Two bankruptcies in Queens, Brooklyn total $16M

Last week two long-time property owners filed bankruptcy petitions in New York totaling $16.48 million covering a property in Queens and another in Brooklyn. These were the largest of the five bankruptcy petitions filed last week totaling nearly $24 million.

In the largest, the owner of an 80-unit rental building located at 143-30 Sanford Avenue in Flushing, Queens, Vincent Garofalo, filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy to halt a foreclosure auction set for October 20, 2023. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy seeks to sell the assets, as opposed to a Chapter 11, which seeks a reorganization, which can also involve a sale of assets. Hirshmark Capital is pursuing a foreclosure case filed in 2021 508825/2021. The approximate amount of the judgment is $13.3 million plus interest and costs according to the notice of sale, which set the auction date for October 20, 2023.
Case 1-23-43812-nhl

The elevator building with 80 residential units in Flushing has 59,231 square feet of built space and 6,820 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 66,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 150 feet and is 141 feet deep with a total lot size of 22,000 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6A which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.8 million.

Giovanni Garofalo bought the building in 1997. The property was previously subject to a pre-foreclosure action initiated in 2013 which was discontinued later that year.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page.

In the second-largest bankruptcy, property owner Juan Lopez filed to place five properties in Bedford Stuyvesant and Fort Greene, Brooklyn, into bankruptcy to halt a UCC foreclosure auction set for October 20 tied to a $7.73 million loan covering the buildings. Lopez has owned some of these properties since the 1990s.

Lopez also filed for personal bankruptcy. He expects to sell three of the properties and refinanced the two properties that are his home. Lopez has a contract to sell the vacant industrial building at 173 Lexington Avenue for $1.65 million, a contract to sell 449 Classon Avenue for $1.1 million and expects to be in contract to sell the 1-3 family with store and office at 451 Classon Avenue “in the next few weeks” for $2.995 million.

He does not expect to sell 701-703 Fulton Street which is his residence. Many of the properties have significant delinquent taxes, according to the filing.

Case 1-23-43777-jmm