Mo Vaughn had a glittering baseball career, winning the 1995 American League MVP award for his fearsome slugging with the Boston Red Sox before retiring in 2003 after a disappointing, injury-plagued spell with the New York Mets.
Vaughn, 39, is now a valuable player in a much different game: He’s helping to rehabilitate affordable housing across New York City. Last month his real estate investment company, Omni New York, made headlines when Vaughn announced a $21 million deal to purchase the run-down, 385-unit Noble Drew Ali Plaza apartment complex in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Vaughn set up Omni in June 2004 with former New York M&A attorney Eugene Schneur. Since its launch the company has acquired 1,200 units in depressed parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Long Island.
Vaughn is proud of the work Omni has done. “It’s very difficult to identify properties, to execute the process of getting the tax credits, the whole nine yards,” he says. “Our tenants are the biggest barometer of how it’s going, and if they are happy with it and they are excited about where they live and they see the improvement, that is the measuring rod.”
Schneur, who represented Vaughn on various business deals when he played for the Mets, says the first baseman had the idea of teaming up to invest in affordable housing. “He wanted to run a for-profit business that also gave back to the community,” says Schneur, 34. In February 2004, Vaughn and Schneur met with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who encouraged them and explained how they could buy distressed properties to rehabilitate through tax credits.
The pair are now setting their sights beyond the Big Apple: They have identified a potential investment in 100 units in Gillette, Wyoming. “There is a nationwide need for low-income housing to be brought to par,” declares Vaughn, who urges his fellow sportsmen to pursue similar projects. “Can other athletes do this? Yes. But if nobody else decides to do it, we sure will.”
