Gramercy Buildings Set To Be Demolished By Notorious LES Landlord

GRAMERCY, NY — Two buildings in Gramercy owned by a notorious Lower East Side landlord are set to be torn down, city records show.

Samy Mahfar of SMA Equities has filed demolition permits for 297-299 Third Ave. between 22nd and 23rd streets, the Department of Buildings records dated Aug. 15 and 29 show.

Mahfar of SMA Equities first purchased the pair of Gramercy buildings in 2015 for a total of $23 million, The Real Deal reported. The real estate magazine wrote that the two lots could be built as large as 46,000 square feet, about 3.5 times the buildings' current combined square footage of 13,000 square feet.

Permits for new buildings at the to-be-demolished properties in Gramercy have not been filed, DOB records show.

The developer, Mahfar, is more well-known for his real estate ventures on the Lower East Side — where he has been slammed by tenants' rights activists for gut renovating apartments and exposing tenants to lead dust. In 2017, the New York Attorney General settled with SMA Equities and Mahfar for $225,000 for harassing rent-stabilized tenants at four buildings on the Lower East Side.

In Gramercy, 299 Third Ave. is a commercial and office building and No. 297 Third Ave. is a mixed residential and commercial building, city records show, though both appear to have commercial and retail uses on all three floors.

In 2015, The Real Deal reported that SMA Equities purchased a third commercial condo building for $4.8 million at 295 Third Ave. No demolition permits or new building permits have been filed for that building.

Mahfar did not immediately respond to comment on his plans for the properties.