Black Spruce Faces Suits Over Manhattan Portfolio Payouts

Black Spruce Management, the Manhattan multifamily landlord led by Josh Gotlib, is now a party to overlapping New York County suits over who is owed 20 percent of distributions from a Manhattan apartment portfolio, according to court filings and The Real Deal’s reporting. Every claim below is an allegation, not a finding.

Why it matters

For anyone raising money against Manhattan apartments, this is a case study in paper that does not match the press release. The May complaint alleges a draft announcement of a $402,000,000 purchase of a 62-building, 1,000-apartment portfolio. The same complaint alleges a Black Spruce letter dated February 6, 2025 confirming $31,500,000 of documented acquisition consideration across three portfolios. Investors, lenders and GCs dealing with the landlord should read the operating agreement before the announcement. See our related coverage of Gotlib’s Miami Beach loss and our wider New York coverage.

The numbers

The verified complaint, Index No. 156603/2026, was filed May 21, 2026 by boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and affiliated entities against Jona Rechnitz and others. It alleges at least $175,000,000 was diverted. Per the complaint, a Vada Properties entity signed a membership interests contract with Black Spruce Development LLC on November 12, 2024, and Section 12.8 required written consent of all parties to assign rights. Plaintiffs allege that consent was never given. The complaint also quotes a January 1, 2026 email in which Rechnitz allegedly wrote that distributions went to a Chase account “per my direction.”

The Real Deal reported on October 13 that Rechnitz is now fighting back in the Black Spruce suits, and, per its October 6 report, that Gotlib and a partner sued him for alleged defamation. Black Spruce’s stated position, per The Real Deal, is that paying the 20 percent to Rechnitz-linked entities could expose it to claims from the Mayweather side. Rechnitz has publicly denied the Mayweather allegations. Black Spruce has not conceded any wrongdoing in the filings we reviewed.

What’s next

Watch the New York County docket for answers and counterclaims. The Real Deal reports Mayweather dropped his claims against Rechnitz in late September, which leaves the Black Spruce payout question to be resolved between the remaining parties. Nothing here has been adjudicated.