The condo board at 111 West 28th Street in Chelsea wants a judge to wrest control of seven apartments from the building’s own developers, accusing them of skipping out on more than $539,000 in common charges. The board says the unpaid assessments, plus rising utility costs tied to the building’s florist tenants, have punched a serious hole in the 14‑unit Flower House Condominium’s budget. Now the board is asking a Manhattan court to let it foreclose on those sponsor-held units and sell them to plug the gap.
What the lawsuit says
According to Habitat Magazine, which cites Crain’s New York and court filings, the complaint names developers David Sinclair and Lisa Chapman and several related entities as defendants and alleges they owe about $539,000, plus interest and fees, on seven units they control. The filing claims common charges on those units have not been paid since October 2024 and that the arrears include water and other building utilities used by the florist tenants. The board, led by president Patricia Kirshner, says the mounting delinquency is putting basic building operations and cash flow at risk.
Rents, rentals and building profile
Public listings show many of the Sinclair- and Chapman-controlled units have been run as market-rate rentals. StreetEasy’s building history lists a three-bedroom at 111 W. 28th (unit #6A) as renting for $9,500 on April 7, 2026, and the penthouse (PHB) as renting for $10,000 on June 1, 2025. Those asking rents sit well above the Manhattan median, which helps explain why sponsor-owned units can be lucrative even when assessments are not being covered. Building listings and profiles on sites such as StreetEasy, Redfin and CityRealty identify the property as the Flower House Condominium, with 14 residential units and two retail storefronts.
How condo collections work
New York law allows condo boards to enforce liens and foreclose “in like manner as a mortgage,” and a 2025 amendment added a new 90‑day pre-foreclosure notice requirement to give owners a final window to respond, as set out in the bill text from the New York State Senate. Law firms note that the change also clarifies remedies such as appointing a receiver to collect rents or allowing the association to bid at a foreclosure sale, meaning boards must update their procedures to avoid technical missteps, according to Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP.
Past fights and neighborhood stakes
The current suit is the latest chapter in a long and tangled legal relationship among the players. Court records show David Sinclair, Lisa Chapman and Patricia Kirshner have been involved in litigation over development rights tied to 111‑113 West 28th Street since at least 2019. A 2020 New York Supreme Court decision in LSG 105 West 28th LLC v. Sinclair lays out earlier disputes over access agreements, escrows and zoning-lot arrangements among the same principals, highlighting how development splits can spill into condo governance problems, according to the New York State Courts.
What comes next
The case will play out in Manhattan Supreme Court, where a judge will decide whether a foreclosure sale is warranted and whether the board followed the state’s new pre-foreclosure notice rules. For residents and small retailers in Chelsea’s Flower District, the clash is a pointed reminder that sponsor-owned portfolios can bring both big rent checks and equally big headaches for condo communities and the businesses that depend on them.
