Nonprofit Pays $4.2M in Borough Park, Files an 8-Story Building
The nonprofit filed 274 days after closing, replacing a 2-story building with a $6,692,220 job, and the filing says the owner is a non-profit organization.
Shema Kolainu-Hear Our Voices, which DOB lists as a non-profit organization, paid $4,200,000 for 1022 43rd Street in Borough Park on Jan. 7 and filed on Oct. 8 to turn the 2-story building into an 8-story, 49,572 sq ft community facility. It is a developer’s sequence, run by a nonprofit: buy, then file for 6.5 times the building’s height in 274 days.
Why it matters
The deed is clean in ACRIS. Avrohom Hirschler and England Realty Corp. conveyed block 5602, lot 14 to the nonprofit for $4,200,000, recorded Jan. 13 (ACRIS). The filing is DOB NOW job B01444395-I1, an alteration that keeps existing elements and goes from 2 stories to 8, with zero dwelling units before and after (DOB NOW job B01444395-I1).
The filing describes the use itself: “proposed 8 story and cellar community facility building.” The initial cost is $6,692,220, about $135 a square foot of proposed floor area. That cost sits on top of the $4,200,000 land and building price, so the record shows roughly $10.9M committed before any other fees or financing, which the filings do not show.
Nothing in the record says what programs will occupy the building, and we are not stating one. The owner type is the strongest signal: “Non-Profit Organization Owned and Operated.” Community-facility buildings are a different path from the dwelling-unit filings that dominate our coverage, such as the Bronx lot that resold for $3M and drew demolition filings in 30 days. See our New York coverage.
The numbers
- Deed, block 5602 lot 14: Avrohom Hirschler and England Realty Corp. to Shema Kolainu-Hear Our Voices, dated Jan. 7, recorded Jan. 13, $4,200,000 (ACRIS).
- DOB NOW B01444395-I1: filed Oct. 8, 2026, 274 days after the deed; 2 existing stories to 8 proposed; 49,572.4 sq ft; $6,692,220 initial cost; status Pending CPE/ACPE Assignment (DOB NOW job B01444395-I1).
- Seller history: earlier deeds on the lot (1973, 1977, 1986) are recorded at $0 in ACRIS, so what the sellers paid is not in the public record we pulled.
- Lot area, zoning and any acquisition mortgage were not confirmed in the records we pulled, so we do not state them.
What’s next
Watch DOB for plan-examiner assignment and any zoning or bulk objections, since 8 stories on a 2-story lot is the part most likely to draw them. Also watch ACRIS for a mortgage to the nonprofit, which would show how the roughly $10.9M is being financed.
On the record
What we checked ourselves, and where you can check it too.
- Public recordACRIS deed 2026010800172001, dated Jan. 7, 2026 and recorded Jan. 13, conveys block 5602, lot 14 (1022 43rd Street, Brooklyn) from Avrohom Hirschler and England Realty Corp. to Shema Kolainu-Hear Our Voices, 4302 New Utrecht Ave, for $4,200,000.View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
- Public recordDOB NOW job B01444395-I1, type ALT-CO (New Building with Existing Elements to Remain), was filed Oct. 8, 2026, 274 days after the deed date. The description reads 'proposed 8 story and cellar community facility building.' Existing: 2 stories, 0 dwelling units. Proposed: 8 stories, 0 dwelling units, 49,572.4 sq ft of floor area, $6,692,220 initial cost. Owner type: Non-Profit Organization Owned and Operated, with Ben Gruen as owner contact and Lester Katz, RA, as applicant. Status: Pending CPE/ACPE Assignment.View the record on a810-dobnow.nyc.gov
- Public recordThe lot's earlier recorded deeds in ACRIS carry no sale price: a 1986 deed and 1977 and 1973 deeds are all recorded at $0, so the seller's cost basis is not in the public record we pulled.View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
On the record
- Primary recordNYC Department of Finance (ACRIS)Deed dated Jan. 7, 2026, recorded Jan. 13, to Shema Kolainu-Hear Our Voices, $4,200,000
- Primary recordNYC Open Data, DOB NOW job filingsJob B01444395-I1, filed Oct. 8, 2026: proposed 8-story and cellar community facility building