Zelig Weiss wants out of William Vale

After years of battling his partner, Zelig Weiss says he wants out of his lease at the William Vale Hotel.

Weiss said he is vacating his deal at the William Vale, according to a filing in bankruptcy court. Weiss operated the hotel through a lease with New York developer Yoel Goldman’s former company, All Year Holdings.

Weiss will no longer be the hotel operator on Oct. 31, according to the court filing.

But Weiss is not leaving the picture. He still has an equity stake in property, which an All Year entity is attempting to sell to pay off the hotel’s creditors. Proceeds from the sale could go to Weiss once the creditors are paid.

Herrick’s Stephen Selbst, an attorney for the All Year entity, said it will appoint a new management company to oversee the hotel’s day-to-day operations. All employees and leases with tenants will remain in place as the owners plan to market the property for sale.

Weiss’ exit comes as a shock to anyone watching the long legal battle over the William Vale. Weiss developed the swanky hotel with Goldman, but the two South Williamsburg-based builders have been at war for years over their properties.

Meanwhile, Weiss has made numerous attempts to buy the hotel and attempted to block an effort to sell it to another buyer.

Goldman’s dispute with Weiss goes back about seven years. Goldman first sued Weiss in 2016, claiming Weiss attempted to squeeze him out of some of their Brooklyn investments.

The pair reached a settlement later that year. But issues got worse at the William Vale. Goldman asked Weiss, who operated the hotel, for more insight into the establishment’s finances, and claimed Weiss never held up his end of the settlement.

In early 2019, the two signed a shtar — an agreement to enter arbitration before a rabbinical court. The process dragged on for months, but the two still bickered.

“I can’t be your partner like this,” Goldman texted Weiss in August 2019, “not to be able to know what’s the balance in the accounts.”

Weiss texted back, “I don’t understand, you make me feel like a thief, you have all P&L’s you can figure it all out yourself.”

The arbitration required Weiss to give Goldman monthly copies of the hotel’s bank statements. Weiss sued in secular court to have the ruling voided. His lawyer argued that one of the arbitrators had been suspended from practicing law because of a felony conviction. A New York state judge ruled in Weiss’s favor.

Goldman started running into issues once the pandemic hit. Lenders initiated foreclosures across his portfolio and the company missed payments to its Israeli bondholders, leading restructuring officers to take over his company and put it into bankruptcy.

This year, All Year exited bankruptcy by selling off most of its portfolio to a group led by healthcare investor Avi Philipson. The sale did not include the William Vale.

Weiss attempted to buy the hotel multiple times but was never able to close a deal with All Year’s restructuring officers. Weiss was still in talks with All Year’s lawyers in recent months to buy the complex, according to court filings.

Weiss was also sued by an All Year entity, which alleged he diverted money from the hotel despite reaping $7 million in PPP money.

The saga is not over. As the property heads for sale, Weiss could come back and make another bid on the property.

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