Strauss Discount Auto at 2570 Coney Island Avenue.
Telling Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.
I remember years ago, passing by R & S Strauss Discount Auto at 2570 Coney Island Avenue on my way to get bagels from Hot Bagels (what’s it called now?) and getting a movie at Blockbuster (also, gone). The neighborhood constantly changes as businesses open up and close down.
R & S was in the community for quite some time, but the economic climate changed so dramatically in the past few years that every brick and mortar outlet is having a tough time paying the rent.
What happens if it happens to you? What happens if you’re a small business owner and you just can’t afford to keep the lights on anymore? You, like many other businesses around you, can file for Bankruptcy. However, there are some things to keep in mind.
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Strauss Discount Auto at 2570 Coney Island Avenue.
SHEEPSHEAD BITES SCOOP: Venerable metro-area auto repair and supply store Strauss Discount Auto declared Chapter 11 Bankruptcy last night, spurring the surprise closure of more than 50 45 locations and laying off approximately 700 workers.
The sign in the window (click to enlarge)
Employees and customers of the chain were equally surprised this morning to arrive at locations in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to find gates down and signs in the windows declaring stores closed, and directing customers to call 800-787-4554, and employees to call supervisors. The chain’s website has been taken down and replaced with the same number for customer service.
Sheepshead Bites’ phone call to the company was answered by a merchandising rep taking calls on behalf of customer service. She informed us that the company had declared bankruptcy overnight, and that all branches were closed. She did not have specifics about the number of employees, but estimated it as more than 700 chain wide.
The company had nine stores in Brooklyn, 22 19 stores citywide and 53 45 stores in the entire metro area, according to a list of stores on an archived version of its webpage.
“That’s horrible,” said a frequent patron of the 2570 Coney Island location, who said he was friendly with the staff. “I pass by them everyday. They were just open yesterday. No one knew nothing.”
Keep reading about what happened to the business, and what you can do if your car is still in Strauss Auto’s possession.
Source: Ian Muttoo/Flickr
Telling Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.
In New York, there is what seems an almost endless debate between buying and renting a home; between owning a piece of property that you can say is yours, versus paying someone for the privilege of living in theirs.
There are pros and cons to both approaches, but if you’re going to go along with the theory that buying is the best way to spend your money, then you better know what’s in the Contract of Sale. And if you’re going to want to know what’s in the Contract of Sale, you better have a clear understanding with your attorney.
Far too often I find clients are simply ready to sign on the dotted line. If they’re buying a Dyson on Home Shopping, they’re certainly checking out the warranty to see what it covers. But if they’re putting down hundreds of thousands of dollars, many of them simply trust that the lawyer has done what the lawyer should do, and they sign away.
This, my friends, is a terrible mistake. A client should always know (and in my opinion has the responsibility to know) what it is that they’re agreeing to.
“But a lawyer should tell the client what they need to know when they buy real estate,” you say. Granted. Yes. But I find that sometimes clients will feel too intimidated to ask, and it’s to their detriment.
Here are some of the common questions you should ask your attorney if you’re buying some real estate in New York:
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Source: 401K/Flickr
Telling Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.
Okay, so let’s be real here. Whenever anyone discusses Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, inevitably, someone thinks, “Oh, I know what these people do. They max out their cards right before they file and then they get to keep all their stuff and get rid of the debt.”
Let’s address these two assumptions separately.
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Telling Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.
A client came to us recently in our Brooklyn office. She was being sued by Mel S. Harris & Associates, a collection law firm in New York. Her bank account (actually her husband’s bank account) was frozen. The story is all too familiar.
She never received any summons and complaint. She never received any Notice of Motion for Default Judgment (which is an action a creditor takes in Court when you don’t respond to a summons and complaint in New York). She received no court papers at all. She wasn’t even aware that any debt existed under her name. All she knew was that she could no longer access her husband’s account, which had thousands of dollars in it.
We were able to unfreeze the account and have the case dismissed in less than 48 hours. That doesn’t guarantee that the same result will happen in each and every case. In fact, its an aberration in some respects. The lawyers there, after we showed them proof that our client did not live at the address where she was allegedly served, were quite courteous and did the right thing. However, I need to stress that if your account is frozen in New York by a credit collector, the last thing you should do is call them immediately and try and settle the debt.
Keep reading to find out what you should do.
Source: danielmoyle/Flickr
Telling Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.
Governor Paterson was one of the greatest governors in this state’s history. What’s that? I’m insane? Okay, fine. But here’s the thing: the last bill that Governor Paterson signed into law before leaving his post was a windfall to debtors that want to file bankruptcy and keep their stuff. Perhaps the most radical change to the bankruptcy laws since 2005, this bill has, and will continue to, change the way that people across New York, and especially Sheepshead Bay, will approach the topic of Bankruptcy for some time to come.
Keep reading to find out how.
Source: Google Maps
Elected officials have fired off letters to Stop & Shop, White Rose, D’Agostino Supermarkets, Key Food and Whole Foods in an attempt to find a replacement supermarket for Pathmark on 3785 Nostand Avenue, they announced yesterday. Meanwhile, one media outlet is stirring the Walmart pot.
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Source: Google Maps
Congressman Anthony Weiner is weighing in on the closure of the Nostrand Avenue Pathmark, saying that he’ll fight to bring a new supermarket to the area.
“Residents of Sheepshead Bay shouldn’t be forced to leave the neighborhood to buy groceries,” Weiner said in a press release. “It’s unfortunate that Pathmark is closing, but now it’s all hands on deck to ensure that we bring a new supermarket to Nostrand Avenue.”
The congressman plans to begin reaching out to other supermarket chains to find a suitable tenant at the 3785 Nostrand Avenue location. In a statement, his office said he’ll be working with the business community and local leaders, and hopes to secure a promise from the landlord to make the space available exclusively for a supermarket.
According to the press release, Weiner was a key player in bringing Pathmark to the neighborhood in 2002, following the closure of Key Food on Avenue U.
Source: Google Maps
Say it ain’t so. Pathmark supermarket on Nostrand Avenue is going to close. But don’t despair – politicians are looking to work with the property owner to get a new supermarket in that location.
Pathmark’s owner, A&P, filed for bankruptcy protection last December, and on Tuesday morning, A&P officials broke the news to the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 that the Pathmark at 3785 Nostrand Avenue – which employs about 100 people – will close its doors for good. That’s just one of the 32 A&P-owned stores that will be closing, officials say, but the only one in New York City. A&P is cutting all these stores in hopes that doing so will stop the financial bleeding from their current $3.2 billion debt.
Read about who’s trying to keep a supermarket at that spot, and weigh in on who you’d like to replace it.
Tuesday Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future. Today it comes on Wednesday. Live with it.
So you just got a summons on the door of your Sheepshead Bay apartment saying you owe $15,000 to a credit card from 2002. What are you going to do?
On my website, I’ve previously discussed what happens when you get sued by a creditor in New York and the available defenses you have. But let’s say the creditor served you correctly, and that you actually recognize the debt and it is an amount you owe. What in the world do you do now?
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