Yair Levy and Park Columbus condominium at 101 West 87th Street on the corner of Columbus Avenue

Garrison Special Opportunities Fund, a Manhattan-based hedge fund, alleges that developer Yair Levy threw his stalled Park Columbus condominium project at 101 West 87th Street into Chapter 11 the night before a scheduled Sept. 10 auction to foreclose on a defaulted $20 million mezzanine loan, according to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing obtained by The Real Deal. On Sept. 8, Levy filed to get a temporary restraining order in New York State Supreme Court blocking the foreclosure auction. Garrison officials allege in the filing that Levy failed to come up with a $20 million deposit the following day as demanded by Judge James Yates, in order to block the sale. After failing to produce the deposit, the filing alleges that Levy threw his YL West 87th Street Holdings entity into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one night before the scheduled Sept. 10 auction. Garrison officials called the bankruptcy filing “a sham” and urged a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge to lift an automatic “stay,” allowing it to move forward with the foreclosure auction, which would effectively sell the stalled project to a new owner. [more]

Yair Levy, 225 Rector Square

Anglo Irish Bank filed a motion in New York State Supreme Court earlier this month to complete foreclosure proceedings against Rector Square developer Yair Levy and place the troubled Battery Park condominium conversion on the auction block for sale to a new investor. Anglo Irish originally filed suit in February alleging that Levy defaulted on a $165 million mortgage loan to convert the 304-unit rental building at 225 Rector Place, and failed to pay millions of dollars in contractor’s fees, common charges and PILOT payments to the Battery Park City Authority, which controls the ground lease under most, if not all, Battery Park buildings. Levy later tried to preempt the foreclosure suit by filing a countersuit in Nassau County, where he resides, alleging that Anglo Irish forced his property into default by holding up construction dollars. That case was later consolidated into the foreclosure suit filed by Anglo Irish.  More

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Fox 5′s Christina Park talked to a couple living in YL Equities’ 225 Rector Place who is stuck in the unfinished condo. The couple put a down payment on the apartment, thinking they were getting a deal on buying a unit pre-construction, but YL defaulted on a $165 million loan in the middle of the condo’s construction, and now work has stopped. YL Equities allegedly refuses to return the down payment, and they say they are forced to live in unsafe conditions, and don’t know when the condo will be finished.