LIC development with $8.8M in loans files for bankruptcy

Joseph Torres, the owner of a building at 38-24 32nd Street in Long Island City, Queens, who says his property was impacted by Covid-19, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday for the asset. The owner entity, the Long Island City Developers Group LLC has assets of $1 million to $10 million and liabilities in the same range, according to the filing. The individual who filed the petition was Joseph Torres, who is the owner of the parcel.

This is the first New York City commercial bankruptcy filed since April 26, when an owner of residential condos in the West Village filed for protection, with $11 million in debts. PincusCo bankruptcy tracking shows there have been 14 commercial chapter 11 cases filed by property owners in the city this year, with total debts of approximately $260 million. The largest was All Year Management filing to protect itself from lenders claiming $73 million in liabilities at the Denizen in Brookyn.

Torres owns a 10,000-square-foot commercial building at 38-24 32nd Street, Long Island City. The property currently has two tenants, the filing says.

Torres has taken out secured loans totaling $8.8 million, including $5.5 million from Cofane Associates as a purchase money mortgage and $3.3 million from Signature Bank, a review of city records shows.

Torres bought the property from Cofane Associates in 2015 for $6 million, financed with the $5.5 million purchase money mortgage and $2 million from Signature. Torres subsequently in 2019 took a second and third loan from Signature totaling $1.3 million.

The chapter 11 petition was filed May 10, 2021, in the Eastern District.

The filing lists eight creditors including Scarano Architect and the lenders.

Torres is seeking relief from the court because of “financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in New York City” and its inability to meet “current debt obligations” as well as a pending foreclosure case brought by lender Cofane Associates in Nassau County.