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NEW YORK’S VERBOTEN AUCTIONING LEASE TO PAY DEBT

Former Pacha NYC owner is currently the highest bidder...

Verboten’s owners are reportedly auctioning off their lease, with former Pacha NYC owner, Eddie Dean, currently the highest bidder.

The club was seized by the New York state government in March, with its owners, Jen Schiffer and her husband John Perez, forced to file for bankruptcy for unpaid taxes. The club subsequently reopened in April, whilst Schiffer claimed that she was in the process of negotiating a payment plan with the state and that the club’s seizure came as a surprise.

Despite the fact that it reopened its doors, Gothamist reports that the owners are now auctioning Verboten’s lease in order to cover some of their debt. Dean, who was the owner of Pacha NYC until it closed in January, is currently leading proceedings with a bid of $400,000, reportedly $40,000 more than Schiffer and Perez owe the state for non-payment of tax.

Gothamist also reports that a motion was made in court in May to move Schiffer’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to a Chapter 7. If that goes ahead, it would deem the business as being beyond the possibility of financial reorganisation due to “gross mismanagement” on the part of its owners. That would remove control of the estate from Schiffer, and force the club to be closed again.

It is understood that a number of parties are currently vying for the lease, with the deadline to submit a bid being Wednesday 13th July.

Rob McCallum is DJ Mag’s digital news writer. Follow him on Twitter here.