Car Club Seeks Chapter 11 Protection Despite Growing Membership in “Defensive Move”
April 15, 2021 – Herrick Restructuring ReviewThe Herrick Restructuring Review provides insights and information related to restructuring and finance litigation. The Herrick team regularly represents official and ad hoc creditor committees, hedge funds, distressed debt investors, bondholders, and other parties in interest, and often serve as conflicts or special counsel for large-scale complex litigation matters.
Despite a relatively strong 2020, New York Classic Motors, LLC, a unit of Classic Car Club Manhattan, filed for chapter 11 protection on April 9, 2021. Classic Car Club Manhattan is a private club where members can drive an impressive fleet of luxury vehicles both new and restored classics. Members are also entitled to attend a calendar of events and access the private clubhouse on the Hudson River. The clubhouse is located at Pier 76, 408 12th Avenue, near the Javits Center in Manhattan. New York Classic Motors holds the lease on the clubhouse and is a tenant of Hudson River Park.
In an interview, Classic Car Club Manhattan’s co-founder called the bankruptcy a “defensive move” to preserve its clubhouse space after Hudson River Park gave notice in January that it needed to vacate the space as part of a planned development even though the club had more than four years remaining on the lease. Because of the filing, the club will be able to continue operations at Pier 76 while the case is pending. The club has not filed a declaration or disclosure statement yet.
According to its co-founder, the club ended 2020 with more members than it began despite COVID-19 and New York City’s restrictions in response. The chapter 11 filing may delay the club’s move, but the case will not last forever. For its members’ sake, hopefully Classic Car Club Manhattan will find a solution that allows it to continue operation into the future.
The bankruptcy case is In re New York Classic Motors, LLC, Case No. 21-10670 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.).
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