Starrett Corp. seeks sale of Coney Island land that could be worth $34M

The Starrett Corporation is seeking an order from a judge to dissolve a partnership that owns four Coney Island vacant sites and an order to sell those parcels that may be worth as much as $34 million.

Starrett claims its partner in four undeveloped parcels, members of the Close family, impeded an effort to sell the properties in 2019 and 2020 according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Brooklyn State Supreme Court.

Starrett is seeking a court order directing the sale of the properties at auction.

The four parcels are on three separate tax blocks in central and western Coney Island.

The parcels are Block 7014, Lots 1 and 3 on a block bounded by Mermaid and Neptune avenues and West 24th and West 25th streets; Block 6963, Lot 2 on a block bounded by Bayview and Neptune avenues and West 33rd and West 36th streets; and Block 7052, Lot 1, bounded by Mermaid and Surf avenues and West 28th and West 29th streets.

The dispute centers on the manner of selling the properties, with Starrett claiming it wanted to hire an independent third-party brokerage to run the sale, and the Close family wanted to use a brokerage affiliated with the family. The suit claims the parties agreed in 2018 to sell the land.

This lawsuit, as all cases filed in state court, contains information presented by just one side of the dispute and so may be omitting information or the information may or may not be accurate. The defendants have not yet responded in court filings.

The suit claims that the investment firm Fairway Capital Partners had signed a letter of intent to buy the parcels for $33.86 million in 2019 but the deal never was completed.

Starrett owns other land in the area and in 2018 obtained financing to build a large rental project.