Daniel Levy splits from Ben Ashkenazy as company loses properties

Daniel Levy, who served as president of Ashkenazy Acquisitions, has left the company as that empire is facing headwinds.

After managing the company’s acquisition of a portfolio of trophy properties, Levy left the company run by his cousin and partner, Ben Ashkenazy. Levy plans to launch his own firm, a spokesperson for Ashkenazy confirmed to The Real Deal.

“I left Ashkenazy about a year ago to pursue my own venture, Propel Partners, something that Ben and I had discussed many times, and we were in sync about,” Levy said in a statement, which was provided by the Ashkenazy Acquisitions spokesperson. “I spent roughly a year transitioning out in a thoughtful manner with mine and Ben’s goal to make my departure as seamless as possible.”

Levy spent 22 years at Ashkenazy, according to his LinkedIn, where Ben and partner Michael Alpert acquired a portfolio of prime properties that included the Barneys retail space at 660 Madison Avenue, Union Station in Washington, D.C., Faneuil Hall in Boston and 625 Madison Avenue.

But in recent years the company has lost some of its big properties to lenders or struggled to operate buildings — at times raising eyebrows for some of the extreme ways Ashkenazy has handled the distress.

He infamously threatened to “go nuclear” on his partners, the Gindis, in a power struggle that’s reverberated through their tight-knit retail community.

Ashkenazy lost the D.C. property to Rexmark in a foreclosure, and sold Faneuil Hall. In New York, he lost 625 Madison Avenue to a long-drawn out foreclosure case.

Correction: A previous version of this story said Daniel Levy had served as president of Ashkenazy Acquisitions during his entire 22 years at the company. He only served as president for a portion of that time.

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