A company that provided food services for a bankrupt Port Washington retirement community wants to exit, citing more than $1 million in unpaid bills, according to court documents.
Sodexo has asked a federal bankruptcy judge for permission to end food service at Harborside, which is home to 181 seniors with an average age of 90.
Sodexo’s “services are essential to (Harbourside’s) operations and the well-being of its residents,” said Laurie Sinaman, senior director of finance for Sodexo’s senior business unit.
However, the retirement community is “frequently delinquent on both pre-billing and adjustment invoices and regularly accruing contractual interest,” she said in a court filing.
Sodexo’s food service contract, which runs through February 2018, was scheduled to end last month when The Harborside was sold to LifeCare Services Communities LLC for $104 million.
But as Newsday reported on Oct. 8, the deal fell apart when state regulators rejected the approval application, citing insufficient information provided by Iowa-based LCS.
In response, LCS executives said they were no longer interested in owning Harborside after waiting more than nine months for the state Department of Health and Department of Financial Services to review the deal and provide any additional information needed. .
“Sodexo faces the prospect that it will be expected to continue providing critical goods and services to Harborside and its residents… (other than possibly oral statements from Harborside and its attorneys) Sodexo There is no guarantee that any compensation will be paid,” Sodexo attorney Edward E. Nyger said in a 15-page court filing.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Alan S. Trust has scheduled a hearing on the matter for November 6 in federal court in Brooklyn. The retirement community filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection against creditors in September 2023, the third time in 10 years.
It’s unclear what will happen to Harborside’s 66 Sodexo employees if a judge approves the termination of the food service contract. They were expected to be employed by LCS after it assumed ownership of the luxury facility.
Sodexo spokeswoman Katherine Power declined to answer questions from Newsday this week, saying the company “does not comment on ongoing litigation.”
Harborside has 329 units, offering different levels of care depending on the age of the resident, from independent and assisted living apartments to retirement homes and dementia care. It is one of four “continuing care retirement communities” on Long Island.
Prospective tenants often sell their homes to pay the Harborside entrance fee, which is determined by the size of the apartment. Part of the admission fee under one type of purchase agreement offered in 2021 ranged from $527,250 to $2.2 million, which would be refunded after the resident’s death.
A company that provided food services for a bankrupt Port Washington retirement community wants to exit, citing more than $1 million in unpaid bills, according to court documents.
Sodexo has asked a federal bankruptcy judge for permission to end food service at Harborside, which is home to 181 seniors with an average age of 90.
Sodexo’s “services are essential to (Harbourside’s) operations and the well-being of its residents,” said Laurie Sinaman, senior director of finance for Sodexo’s senior business unit.
However, the retirement community is “frequently delinquent on both pre-billing and adjustment invoices and regularly accruing contractual interest,” she said in a court filing.
Sodexo’s food service contract, which runs through February 2018, was scheduled to end last month when The Harborside was sold to LifeCare Services Communities LLC for $104 million.
But as Newsday reported on Oct. 8, the deal fell apart when state regulators rejected the approval application, citing insufficient information provided by Iowa-based LCS.
In response, LCS executives said they were no longer interested in owning Harborside after waiting more than nine months for the state Department of Health and Department of Financial Services to review the deal and provide any additional information needed. .
“Sodexo faces the prospect that it will be expected to continue providing critical goods and services to Harborside and its residents… (other than possibly oral statements from Harborside and its attorneys) Sodexo There is no guarantee that any compensation will be paid,” Sodexo attorney Edward E. Nyger said in a 15-page court filing.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Alan S. Trust has scheduled a hearing on the matter for November 6 in federal court in Brooklyn. The retirement community filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection against creditors in September 2023, the third time in 10 years.
It’s unclear what will happen to Harborside’s 66 Sodexo employees if a judge approves the termination of the food service contract. They were expected to be employed by LCS after it assumed ownership of the luxury facility.
Sodexo spokeswoman Katherine Power declined to answer questions from Newsday this week, saying the company “does not comment on ongoing litigation.”
Harborside has 329 units, offering different levels of care depending on the age of the resident, from independent and assisted living apartments to retirement homes and dementia care. It is one of four “continuing care retirement communities” on Long Island.
Prospective tenants often sell their homes to pay the Harborside entrance fee, which is determined by the size of the apartment. Part of the admission fee under one type of purchase agreement offered in 2021 ranged from $527,250 to $2.2 million, which would be refunded after the resident’s death.
