Washington Lobbyist Paul Manafort Sends Crew To Remove Debris From Front Yard Of His Carroll Gardens Brownstone

 377 Union Street between Smith and Hoyt Streets in Carroll Gardens

The front garden of 377 Union Street with construction debris. 

Photo taken on February 16, 2017

 Clean-up in process at 377 Union Street earlier today

Last week, PMFA posted about 377 Union Street, a somewhat neglected brownstone in Carroll Gardens that happens to belong to Paul J. Manafort, Junior, the veteran Republican strategist and former national chairman to the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

A renovation on this property was started in 2013, but was halted a year-and-a-half ago and ever since, building materials, like rusty i-beams and cinderblocks, have been stored in the front yard.  A stop-work order has been taped to the front yard by the NYC Department of Buildings and neighbors have been complaining that no one ever shoveled the snow or sweeps the sidewalk in front of the home.

After PMFA posted about the neglect, several other web sites picked up the story. The New York Post even contacted Mr. Manafort. He told the Post that he had hired a new architect and that he was expecting “ to complete construction by the end of the year.”

Just today, a few workers did indeed show up at 377 Union Street and were cleaning up. A local resident who sent us several photos, was told by the crew that the rusted beams will be gone by tomorrow.  "Thank heavens!", the local resident told us.

However, that is only part of the story of 377 Union Street. There is, of course, a more troubling issue regarding the financing of this property.  Manafort bought the building under an L.L.C. in 2012 for $2,995,000. Just recently, the property was transferred from the LLC to Manafort.  Over the past several years, he has been able to secure financing that seems highly risky and rather questionable.  By now, the loans surpass the value of the home by several millions.

After spending some time confirming the records on ACRIS, PMFA posted some of the documentation on February 16. Others started to take a closer look, including attorneys Julian Russo and Matthew Termine. Just two days ago, they published their findings here: https://377union.atavist.com.
The information on the website is quite fascinating and seems to indicate that there may be something quite unusual with Manafort's Carroll Gardens investment property.