A Mandee location at 3860 E. Tremont Avenue in the Bronx

The retailer Big M, owner of  low-priced chains Mandee and Annie Sez, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday afternoon, after Hurricane Sandy shut down its stores in New York and New Jersey, Crain’s reported.  The Totowa, N.J.-based company cited both assets and liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million. It owes money to more than 1,000 creditors. Big M operates at least 15 Mandee stores in New York City, several of which were on hard-hit Staten Island. In total, the Big M operates 84 Mandee stores, 35 Annie Sez stores and 10 Afaze stores…. [more]

Stuart Saft

From the June issue: By the time Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for bankruptcy late last month, nearly every attorney from its once-formidable real estate practice had jumped to a new firm. In doing so, they scattered its roster of impressive clients, irrevocably altering New York City’s legal landscape.

Stuart Saft, the former chair of Dewey’s global real estate practice and an icon in the world of New York real estate, led the exodus. In late April, he decamped for Holland & Knight along with seven Dewey associates, three paralegals and two legal secretaries. [more]

Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for bankruptcy yesterday, the New York Times reported, more than two months after reports first emerged that the huge law firm, with one of the largest real estate practices in the city, faced financial distress. Filed in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan, the bankruptcy calls for the firm to keep 90 employees on staff to assist in the liquidation of the business. At its peak, the firm employed more than 2,500 people in 26 global offices. The firm has $315 million in liabilities, $225 million of which is owed to banks. [more]

Mickey Mantle's

The high-end Russian eatery Brasserie Pushkin is currently in negotiations to occupy the space of bankrupt Mickey Mantle’s on Central Park South, the New York Post reported. ATCO’s Dale Hemmerdinger, Mickey Mantle’s landlord, is reportedly trying to evict the 25-year-old restaurant, which is four months behind on rent.  [more]

Ally Financial, a bank formerly known as GMAC, is likely to declare bankruptcy for its mortgage unit, ResCap, in the next three weeks, the New York Post reported. Ally CEO Michael Carpenter has worked to avoid bankruptcy, but sources told the Post that there are no further options. [more]

BGC Partners’ purchase of nearly all the assets of the bankrupt commercial brokerage Grubb & Ellis is set to close in the coming weeks, a statement released by the firm today said.

On Tuesday, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved BGC’s purchase of Grubb, the California-based firm that filed for bankruptcy Feb. 20. [more]

After filing for bankruptcy, Grubb & Ellis sent letters to brokers and employees informing them they wouldn’t be compensated for commissions and other payments they were owed pre-bankruptcy. The New York Observer reported that more than 300 objections were filed by employees across the U.S. to prevent the court from approving the motion. [more]

Madison 92nd Street Associates, an affiliate of Madison Equities and owner of the Upper East Side Courtyard by Marriott at 410 East 92nd Street, has filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to prevent a foreclosure sale of the property and is working with Westport Capital Partners to line up refinancing, Bloomberg News reported. The corporation listed assets of as much as $500 million and debt of as much as $100 million, according to the filing.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance holds the biggest unsecured claim of $679,581, Bloomberg said, and lender General Electric Capital, owed $74 million, has scheduled a foreclosure sale for Aug. 24…. [more]

Once among the top construction firms in New York City, HRH Construction, the 86-year-old company that built Citigroup’s Midtown headquarters and many of Donald Trump’s metro-area projects, is now mired in bankruptcy court and fighting off allegations of fraud. Crain’s reported that HRH’s downfall began in the early 2000s during the construction of 2 Broadway, a building owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The project went $300 million over budget, thanks in part to HRH overbilling the construction costs, according to arbitrators who ordered the firm to repay $6.5 million in 2007. … [more]

The foreclosure auction of a piece of defaulted mezzanine debt on the Flatiron District’s MAve Hotel at 62 Madison Avenue between 27th and 28th streets, was postponed today when the property’s developers filed for Chaper 11 bankruptcy, according to Crain’s.

Madison Hotel Owners, purportedly the public face of Joseph Ben Moha, the owner of Roxy Deli, and Benzion Suky, a principal at Livorno Properties, filed late last night, according to court documents. The developers have total liabilities of $9.3 million, the documents revealed…. [more]