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Development / New York / 2 min

Buyer of Two Bronx Houses Files to Demolish Both in 27 Days

A $4.7M mortgage from ICE Lender Holdings closed the same day, and DOB shows two full-demolition filings at $40,000 each, with no new building filed yet.

The American Developer Newsroom··2 MIN
Edited by Hannah Joseph · How we report
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$1.7MPrice recorded on each deed, dated Aug. 27, 2026 (ACRIS)
27 daysDeed date to demolition filings, Sept. 23 (DOB NOW)
2 lots2817 and 2819 Creston Ave, two-family houses (DOB NOW)
$4.7MSame-day mortgage from ICE Lender Holdings (ACRIS)

2819 Creston Ave LLC took deeds to 2817 and 2819 Creston Avenue in Bedford Park, the Bronx, on Aug. 27 and filed on Sept. 23 to demolish both two-family houses, 27 days later. Each deed is recorded at $1,700,000, and a $4.7M mortgage closed the same day.

Why it matters

The buyer is an LLC with a Kiryas Joel address on both deeds (ACRIS). On the DOB side the owner of record is an individual, Joel Steinmetz, with Lead It Builders LLC in the business-name field. We can say the filings name those two; we cannot say from the record who holds the LLC’s membership interests.

Both demolition jobs are identical: two stories, 2 dwelling units, 2,244 sq ft, $40,000 initial cost (DOB NOW job X01454058-I1 (2819), DOB NOW job X01454047-I1 (2817)). No new-building filing exists on Creston Avenue, so the record shows a clearing step with no replacement project yet. It follows the same buy-then-demolish pattern as the Bronx lot that resold for $3M and drew demolition filings in 30 days. See our New York coverage.

The sellers show a long hold. 2819 was conveyed by the Estate of William T. McFarland and his heirs. For 2817, the chain runs from a $380,000 purchase in June 2004 by Guillermina Carela and Benito Caraballo, to a $600,000 sale to Omega Construction Solutions in April 2022, to 2817 Creston LLC in July 2023 (ACRIS).

The numbers

  • Deed, 2819 Creston Ave (lot 129): Estate of William T. McFarland and heirs to 2819 Creston Ave LLC, dated Aug. 27, recorded Sept. 3, $1,700,000 (ACRIS).
  • Deed, 2817 Creston Ave (lot 130): 2817 Creston LLC to 2819 Creston Ave LLC, same dates, $1,700,000 (ACRIS). Whether the two figures are one combined price is not stated.
  • Mortgage: $4.7M from ICE Lender Holdings LLC, dated Aug. 27, assigned Sept. 2 to Icecap Real Estate Debt Fund III, LLC (ACRIS).
  • Demolition filings: X01454058-I1 and X01454047-I1, both Sept. 23, 27 days after the deed, $40,000 each, status Plan Examiner Review.
  • Not confirmed: lot area, zoning, or any plan for the site. Same-day recordings with 2814-2818 Morris Owner LLC (a declaration and an agreement) are in ACRIS, and we do not characterize them.

What’s next

Both demolition jobs sit in Plan Examiner Review, so the houses are still standing on the record. The next filing to watch on block 3318 is a New Building application, which would show the unit count and height the buyer is clearing the lots for (DOB NOW job X01454058-I1).

On the record

What we checked ourselves, and where you can check it too.

  • Public recordACRIS deeds 2026090100368002 (2819 Creston Ave, block 3318 lot 129) and 2026090100368003 (2817 Creston Ave, lot 130), both dated Aug. 27 and recorded Sept. 3, 2026, convey the properties to 2819 Creston Ave LLC, 9 Austra Parkway, Unit 105, Kiryas Joel. Each deed is recorded at $1,700,000; the record does not say whether that is one combined price or a figure repeated on both.View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
  • Public recordDOB NOW jobs X01454058-I1 (2819) and X01454047-I1 (2817) were both filed Sept. 23, 2026, 27 days after the deeds. Each is a Full Demolition of a two-story, two-family house with 2 existing dwelling units, 2,244 sq ft, initial cost $40,000, status Plan Examiner Review. The owner of record is listed as an individual, Joel Steinmetz, with Lead It Builders LLC in the owner business-name field; the applicant is Aramis R. Brown of N Tech Design of America.View the record on a810-dobnow.nyc.gov
  • Public recordA $4.7M mortgage (ACRIS 2026090100368004) from ICE Lender Holdings LLC, 70 West 36th St, to 2819 Creston Ave LLC was dated the same day as the deeds, Aug. 27. On Sept. 2 ICE Lender Holdings assigned its loan documents to Icecap Real Estate Debt Fund III, LLC (2026090700015001).View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
  • Public recordThe 2817 Creston Ave seller, 2817 Creston LLC, took title in July 2023 from Omega Construction Solutions LLC in a deed recorded at $0 (2023071900844001). Omega had bought the house in April 2022 for $600,000 (2022041600062001) from Guillermina Carela and Benito Caraballo, who paid $380,000 for it in June 2004 (2004071301659001). The 2819 Creston Ave deed names the Estate of William T. McFarland and heirs as sellers; a Countrywide-era mortgage on the lot was satisfied Sept. 4, 2026 (2026091400220001).View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
  • Public recordDOB NOW shows no New Building filing on Creston Avenue as of Oct. 10, 2026, so no replacement project, unit count or height has been filed for the two lots.View the record on a810-dobnow.nyc.gov

On the record

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