According to city finance records, the former Bialystoker Nursing Home building at 228 East Broadway has been sold for $17,960,000.
In documents made public yesterday, the property, as well as the adjoining Dora Cohen Memorial Park and an office building at 232 East Broadway changed hands in July. The new owner is an entity created this past summer known as “Five Star 228 East Broadway Development LLC.”
The sale documents were signed by Barry Winston, president of the Bialystoker Nursing Home board of directors. A partner in the new ownership group, Neil Rothenberg, signed on behalf of the purchaser.
The financially troubled nursing home was closed in 2011 after more than 80 years serving the Lower East Side. The state Attorney General began looking into the institution’s finances after it came to light that then Board President Ira Meister, a real estate developer, purchased the office building for $1.5 million. As previously reported, the AG required Meister to transfer the building back to the nursing home, and to pay penalties.
The property at 228 East Broadway was designated as a city landmark in 2013 after a lengthy advocacy campaign from Friends of the Lower East Side, a local preservation group. While the main building cannot be demolished, the parcels on either side of it are primed for new development.
We hope to have more details from the new property owner later today.
