Leasing & tenant law · Owners & management · Deals & development · 11/02/2026
Bronx TPT building still has 700+ violations as city weighs program's return
About 18 months after the city foreclosed on 2201-05 Davidson Avenue and gave it to nonprofit Neighborhood Restore, the building has more than 700 code violations and some tenants are not paying rent. The city ended Third Party Transfer in 2019, but Davidson got one last transfer in 2025, and Council members now want to bring the program back.
Reported by The Real Deal · New YorkRead the original ↗
What happened
The Real Deal reported on 11/02/2026 on 2201-05 Davidson Avenue in the Bronx, a distressed rent-stabilized building the city foreclosed on about a year and a half ago. By 2025 the landlord, Romad Realty, owed more than $27 million to the city and state, according to city officials. The city foreclosed, wiped out that debt and transferred the building to the nonprofit Neighborhood Restore. This used the Third Party Transfer program, which was shut down in 2019 but was used one last time for Davidson in 2025.
Some problems are better. Rainwater no longer pours in from the roof, the elevator works, and squatters and garbage are gone from the hallways. But the building still has more than 700 housing-code violations on the city's website, more than 15 per unit. That is about as many as when the city took it over. Two fifth-floor apartments are still vacant after a past fire. For now, work is limited to emergency repairs during what the article calls the stabilization period.
Neighborhood Restore plans to transfer the building to for-profit affordable housing developer Lemle & Wolff, which already manages it. Lemle & Wolff says the building needs a gut rehabilitation. It will get city financing support but still needs a private construction loan. Tenants will have to move out, at least in stages, during the work. They will be allowed to return at their current rents. Some tenants are not paying rent, and organizers say that could put the tenants' plan to form an ownership cooperative at risk.
Council member Pierina Ana Sanchez, whose district includes Davidson, is leading a bill to bring the program back, called the SAFER Homes Act. She calls it a tool of last resort with steps for owners to engage with the city. The original program foreclosed on more than 500 properties with more than 7,000 units over 11 years. It drew criticism and a 2019 class action from owners. This fall the city reached a $60 million settlement proposal with owners from the program's final round.
Key facts
- Address
- 2201-05 Davidson Avenue, Bronx
- Violations
- More than 700 housing-code violations, more than 15 per unit
- Prior owner debt
- More than $27 million owed to the city and state by 2025, wiped out at foreclosure
- Interim owner
- Neighborhood Restore (nonprofit)
- Developer and manager
- Lemle & Wolff, future owner and current property manager
- Example rent
- $1,050 a month for a third-floor tenant living there since 2009
- Program history
- Third Party Transfer took more than 500 properties, over 7,000 units, over 11 years. It was shut down in 2019.
- Settlement
- $60 million proposal for owners from the program's final round
What it means
Landlords
The City Council is moving to revive Third Party Transfer through the SAFER Homes Act. Owners of distressed buildings with large city debt could face foreclosure and transfer, though the bill's sponsor says it includes steps for owners to engage with the city first.
Tenants and voucher holders
At Davidson, tenants face years of waiting and staged moves during a gut renovation, with the right to return at current rents. Organizers warn that not paying rent makes conditions worse and could sink the co-op plan.
Caseworkers
Organizers are connecting eligible tenants with rental assistance and one-shot deals. Clients in buildings like this may need help sorting out arrears and missing leases before a renovation and ownership change.
The highlights
- Owner Romad Realty owed the city and state over $27 million before the 2025 foreclosure.
- Lemle & Wolff plans a gut rehab; tenants can return at current rents after moving.
- Council member Pierina Ana Sanchez's SAFER Homes Act would revive Third Party Transfer.
Why it matters Landlords
A revived Third Party Transfer could let the city foreclose on distressed buildings with large city debts and hand them to new owners.
What to do: Track the SAFER Homes Act and keep city charges and code violations under control.
Not known yet
- When the transfer to Lemle & Wolff and the renovation will actually start
- Whether and when the private construction loan will be secured
- How many Davidson tenants are behind on rent and by how much
- Whether the SAFER Homes Act will pass and what its final terms will be
Background
In NYC, housing-code violations are issued by HPD and can be looked up by address on the city's website. Third Party Transfer was a city foreclosure program that moved tax-delinquent or distressed buildings to new owners, often through a nonprofit, rather than taking them into city ownership. One-shot deals are emergency grants, generally administered through HRA/DSS, that can cover rent arrears for eligible households facing eviction.
Buildings in this story
- 2201-05 Davidson Avenue · building facts and open city records
Summary written by Bulwark from The Real Deal · New York’s reporting. The original story is at therealdeal.com. This is general information, not legal advice.
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Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0