In late March, I resigned from the Broome County Land Bank Board of Directors, after serving approximately seven years. I left because I believed an ask by County leadership was wildly irresponsible and financially reckless—and risked the integrity of the land bank.
I have shared some details in a Facebook post (April 2), in a 15-minute segment with Bob Joseph on WNBF’s News Hour show (April 8), and in conversations with a couple other local media outlets.
But I couldn’t provide ALL the details in any one format, and I know there are many still asking, “What the heck is going on, here?”
Thus, I drafted this article to serve as an online resource on this issue for the residents of Broome County. For most of the article, I use a question and answer style, hoping this can serve as a resource of facts against the ludicrous spin provided by the major champions (County Executive Jason Garnar + Legislative Chairman Dan Reynolds) of this reckless use of county tax dollars.
A QUICK RECAP
Let’s recap and ensure we’re all on the same page:
- The Vestal nursing home at 860 Old Vestal Road was devastated by the 2011 flood
- The owners of the health care company that operated the nursing home created an LLC a few months later, with the intention to sell the property and build a new nursing home in a safer location
- Alan/Isaac Anzaroot purchased the flood-damaged property in October 2015 for $120,000 under an LLC, 860 Vestal Empire LLC
- An online, crowdsourcing investment platform, ShareStates, loaned Anzaroot’s LLC $490,000 in September 2017. Anzaroot defaulted on the loan
- In April 2020, the following transactions happened on the same day:
- Sharestates sold/assigned their defaulted mortgage of $490,000 to a secondary LLC, Brovha Capital LLC
- Brovha Capital LLC, incredibly and confusingly, gave another loan of $859,000 to Anzaroot’s LLC, 860 Vestal Empire LLC
- Brovha Capital LLC consolidated both loans into one mortgage against the vacant, flood-damaged property totaling $1,300,000
- As of April 2026
- Anzaroot’s LLC, 860 Vestal Empire LLC, remains the owner of record
- Brovha Capital LLC holds a mortgage that has been in default for years and has made no effort to initiate a mortgage foreclosure proceeding
- Neither the owner (Anzaroot) nor the mortgagee (Brovha) has paid any property taxes for the last five years
- The property has been stripped of anything of value, has little market value, and no redevelopment potential
- The property is in chronic violation of Town of Vestal’s property maintenance codes
Given these conditions, one can imagine why, as a board member, I was completely confused by and opposed to County leadership’s proposal to give the Land Bank up to $650,000 in county tax dollars to purchase this building and bailout the out-of-state speculator hiding behind Brovha Capital LLC.
To be clear, I am fully on board with demolishing or rehabbing this and every other harmful and dangerous eyesore in Broome. But resolving vacant, dilapidated properties usually requires significant public investment, which means it must be done in a thoughtful, transparent, informed, and fiscally responsible manner.
This ask by County leadership violates the spirit of that approach in every way.
In an effort to engage in a thoughtful, informed, and transparent dialogue about this problem, and in hopes of finding a more fiscally responsible manner, the rest of this article is framed in a Q & A style. I hope Broome County residents find this resource helpful.
WHAT WE KNOW
When did the Land Bank Board learn about this ask from County Leadership?
While it now appears the Chairman and the Executive Director were engaged in some backroom conversations with Jason Garnar and Dan Reynolds over a few months, no mention of this project was shared with the full board until March 24.
How did County Leadership arrive at $650,000 for a purchase price? Did they carry out an appraisal?
A professional appraisal was never requested nor completed. According to County leadership, Brovha Capital LLC said if the appraisal came back too low, they would back out of the deal.
Apparently, the ‘negotiating team’ for the County and realtor for Brovha Capital LLC reached a gentlemen’s agreement that $650,000 would be an acceptable purchase price.
Where is the money coming from to buy the property?
The Land Bank board was told the County would provide the full amount, up to $650,000. A proposed resolution is winding through legislative committees these first two weeks of April that awards $825,000 in “Housing and Economic Development” funding to the Land Bank to “demolish blighted and dangerous properties in Broome County…”
The resolution makes no mention of acquisition, lists no property addresses, and is intentionally vague. I understand that legislators are rightfully and responsibly demanding more detail in the resolution.
The resolution also specifies that the $825,000 is being withdrawn from the county’s general fund reserves (“piggybank”).
The full legislature will vote on this resolution at their April 16th meeting.
What are the plans for the site?
