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A New York real estate magnate's acrimonious divorce and property settlement are threatening to disrupt a family business that controls some 30 buildings across the city.
Manhattan landlord Abraham Haruvi was been charged with misdemeanor battery after his wife of 14 years, Giovana Stephenson, told police in December he had hit and scratched her during an argument, the New York Post reports. Stephenson has hired a divorce attorney, whose comments to the Post have thrown into question the future of Haruvi’s real estate holdings.
“A divorce will occur,” Stephenson's attorney, Joel Weissman, told the Post. “From my client’s perspective, the marriage is not salvageable.”
Police officers responded to a call regarding a domestic dispute at Haruvi's Palm Beach, Florida, home, where they took him into custody. He is expected to appear in court in March and plead not guilty, according to his attorney.
Alongside his brother Arthur, Haruvi controls around 500 apartment units across 30 buildings, largely on the Upper East Side. The pair have long argued over the future of their holdings, and this divorce may finally bring the issue to a head. Each has accused the other of stealing from the business.
Haruvi's portfolio was battling low occupancy rates when renters fled the city, and when vacancy hit 40% in the rentals, Arthur Haruvi took action against Abe Haruvi and forced him into a debt refinancing deal, the Post reports. Arthur Haruvi claimed in legal documents last July that he had found lenders to take on the $5.9M loan, but Abraham Haruvi refused to agree, possibly because he was trying to dissolve the company through foreclosure, PincusCo reported at the time.
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