Final 5 Seniors Agree to Leave Park Slope Retirement Home (Updated)

• Pictured: The much-fought-over Prospect Park Residence. Photo by John V. Santore

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — The five elderly women fighting a two-year legal battle to hold onto their apartments in the Prospect Park Residence Retirement Community at 1 Prospect Park West, located on the north end of Park Slope near Prospect Heights, have settled with the building's owner and developer, Haysha Deitsch, and agreed to leave.

Attorney Frank Carone, who represents Deitsch, said Wednesday that the settlement is for $3.45 million. He said the women will have until Sept. 1 to leave the building.

According to a breakdown provided by Carone, the five women will each receive $533,333, while 11 former residents will ghet $25,000.

In a statement, Kevin Cremin, an attorney with MFY Legal Services who represented the women, said his clients "will now have the time and resources to transition safely to appropriate settings."

Deitsch purchased the huge property in 2006 for $40 million, according to Crain's.

In 2013, he struck an agreement with a buyer to sell the building for $76 million. But there was a catch: The building's 125 residents had to go.

So Deitsch reportedly had the building licensed as an elderly care facility around the time he was locking down that agreement.

This move, according to Crain's, was meant to allow him to quickly shutter his newly registered business and force out existing residents, rather than go through a long and costly eviction process.

For the most part, his plan worked. The state's Department of Health approved the building's closure in March 2014, and many residents left.

But a few remained and sued, leading to a court-ordered stay and years of litigation — including a $50 million counter-suit for defamation filed by Deitsch.

Carone said Wednesday that he was "not prepared to comment" on the status of that suit, but that he would "pursue all of Mr. Deitsch's rights vigorously."

According to Brooklyn Paper, the five women who recently settled are also still seeking damages from the state's Department of Health for approving the building's closure.

In a statement, Judith Goldiner, an attorney with The Legal Aid Society, which is also representing the tenants, confirmed that lawsuit is ongoing.

"We continue to be disappointed that the State Department of Health’s weak regulations enable assisted living operators to close with essentially no notice to vulnerable elderly people," Goldiner wrote. "We will continue to pursue the legal claims against the Department of Health.”