An affiliate of the Rabsky Group is looking to drop a pair of mid-rise rental buildings on Broadway in Bedford-Stuyvesant, together packing in 197 new apartments. The two projects would climb to roughly 11 stories, split into one 99-unit building and a 98-unit neighbor, continuing the quiet wave of small-market rental development reshaping central Bed-Stuy block by block.
Filings, Players And The Broadway Sites
PincusCo first reported that developer Rafael Rabinowitz submitted Department of Buildings applications for the two projects, planned for 1150 Broadway and 1164 Broadway, with Kao Hwa Lee Architects listed as the designer.
According to The Real Deal, neither Rabinowitz nor the Rabsky Group currently appear as owners in public records. An attorney for the buyers told the outlet that the acquisition has not yet closed but is expected to wrap in the coming months. Public records also show that a $3 million mortgage held by Bank of Hope was assigned in February to an entity tied to the buyers.
Why Both Buildings Top Out At 99 Units Or Less
The unit counts are not an accident. They are part of a broader pattern created by New York’s new 485-x tax incentive, which offers long-term property tax breaks but also triggers separate wage rules once a project hits 100 units.
HPD explains that construction work on eligible sites with at least 100 apartments is subject to Labor Law Sections 220 and 220-b, which set a minimum of $40 per hour that rises each year. Industry and legal observers say that structure has created a "99-unit cliff," nudging developers toward modestly sized rental projects that lock in 485-x benefits without triggering higher construction wage floors. JDSupra has detailed how those rules reshape the math on new developments.
How This Fits Rabsky’s Brooklyn Playbook
The applications run through HSD Construction, Rabinowitz’s Williamsburg-based firm that The Real Deal notes is among the city’s most active residential developers. The outlet also reported that HSD recently landed a $765 million loan from JPMorgan to refinance a 1,102-unit complex at 625 Fulton Street, underscoring the group’s ability to tap large-scale institutional financing while still rolling out smaller 99-unit-style projects in neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy.
What Comes Next On Broadway
If the deals close and the projects advance, the developers will need to register for 485-x benefits with HPD, clear Department of Buildings review and work through the usual community board and public review steps before construction permits can be issued.
Bed-Stuy has already seen a steady drip of similar projects, with multiple small-scale rental and affordable developments logged in recent years. New York YIMBY has tracked that uptick, highlighting how these modest rental buildings are slowly shifting the neighborhood’s block-level development pattern.
For neighbors and local advocates, the next clues will show up in HPD registration records and fresh DOB job filings. For the development team, the puzzle is a familiar one: balancing tax incentives, construction wage requirements and neighborhood politics. Keep an eye out for follow-up permits and HPD paperwork that reveal which 485-x path, if any, these Broadway projects ultimately choose.