County leadership wants to demolish the blighted property, which they’ve estimated to cost an additional $850,000. Since this parcel is in a floodplain, they suggested they will likely keep it green space, maybe paint lines for a softball field or two.
The demolition costs will also be the responsibility of county taxpayers, but the County is seeking a $500,000 state grant to help limit the burden.
Tarik, are you against this plan?
As mentioned previously, I want every blighted property in the county to be either demolished or rehabilitated in line with our community priorities, specifically affordable housing. But I am steadfastly opposed to bailing out an out-of-state speculator hiding behind an LLC that irresponsibly jumped into bed with Anzaroot. I support the proposed demolition, but I do NOT support the fiscally reckless and irresponsible acquisition strategy. Especially since we have alternatives.
This might be a good time to ‘dig in’ to this supposed ‘lender,’ because something is off. Way off.
If Brovha Capital LLC holds a $1,300,000 mortgage on the property, and Anzaroot defaulted on the loan years ago, why hasn’t the LLC carried out a mortgage foreclosure?
Great question. Recall, if a homeowner defaults on a traditional residential mortgage, the bank quickly initiates a mortgage foreclosure action to gain control over the asset (the house) and resell it to recover (or minimize) their losses.
First, Brovha Capital LLC is not a traditional lender. In fact, Brovha Capital has no online footprint or website that suggests it is a lending firm. The fact that they haven’t initiated a mortgage foreclosure action is a big tell: Brovha doesn’t want to formally own the property. Brovha Capital LLC also knows nobody will buy it for more than a few thousand dollars, if that. It knows this property is not an asset, but a major liability.
Wait, is Brovha Capital LLC even legit?
It is a legitimate LLC, in that it is a registered, incorporated entity in New Jersey.
However, the facts raise serious questions for me. Below is a screenshot of Brovha’s actions on one day, April 29, 2020.
A review of the online documents confirm that Brovha Capital LLC took over the defaulted mortgage ($439,000) from Sharestates. And then on the same day, this LLC “allegedly” loaned another $859,000 to the same entity that defaulted on the Sharestates mortgage they just took over.
Does that sound reasonable to you?
Remember those first few months after COVID when everything shut down, the anxiety and confusion were real, and many real estate projects slowed and then stopped dead in their tracks?
Yet during the first fearful months of the global pandemic this New Jersey LLC doled out another $859,000 to a serial defaulter on a property that had deteriorated even further since Anzaroot bought it in 2015 for $120,000?
That. Makes. No. Sense.
Here’s my guess of what’s really going on.
Sharestates, a legitimate private capital firm, decided they didn’t want to foreclose on their loan of $439,000 because they saw the nursing home was a major liability with little to no value. I know this because Sharestates was burned by Anzaroot’s web of LLCs all over Broome County (and primarily Binghamton). They continue to commit serious legal resources in litigation to untangle from Anzaroot (see video below of me scrolling through three pages of records in BC Clerk’s online portal related to Sharestates).
Sharestates also foreclosed on five former Anzaroot properties that they calculated had value, and all five are currently held as REO properties under Sharestates name. They are actively marketing these properties.
The fact that Sharestates has demonstrated a commitment to analyze every property for risk and value, leads me to conclude that they wanted out of the nursing home and sold the debt to Brovha Capital LLC for cheap.
Let’s say Brovha Capital LLC purchased the debt ($439,000) from Sharestates for $44,000 (10% of the debt owed).
Let’s also say that the massive mortgage Brovha Capital LLC gave Anzaroot’s LLC the same day was on paper only. That is, not a penny ever transferred hands from Brovha to Anzaroot.
According to real estate and property tax experts, this happens often. It is a common trick used by speculators through LLCs to hold a property ransom and extract the biggest payout possible. I was told by one national expert that these dubious tricks in the private capital lending space (not regulated like traditional banks) pick properties that governments might want. These speculators use the paper mortgage as leverage to extract as much as they can from the public coffers.
I’m pretty sure this is what’s going on—or something real close. If this is right, Brovha barely has any invested in the property. And the County is about to hand this New Jersey speculator a massive windfall.
Yes, those neighbors near the nursing home deserve to see that eyesore demolished, but this is not the way. We need a better, cheaper acquisition strategy.
So if Brovha Capital LLC is holding the blighted property hostage and demanding a ridiculously large ransom, are there other ways Broome County can acquire the property?
