Aby Rosen is hoping that the emperor’s new clothes will distract from the money he owes the ruler.
RFR Realty’s Rosen, who is mired in legal troubles across the country, is now arguing that the Goldmans’ family drama has put into question the legitimacy of the actions taken against RFR, the former owner of the Gramercy Park Hotel.
As the Goldmans battle out who is really in charge of the Solil Management empire, Rosen is hoping that any actions taken by the company while it was led by Sol Goldman’s daughter Jane can be stayed until the dispute is resolved.
Potentially, if Rosen’s last ditch effort works in his favor, Goldman tenants around the city can press pause on any action taken against them by Solil Management until the family dispute is resolved.
“They get credit for being creative,” real estate attorney Joshua Stein said of Rosen’s attempts.
RFR had leased the land for the Gramercy Park Hotel from Solil since 2006. In 2021, Solil sued to evict RFR and claimed damages of nearly $80 million after the hotel owner failed to pay nearly $1 million in rent during the pandemic.
Following RFR’s eviction in 2022, Solil signed a new $50 million lease with MCR Hotels, which plans to re-open the hotel as a boutique luxury property.
RFR has yet to pay up as a result of its default at the iconic hotel, and a final damages number is in the process of being determined by a special referee appointed by the court.
But Rosen is now arguing that the actions taken against him by Solil are “in serious question due to the allegations in the Goldman Family Dispute Action.”
Because the court has already ruled in favor of Solil, Rosen is requesting a stay only in the damages proceedings to buy himself time until the Goldmans resolve who actually controls the keys to the castle.
In a separate court proceeding, Jane’s siblings and nephew have alleged that she took control of her late father’s empire and excluded her siblings from management decisions including, Rosen claims, the proceedings taken against RFR.
“Ms. Goldman was the one who signed the notices to cure and for termination on behalf of [Solil]. Ms. Goldman is the one who verified the Complaint. Ms. Goldman submitted numerous affidavits on motions filed on [Solil’s] behalf,” Rosen states. “On the other hand, there is no evidence that any other Goldman family member has been involved in this action.”
Rosen argues that if given the option, the other Goldman family members may be uninterested in pursuing the company’s litigation against RFR, or even challenge Jane’s original actions.
Rosen claims that if other Goldman family members take charge, the new lease signed by MCR “may be altered considerably or may even be subject to rescission.” He added that “it is unclear whether other members of the Goldman family would fight so stubbornly to avoid disclosing” the lease, which the court recently ruled Jane turn over as part of the discovery process.
Rosen’s desperate effort to stave off paying for the default at the Gramercy Park Hotel comes as the developer faces a barrage of other foreclosures and lawsuits.
In August, lender Rialto filed foreclosure actions on more than $22 million in loans it issued for commercial condos at 122 Greenwich Avenue and 219 East 67th Street. Earlier this year, RFR defaulted on an $80 million mortgage backed by a Gowanus development site and a $15 million mortgage backed by a Miami Beach retail building.
A former RFR executive also sued Rosen and his partner Michael Fuchs for $20 million he claims he’s owed after he left the company.
Attorneys for Rosen and Goldman did not respond to requests for comment.
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