Troubled Harlem Developer Sues Next-Door Owner; Advances Other Project

HARLEM, NY — The troubled developer Moujan Vahdat has taken steps forward on at least two of his long-stalled Harlem church developments in recent weeks, according to plans and court filings.

Vahdat and his company ELMO Realty came under investigation by state prosecutors starting in 2018 for their purchase of seven churches in Harlem and one in Brooklyn, which authorities say included secret deals with religious leaders that netted them nearly $2 million, as Patch reported in September.

While Vahdat pledged to construct new buildings with new homes for the churches, he instead demolished several of them, let others deteriorate, and delayed construction for years, prosecutors said.

Once state prosecutors got involved, Vahdat agreed last year to keep up to date on payments he owed the churches. All but one of the churches, meanwhile, chose to keep doing business with Vahdat, under the oversight of a monitor that will ensure the new projects get built.

In recent weeks, Vahdat's company took new steps on two of the projects: the new building at 2535 Frederick Douglass Blvd., formerly home to Healing From Heaven Temple Church of God in Christ; and the renovated building at 170 East 123rd St., formerly home to Ebenezer AME Church.

2535 Frederick Douglass Blvd. (Healing From Heaven)

Earlier this month, a representative for Vahdat's firm filed plans for a new eight-story building on the corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and West 136th Street, where Healing from Heaven Temple stood until Vahdat acquired it in 2015 and demolished it a couple of years later.

The latest plans describe a 52-unit apartment building, with commercial space and a 19,000-square-foot community facility — presumably meant for the church.

Vahdat's company previously filed plans for a similar building on the site in 2020, which did not materialize. The lot sat vacant for years after Healing From Heaven was demolished, though Patch saw signs of construction activity during a visit in September.

170 East 123rd St. (Ebenezer AME)

Meanwhile, over in East Harlem, Vahdat's company filed suit on Tuesday against the owners of an East Harlem building who have helped delay the completion of another church project.

The suit by Vahdat's company was brought against LoSchiavo Properties, owners of 176 East 123rd St. That four-story building runs up against Vahdat's building at 170 East 123rd St., once home to Ebenezer AME Church.

While long-delayed renovations to that building seemed largely complete when Patch visited in September, the new lawsuit alleges that LoSchiavo has held up important facade repairs to the next-door building by refusing to grant access to its own property, so the developers can install scaffolding.

"I have discussed with our tenant the access you are requesting for the repair of your property," an employee at LoSchiavo wrote in a June 2022 email to Saba Vahdat — daughter of Moujan Vahdat, who is also an executive in the company.

"Their reply is that unfortunately; and for the reasons that we have expressed previously, they cannot provide the access," continued the email, which was included in the suit.

The lawsuit seeks a court order that would give Vahdat's company access to the next-door building to install the scaffolding.

Ebenezer AME Church was among the institutions whom Vahdat was accused of swindling by altering sale terms in his favor — in this case, by withholding months of payments he owed the church over claims that the building had not been kept clean enough, prosecutors alleged.

Ebenezer's pastor soon pushed back, telling one of the clergy also implicated in the scandal that Vahdat "has not been judicious in this matter."

"[Vahdat] said that he had pictures and he was going to forward them. To date, there have been no pictures received," the pastor wrote in a 2017 email. "As I shared with you, Bishop, we spent over $10,000 for the clean-up of that building."

Related coverage: Harlem Clergy Took Secret Cash As They Sold Churches To Developer: AG