2 | GENDER PAY GAP APRIL 3, 2017 | VOL. 53, No. 14
19 & 31 | NUCLEAR FALLOUT
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Foreign firms flock to White Plains to file for bankruptcy BY BILL HELTZEL bheltzel@westfairinc.com
E This Yonkers city block, right, will be razed and redeveloped as an apartment complex, shown above in a rendering.
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Yonkers approves $35M, 116-unit complex on Bronx River Road BY ALEESIA FORNI aforni@westfairinc.com
A
fter three years of collaborating with Yonkers agencies and community groups, a Purchasebased developer was given the green light to move forward on
the construction of a $35 million apartment complex along Bronx River Road. The Yonkers City Council approved a rezoning of 705 Bronx River Road from commercial to residential in March, a move that allows developer Stagg Group to advance its plans for a nine-story, 160-unit rental apartment com-
plex on the property. “It really feels like a tremendous relief,” said Mark Stagg, president of the company that has been developing housing units in Westchester and the Bronx for more than two decades. The 170,000-square-foot complex will take up a city block on » YONKERS, page 6
zra Holdings Ltd. operates a marine base in Singapore, lists its shares on the Singapore Exchange and has creditors based mostly in Asia and Norway. It also maintains offices in White Plains. And that’s enough to qualify as a U.S. place of business. On March 18, the energy and marine services company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains. It was the third megabankruptcy case filed with the court since December by an international company with a small local presence. Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Ltd., a worldwide river barge company, filed on Feb. 7. Roust Corp., a European vodka maker, filed on Dec. 30. Liberal bankruptcy laws make it easy for foreign corporations and multinational corporations to liquidate in the U.S. The Southern District of New York is particularly popular, local bankruptcy attorney Linda Tirelli said, in part because it has excellent judges, including one in White Plains whom she considers the best in the country.
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Ezra Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection, claiming $500 million to $1 billion in assets and up to $500 million in liabilities. The holding company and two subsidiaries have offices at 75 S. Broadway and 777 Westchester Ave. A third subsidiary, based in Birmingham, England, filed in Houston. Three years of weak and volatile energy markets have hurt the company, according to a declaration by Robin Chiu, chief restructuring officer. A prolonged decline in exploration and development has made it difficult for gas and oil field service operators to raise money. Oversupply of offshore supply vessels and an influx of new vessels have depressed charter rates. The Ezra Group recorded a net loss of $850 million last fiscal year. Deteriorated finances and difficulty raising money have caused a “cash crunch and an inability to pay their debts as they come due,” Chiu said. Ultrapetrol and 30 subsidiaries operate hundreds of river barges and other vessels worldwide. Its principal office is in Nassau, Bahamas, and it has an office at 445 Hamilton Ave. in » BANKRUPTCY, page 6
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