1 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn
Elected officials in Brooklyn are steamed over the possibility that a home for seniors in Park Slope could soon be shuttered and converted into a condominium.
Councilman Brad Lander, along with assemblymembers Joan Millman and James Brennan, issued a joint statement Thursday opposing a plan to close Prospect Park Residence, a nine-story assisted living facility at 1 Prospect Park West in Park Slope.
The owner, Haysha Deitsch, has kept the reason for the closure under wraps. But he likely intends to turn the center into condos, a source close to the situation told The Real Deal.
Local officials called for Deitsch to reconsider closing the facility, a move that would displace its more than 100 elderly residents.
“There is already a shortage of senior housing in our city—where does he expect them to go?” the officials said in a press release. Deitsch did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The closure could be related to a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by an injury attorney Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik claiming Prospect Park was operating without a license and overcharging residents, as The Real Deal previously reported. The facility was denied a permit from the state Health Department for filing an incomplete application, the New York Daily News has reported.
Deitsch originally purchased the 153,067-square-foot building for more than $40 million in 2006, according to city records.
