New York AG blocks Harlem nursing home sale to Allure Group

The New York state attorney general’s office on Monday moved to stop the sale of a Harlem nursing home to the Allure Group, the company currently under scrutiny for its controversial sale of the Rivington House.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed an affidavit in State Supreme Court in Manhattan seeking to block Allure from purchasing the Greater Harlem Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, the Wall Street Journal reported. Allure took over operations at the facility in 2014, but its attempts to buy the property are complicated by the ongoing investigations surrounding the Rivington House.

Earlier this month, the city’s Department of Investigation released a report finding that City Hall was aware of the discussions that led to the $116 million sale of 45 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side. Allure purchased the nursing home in 2015 for $28 million, then paid the city $16.15 million to lift a deed restriction that limited the property’s use to a healthcare facility. Allure then sold the facility for $116 million to developers including Slate Property Group , Adam America Real Estate and China Vanke.

In June, Schneiderman warned Allure that it would seek to block the sale of the Harlem facility, as well as the sale of Saints Joachim and Anne Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Brooklyn, in light of his concerns over Allure’s role in the Rivington sale. Allure has maintained that it did nothing wrong. [WSJ] —Kathryn Brenzel