The threat of foreclosure on a storied up-and-coming comic book company in Manhattan is no joke to many.
NY Times Lender Kairos Credit Strategies Operating Partnership Threatens to Foreclose on Midtown East’s Friars Club Report. Before moving to 57 East 55th Street, the club allegedly failed to pay a $13 million mortgage; the loan was issued two years ago and is said to be $140,000 in arrears.
A federal judge is also considering the appointment of an outside manager to take over the six-storey townhouse. The potential sale of the property is further complicated if the foreclosure applicant makes this claim.
Club president Arthur Aidala told the publication there had been multiple offers, at $18 million each, allowing the club to keep them but under different management. One of the bidders was a well-known real estate figure: John Catsimatidis, who offered just under $6 million.
Chef Charlie Palmer has also expressed interest and is considering opening a restaurant on the ground floor, leaving the rest of the building to clubbers.
Known for its roasts and events, the club’s membership includes Johnny Carson, Irving Berlin, Jimmy Fallon and Carol Burnett. However, the club was in trouble. There’s life everywhere, but it hasn’t been able to fully reopen since September.
An inspection of the property by the lender in March found it was in a state of disrepair and there was concern about rubbish and liquid waste.
In 2010, it lost its tax-exempt status. In 2017, federal agents raided the club’s offices as they investigated its finances. The club’s then-executive director was eventually charged with filing false personal tax returns. The twin disasters of the 2020 flood and pandemic canceled the agency’s regular hours.
The lenders claimed the club also owed debts to the restaurant and bartender workers union, the city’s Environmental Control Board and the New York State Department of Labor.
— holden warner
