Ashkenazy, Gindi Family Reach Settlement After Sprawling Legal Battle
One of the highest-profile feuds in New York City’s commercial real estate industry has come to an end.
Ben Ashkenazy, the billionaire mogul who has owned some of the nation's signature properties, and the Gindi family, founders of the Century 21 department store chain, have settled a long-running legal saga that included multiple lawsuits lobbed from each side, The Real Deal first reported.
"Ben Ashkenazy and the Gindi family are pleased to announce they have discontinued the litigations between them," the families said in a joint statement provided to Bisnow by attorney Terrence Oved.
Law firm Oved & Oved began representing the Gindis last summer, TRD reported.
"Despite certain contentious moments, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the result is positive, cordial and each side wishes the other continued success," the statement continued. "The parties thank Terrence Oved, Darren Oved and David Kriss for their exceptional efforts in succeeding, where others have not, in securing this amicable resolution.”
The announcement of a final settlement comes after a document filed with the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court last month revealed that the families had “reached a settlement in principle,” but it had not been finalized.
Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. and Gindi Equities didn't immediately respond to Bisnow’s requests for comment. Oved declined to comment on the content of the settlement.
The Gindis have invested alongside Ashkenazy for years, not just in and around New York, but also at some of the high-profile properties that built Ashkenazy's profile and wealth to billionaire status. But it devolved into threats and attacks, including Ashkenazy telling Raymond Gindi “I'm going to crush you,” according to text messages filed in court and reported by TRD.
The feud between the two families began when Ben Ashkenazy alleged that Raymond, Eddie and Isaac Gindi hadn’t paid up on capital calls concerning retail properties that the families owned together. He also accused the Gindis of defamation, TRD previously reported. The Gindis fired back, alleging that Ashkenazy owed them money from their joint venture investments.
Ashkenazy sued the Gindis in a Brooklyn court in 2022, alleging that the Gindis owed more than $15M plus interest after defaulting on a $10M loan for a real estate investment, The Real Deal previously reported. The Gindis said that the sum was a placeholder marking distribution from an old cash-out refinancing.
Outside of the five boroughs, the two parties have tangled over refinancing the Yonkers’ Cross County Mall, which they own together, TRD reported last year.
In Washington, D.C., Ashkenazy lost the retail portion of Union Station, the nation's second-busiest intercity rail hub, in a foreclosure action, and Amtrak is now attempting to seize the property in court via eminent domain.
The Gindis were also involved in the Union Station deal. The family alleged that Ashkenazy promised an equity interest in the Union Station redevelopment, but that their ownership stake was never recognized, TRD previously reported.
Besides Union Station, Ashkenazy has been fighting to stabilize a commuter and tourist-focused, retail-heavy portfolio since before the pandemic, but the settlement isn't the only recent sign he might be looking to turn the page. His company filed plans this spring for the redevelopment of a 43-year-old shopping center less than 2 miles from Union Station, where it hopes to build a 2.4M SF multifamily and retail project.
