Two Trees Management
A privately held, self-financed New York real-estate developer founded in 1968, known for redeveloping DUMBO, Brooklyn and the Domino Sugar Refinery site in Williamsburg — and for a 2013 tenant-overcharge correction and a 2017 rent-fraud lawsuit tied to city tax abatements at one of its buildings.
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- Established
- 1968
- Location
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Country
- United States
- Founded
- 1968, by David Walentas
- Current leadership
- Jed Walentas, CEO/principal (joined the firm 1997)
- Financing structure
- Self-financed with the firm's own capital; no outside investment partners, per its CEOstated by the subject
- Signature project
- Redevelopment of the ~11-acre former Domino Sugar Refinery site, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (acquired 2012, roughly $185 million), into a mixed-use complex including Domino Park
Overview
Two Trees Management is a privately held New York real-estate developer founded in 1968 by David Walentas. It built its reputation redeveloping the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn starting in the 1980s, and has been run since 1997 by David’s son Jed Walentas, now CEO and principal. The firm describes itself as self-financed, using its own capital rather than outside investment partners (The Real Deal). Its best-known project is the redevelopment of the roughly 11-acre former Domino Sugar Refinery site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, acquired in 2012 for about $185 million and built out into a mixed-use complex — including Domino Park, a public waterfront park that opened in 2018 — in a project eventually valued at close to $3 billion.
A tax-abatement dispute at 125 Court Street
A ProPublica investigation into New York’s 421-a property-tax abatement program found that Two Trees had registered 256 units at its 125 Court Street building in Brooklyn as exempt from rent stabilization without ever obtaining final certification for the abatement, and that the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) did not challenge the improper exemptions until 2011. Following a 2013 audit, the company refunded $299,148 in overcharges plus $90,805 in interest to 80 tenants. ProPublica reported that Two Trees had received over $10 million in total 421-a tax savings at the building, and calculated the total tenant overcharge at roughly $368,000 — about $80,000 combined across 64 low-income units and about $288,000 combined across 47 market-rate units — more than the amount the company refunded. ProPublica also reported that reimbursement disputes persisted among affected tenants after the refund (ProPublica). In 2017, a separate class-action lawsuit alleged that Two Trees had committed about $10 million in rent fraud and made false statements to the city to secure roughly $92 million in tax subsidies at the same building. The company publicly called the suit “frivolous” (The Real Deal).
What this profile does not claim
Neither source read for this profile reports how the 2017 class-action lawsuit was ultimately resolved — only the allegations, the dollar figures cited, and the company’s denial.
Timeline
- 1968
- David Walentas founds Two Trees Management.
- 1980s
- The firm begins redeveloping the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, building the identity that later defined its larger projects.
- 1997
- Jed Walentas, David Walentas's son, joins the firm; he later becomes CEO and principal.
- 2012
- Two Trees acquires the roughly 11-acre former Domino Sugar Refinery site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for approximately $185 million, beginning a redevelopment eventually valued near $3 billion.
- 2013
- Following a 2013 city audit, the company refunds $299,148 in overcharges plus $90,805 in interest to 80 tenants at 125 Court Street — after registering 256 units as exempt from rent stabilization under a 421-a abatement it never obtained final certification for, and after the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development did not challenge the improper exemptions until 2011. ProPublica reports the building received over $10 million in total 421-a tax savings, calculates the total tenant overcharge at roughly $368,000 (about $80,000 combined across 64 low-income units and about $288,000 combined across 47 market-rate units) — more than the amount refunded — and reports that reimbursement disputes persisted among affected tenants.
- 2017
- A class-action lawsuit alleges Two Trees committed roughly $10 million in rent fraud and made false statements to the city to secure about $92 million in tax subsidies at 125 Court Street; the company calls the suit "frivolous."
- 2018
- Domino Park, a public waterfront park built as part of the Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment, opens in Williamsburg.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Neither source read for this profile confirms how the 2017 class-action lawsuit was ultimately resolved.
Sources
3 sources (1 tier 1, 2 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Founding, leadership and financing details come from a bylined Real Deal profile of CEO Jed Walentas; the 2013 tenant-overcharge correction and the 2017 rent-fraud lawsuit come from a ProPublica investigation and a separate Real Deal report, both read directly. Wikipedia's own article was checked only to cross-verify the founding date and project list, not cited as a source.
- Tenants Take the Hit as New York Fails to Police Huge Housing Tax Break Supports: The 421-a certification failure, the improper rent-stabilization exemptions at 125 Court Street, and the 2013 tenant refund.
- The Closing: Jed Walentas Supports: The firm's 1968 founding, its DUMBO and Domino Sugar Refinery projects, Jed Walentas's role, and the firm's self-financing philosophy.
- Two Trees sued for alleged $10M rent fraud Supports: The 2017 class-action allegations and the company's public denial.
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