Tulfan Terrace finds buyer, may finally be completed

By Kate Pastor

Tulfan Terrace, the longstalled building on Oxford Avenue, finally has a buyer that plans to complete construction — but is it the right buyer?

Ox-3620 LLC, which owns the mortgage on the property that has remained an unfinished eyesore since 2006, bought the building at a March 1 auction, according to Michael Goldberg, a managing member of the company.

He said the limited liability corporation would complete the partially finished, 30-unit residential building as originally planned, but that it might rent out apartments instead of selling them as condominiums.

“Right now, I think the condo market is oversaturated,” he said.

The building has a shady past. Originally owned by three partners, James Murray, Robert Wagner and Michael Bookle, it stopped going up when Mr. Murray, the project’s chief financier, was taken down on fraud and embezzlement charges related to another site in 2006. His partners were left without enough capital to complete it and could not raise the necessary funds.

Since then, neighbors have complained that the building was left a safety hazard for them to contend with, most recently reporting that debris was flying off the towering structure during snowstorms this winter.

All that could soon change — or, the plan could be stalled again. Mr. Goldberg said that while he is still waiting on the official deed, his company is already starting to undertake site-safety work necessary for building permits. Once all the required permits have been acquired — he would not speculate on how long the process might take — the building will take from 8 months to a year to complete, he said.

“Hopefully we’ll work with Riverdale and the local building department and get the project up and running,” Mr. Goldberg said.

But there may be more to Ox-3620 LLC than is readily apparent and one of the names associated with the company — Jacob Selechnik — could raise red flags for local real estate watchers, including those sitting on Community Board 8, which has an advisory role in the permitting process.

“This is a vital piece of property within the central portion of Riverdale, and given its record we intend to take a good, hard look at who the developer is, what his plans are, and what his commitment to our community is,” said Charles Moerlder, chair of CB 8’s Land Use Committee. “There have been a number of rumors concerning ownership and plans and it is critical that we clear the air as promptly as possible.”

Mr. Goldberg claims that Mr. Selechnik, the controversial landlord who is associated with empty storefronts on Riverdale Avenue, has nothing to do with the company. But a December 2008 article in The New York Times quotes Mr. Selechnik as a consultant to Ox-3620 LLC. In it, he says the company will buy the building and finish construction. There is no correction appended. Additionally, the Kingsbridge address listed for Ox-3620 LLC on the State’s Division of Corporation’s website is the same as multiple government listings for a company associated with Mr. Selechnik.

Mr. Goldberg, however, said news reports associating the company with Mr. Selechnik were flat-out wrong. In response to questions about familial ties to Mr. Selechnik, Mr. Goldberg would only say, “He’s not a blood relative of mine.”