Yes, there are two. Every property owner has two key responsibilities as part of the social contract: (1) keep up with repairs and maintenance, and (2) keep up with property taxes. It is no surprise, then, that the two legal systems used to resolve problem properties are code enforcement and delinquent property tax enforcement. In this instance, code enforcement is managed by the Town and property tax enforcement managed by the County. Both enforcement systems offer a far more cost-effective acquisition strategy.
So why isn’t the County putting this property on their annual tax foreclosure list and proceeding with an enforcement action?
According to county officials, it is not fast enough. They’re right, but what’s another six to ten months to save more than half a million dollars? Taxpayers are on the hook for demolition costs. Public leaders need to pursue all cheaper acquisition strategies.
County officials have also said that either Anzaroot or the mortgagee will likely pay off the five years of back taxes in the last minute and then they’ll be back at square one. They say, “They’ll pay the taxes to protect the $1.3 million they’re owed.”
First, it’s nonsense to think any buyer will ever pay Brovha Capital LLC even $100,000 for this property. Only County leadership appears gullible enough to believe the LLC is actually in debt for $1,300,000; and is being so gracious by agreeing to take “only $650,000.”
Besides, it is not the responsibility of taxpayers to bailout speculators when their reckless, private investments go bad.
The County should call their bluff, treat them the same as other property owners who fall behind on taxes, and initiate property tax foreclosure proceedings immediately. If neither LLC pays the taxes, then the property will be under public control within the year for ZERO COST and demolition can be scheduled for 2027.
How can Town of Vestal use code enforcement to get the property? Bringing LLCs to courts for code violations hardly ever works and is really slow.
I understand the Town has been citing the property regularly for code violations. And as a national expert, I fully agree: criminal enforcement of code violations through the courts, especially against an LLC, is largely ineffective. That’s not the fault of the municipality—it’s the fault of laws designed around special interests, not the public interest.
But mostly every state has a law that deals uniquely with abandoned properties. In New York State, we have one: a law called Article 19-A, Abandonment Proceedings. As originally written, this law only applied to residential properties, but the legislature reformed the statute in 2023 to include commercial and industrial properties too (Article 19-B Abandonment Proceedings). There are a few very minor differences, but the process is virtually the same. If successful, the court must order the deed transferred to the municipality at no cost.
The use of Article 19A by cities in upstate New York has skyrocketed the last decade, and it has proven a very successful tool. To name just a couple, a regional land bank in the north country provides this as a service for the small rural communities in its service area, and has carried out nearly two dozen Article 19-a proceedings. Rochester has an impressive track record using Article 19A over the last eight years, and in December 2024 filed its first abandonment proceeding on a commercial property.
I talk often with folks who have used this code enforcement tool. The process takes about 6-10 months, and costs about $10,000 – $15,000 in legal services per property (residential).
I strongly believe the senior nursing home meets the criteria for ‘abandonment’ as defined within the NYS law (tax delinquent, not continuously secured). And if the property is encumbered by a mortgage, an abandonment proceeding compels the mortgagee to either initiate mortgage foreclosure proceedings within 45 days or release the lien. In other words, this is another powerful way to burn Brovha’s ransom note, send the LLC back to New Jersey with empty pockets, and transition the property to public ownership for no cost.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
So if I oppose County leadership’s plan to transfer $650,000 from the county’s piggybank to the pocket of this New Jersey speculator hiding behind an LLC, what should I do?
The usual: Call or email your legislator and tell them how you feel. You can find your legislator and contact information here.
You can also call or email the County Executive Office, but it’s probably a waste of time given what I’ve seen and heard from King Garnar since I started asking questions and making noise publicly.
If nothing else, tell your legislator to demand an appraisal of the flood-damaged, dilapidated, fully-stripped nursing home. Just like in eminent domain cases, the appraisal sets a fair price for the public to purchase a private property, and can be done quickly.
Simple, fair, quick, reasonable, responsible. Why the stubborn resistance from Garnar and Reynolds?
And please, give the Land Bank a little grace. The organization has done good work and the board members do care about removing blighted properties and creating opportunities for homeownership. They were told to do this and, in my opinion, made a mistake. But it shouldn’t negate the good they have done and can continue to do.
Finally, if anybody wants to take my seat on the land bank board (I was the County Legislature’s Minority Caucus appointee) because the organization’s mission resonates with you and you commit to serving with independence and integrity, let me know. I’m happy to pass your name along to the Minority Caucus.
If you feel this resource is helpful, please share on your social media accounts and discuss with your neighbors, friends, and fellow county taxpayers. The Legislature will be voting on this April 16.