 participating offices throughout Long Island, Manhattan, and the Hudson Valley. OneKey MLS is dedicated to providing more comprehensive coverage, up-to-date statistics, and the best real estate tools and resources.

OneKey® MLS, the largest multiple listing service (MLS) in New York, has enhanced its consumer-facing listing site to help New Yorkers find homebuyer assistance programs they may be eligible for, such as down payment and closing cost assistance. This functionality is made possible through a partnership with Down Payment Resource, a technology company helping the housing industry connect homebuyers with homebuyer affordability programs.

Related link: https://www.downpaymentresource.com/

Shares of Capital Stock of 45 East 66th Owners Corporation Offered at Auction

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. /ScoopCloud/ -- Maltz Auctions, a premier full-service auction company serving the Continental United States and Caribbean, has announced it will auction 1835 shares of capital stock of 45 East 66th Owners Corp. and appurtenant to 45 East 66th Street, PHAB, New York, New York on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., in person at the offices of Pryor Cashman LLP, located at 7 Times Square, New York, NY, and online via Maltz Auction's website https://remotebidding.maltzauctions.com/.

"The penthouse has been described and photographed by others extensively as recently as October 2021," stated Maltz President and CEO, Richard Maltz. "They've stated it's an open-concept duplex residence offering approximately 4,020 sq. ft. of living space surrounded by 3,455 sq. ft. of set-back terraces, ideal for entertaining. It features 4-5 well-proportioned bedrooms, 4.5 luxurious bathrooms, a corner living room with large skylight, an enormous dining area, a chef's dream kitchen with separate breakfast area, all surrounded by a wall of glass, filling the space with natural light. There is also a laundry room, a media room or den, and workstation.

"Features include multi-zone central air conditioning, soundproof architectural floors, private water pumps, and upgraded electric power. There is a private elevator landing leading to a windowed entry foyer, a grand corner living room with large skylight and glass walls with access to a terrace, an enormous dining area, a powder room, and a kitchen, with a separate breakfast area. There are three bedrooms, a media room, four bathrooms, three of which are ensuites, and a utility/laundry room.

"There is also a spacious workstation lounge under the cantilevered stairway that leads to the upper level. Dedicated to the master bedroom suite, the upper level has a welcoming windowed seating area, flanked by the corner master bedroom with walk-in closet and access to a terrace. Of course, since access has been unavailable, and we gleaned information from online sources, the description is not represented to be accurate."

SALE INFORMATION:

* PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that, in accordance with applicable provisions of the New York State Uniform Commercial Code (the "Code"), including, without limitation, Sections 9-604(e) and 9-610(a) of the Code, Rock Harbor Capital, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Secured Party"), by Richard B. Maltz, DCA# 1240836 or David A. Constantino, DCA# 1424944 ("Auctioneer"), will offer for sale, at public auction, those certain 1835 shares of capital stock of 45 East 66th Owners Corp. issued to David J. Mitchell ("Borrower") and appurtenant to 45 East 66th Street, PHAB, New York, New York 10065 (the "Shares"), and the related Proprietary Lease dated July 24, 2013 between Borrower and 45 East 66th Owners Corp. (the "Lease", and together with the Shares, collectively, the "Collateral"). The public auction will be held in person at the offices of Pryor Cashman LLP, 7 Times Square, New York, New York and online by desktop bidding at RemoteBidding.MaltzAuctions.com on March 2, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) (the "Sale Date"). All bidders must pre-register via Maltz Auction's online bidding app (Maltz Auctions), available for download via the App Store or Google Play, by no later than March 1, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern Time). Any bidder intending to appear in person at the offices of Pryor Cashman LLP (the "Offices") must also contact Marie P. Hofsdal, Esq. by email at mhofsdal@pryorcashman.com, by no later than March 1, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) to obtain access to the Offices. In addition, all bidders intending to appear in person must be prepared to show a government issued ID and may be required to follow certain COVID protocols then in effect, including completing a wellness check, providing proof of vaccination, and wearing a mask while inside the Offices.

* The Collateral is being offered as a single lot, "as-is, where-is", with no express or implied warranties, representations, statements, or conditions of any kind made by the Secured Party or any person acting for or on behalf of the Secured Party, without any recourse whatsoever to the Secured Party or any other person acting for or on behalf of the Secured Party. The Secured Party reserves the right to credit bid, set a minimum reserve price, reject any or all bids (including without limitation any bid that it deems to have been made by a bidder that is unable to satisfy the requirements imposed by the Secured Party upon prospective bidders in connection with the sale or to whom in the Secured Party's sole judgment a sale may not lawfully be made) and terminate or adjourn the sale to another time, without further notice. Further information concerning the Collateral, the requirements for obtaining information and the terms and conditions of bidding on and sale of the Collateral can be obtained through Auctioneer at Maltz Auctions, 39 Windsor Place, Central Islip, NY 11722, 516-349-7022, info@MaltzAuctions.com.

* Secured Party reserves the right, on or prior to the sale, to withdraw all or any part of the Collateral from the sale for any reason whatsoever, to modify, waive or amend any terms or conditions of the sale and, if Secured Party deems appropriate, to reject any or all bids or to continue the sale to such time and place as Secured Party, in its sole and absolute discretion, may deem fit, or to cancel such sale. Additional or amended terms and conditions of the sale may be announced before or on the Sale Date, or any continued Sale Date.

* NEITHER THE COLLATERAL NOR ANY COMPONENT THEREOF HAS BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OR APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS. THE COLLATERAL IS BEING ACQUIRED AS AN INVESTMENT FOR THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDER'S OWN ACCOUNT AND NOT WITH A VIEW TO THE SALE OR DISTRIBUTION THEREOF OR ANY COMPONENT THEREOF.

Data Room/Terms and Conditions of Sale/NDA:

Prospective bidders shall be granted access to the Data Room and the Terms and Conditions of Sale upon execution and delivery of a non-disclosure agreement in the form found at https://maltzauctions.com/app/uploads/2022/01/UCC-NDA.pdf ("NDA"). Executed NDAs shall be emailed to DC@MaltzAuctions.com.

Pre-Registration Deadline: Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at 9:30 a.m.

Auction Date & Time: Wednesday, March 2, 2022, at 9:30 a.m.

*Maltz Auctions, Inc. d/b/a Maltz Auctions is Acting as Marketing Agent

Richard B. Maltz, Licensed Real Estate Broker

Richard B. Maltz, Auctioneer DCA# 1240836

David A. Constantino, Auctioneer DCA# 1424944

Maltz Auctions, a premier full-service auction company serving the Continental United States and Caribbean, has announced it will auction 1835 shares of capital stock of 45 East 66th Owners Corp. and appurtenant to 45 East 66th Street, PHAB, New York, New York on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., in person at the offices of Pryor Cashman LLP, located at 7 Times Square, New York, NY, and online via Maltz Auction's website.

Related link: https://maltzauctions.com/