Gottlieb Estate Hews to Its Property Philosophy

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

William Gottlieb was famous for his strict philosophy of buying up dilapidated buildings and never getting rid of them, and the late billionaire would likely be pleased with the result of an auction of a five-story apartment building in the meatpacking district that has been the subject of much dispute.

This week, 79 Horatio St. sold in a public auction for $7.4 million to Neil Bender, executor of the roughly $1 billion in property acquired by Gottlieb. The auction was closely watched because it would have been one of the first sales of Gottlieb’s real estate portfolio.

In December 2005, the state Supreme Court ruled that 79 Horatio St. be sold to settle a rift between Gottlieb Management Co. and co-owner Vicky Gabay over management of the building. Some 15 bidders participated in the auction; Ms. Gabay and Mr. Bender were the final bidders, with Ms. Gabay stopping at $7.2 million, according to Ms. Gabay’s husband, Donald Gabay.

In a partition auction, co-owners may put the value of their half of the property toward the purchase price, so the Gottlieb estate will have to put up only $3.7 million, according to a partner at the law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Kevin Smith, who represented the Gabays. The building is divided into 10 apartments — nine are vacant and one is occupied by a rent-controlled tenant.

When Mr. Gabay and Gottlieb bought 79 Horatio St. in 1969, Mr. Gabay’s wife was named co-owner. After Gottlieb’s death in 1999, Mr. Gabay wanted to sell, but the estate refused, Mr. Smith said. After the court directed that the building be auctioned off, the Gottlieb estate appealed several times but lost, Mr. Smith said. The building is one of only a few that Gottlieb co-owned, Mr. Gabay said.

Gottlieb’s portfolio includes some 125 buildings, from dilapidated apartment buildings to warehouses to empty lots. Over the years, Gottlieb became well known for his buy-and-hold investment strategy, which involved buying properties — most in the West Village — and maintaining them for little expense. “Billy’s theory was never sell,” Mr. Gabay, who knew Gottlieb since he was 12, said.

The strategy turned out to be a prudent one for Gottlieb, a reclusive Coney Island native who started buying buildings in the 1960s with money borrowed from his older sister. By the time of his death, he had accumulated some of the city’s most valuable swaths of land, from the long-vacant Keller Hotel at 150 Barrow St. to West Village carriage houses to a corner parking lot on Prince Street.

“Anything they do with those properties could have a profound effect on what is arguably the best neighborhood in the city to live in,” Mr. Smith said.

The president of Vandenberg Inc., Dexter Guerrieri, a specialist in townhouses, said the sale price of 79 Horatio St. was reasonable, considering the building’s condition and the presence of a rent-controlled tenant. “A building is less valuable if it has a tenant,” he said, adding that homes that sell at auction often fetch lower-than-market prices, as many buyers are uncomfortable with the auction process.

A spokesman for the Gottlieb estate, Lin-Hua Wu, would not comment on future plans for the building. “We are pleased with yesterday’s purchase of 79 Horatio St., which is in keeping with our company of buying and investing in properties and holding them,” she said.

Mr. Gabay said that despite losing out on the property, he was satisfied with the results of the auction. “I was happy the estate got it,” he said. “They wanted the property.”


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use