Minskoffs in fight over Brevoort East leasehold

Descendants of famed real estate family battle each other for 20 East 9th St. commercial space

Breevort East at 20 East 9th Street
Breevort East at 20 East 9th Street

Lawyers for Alan and Royanne Minskoff are scheduled to face off in Manhattan Supreme Court on Sept. 18 with the counterparts for Jean Minskoff Grant, in a new legal skirmish involving the descendants of the famed real estate family.

Alan and Royanne, operating under an entity called MYCA, are looking to foreclose on $13 million in loans connected to the retail and garage space at 20 East 9th Street, a high rise co-op tower called the Breevort East.

The suit against an affiliate of Minskoff Grant Realty & Management Corp. stems from a long running legal battle among various descendants of the Minskoff Brothers, including Jean Minskoff Grant, the daughter of the late Henry Minskoff, and the current president and chief operating officer of the White Plains, N.Y.-based firm.

Alan and Royanne will also ask the court to appoint a temporary receiver to collect rents at the commercial space, which includes a JPMorgan Chase branch, CVS pharmacy, local dry cleaner, party store and about 39,000 square feet of parking space, according to court records.

“[The] plaintiffs are seeking a receiver to ensure that all proper payments are made…and to further ensure that Ninth Street Associates does not default on any obligation,” said attorney Christopher Meyer in a sworn affidavit filed last month.

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According to court filings, the dispute stems from a 2008 suit in Manhattan federal court after the descendants of Henry, Jerome and Myron Minskoff had major legal scrum after the various family members were unable to settle a series of disagreements about the business.

Developer Ed Minskoff, president of Edward J. Minskoff Equities, and a grandson of family patriarch Sam Minskoff, is not named in this case.

According to documents filed in the 2009 case, a firm called Halstead-Harrison Associates was one of several firms formed by the Minskoff Brothers to operate the family business. Myron Minskoff sued to dissolve the partnership in 1999, but he died in 2000 and legal action in that case stalled out by 2003. Jean Minskoff Grant sued other family members, including MYCA, operated by Alan and Royanne.

In a bid to settle the various disputes within the family, Alan and Royanne say they loaned $9.8 million to Grant’s company, which consolidated debt owed to them for the sale of their interests in the family business and almost $674,000 in notes owed to Apple Bank.

Grant was not immediately available for comment. Lawyers for Alan and Royanne were not immediately available.