Developer losing Plaza pad to foreclosure auction

The Plaza Hotel at 768 Fifth Avenue in Midtown
The Plaza Hotel at 768 Fifth Avenue in Midtown

Embattled developer Jonathan Winston’s Former Plaza Hotel spread is hitting the auction block after falling into foreclosure.

An LLC with links to Winston’s wife, Eve, acquired the two-bedroom unit at the iconic hotel for $6.5 million in 2009. But the LLC fell behind on loan payments and now Eve is on the hook for more than $1 million in unpaid loans, since she personally guaranteed the mortgage.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Winston, who reportedly once boasted that he would be “bigger than Donald Trump,” is accused of buying the apartment with money taken from his mother-in-law Annette Lorber, according to the New York Daily News. Lorber sued Winston in 2012, claiming he abused his position as her financial advisor to “fraudulently borrow or outright steal” from her.

The Plaza unit, which features 11-foot ceilings, ornamental fireplaces herringbone floors, will be auctioned September 2 at the New York State Supreme Court Building at 60 Centre Street. [NYDN]Rey Mashayekhi