Harborside residents will continue to receive meals under proposed $1 million bill deal

On By Karl

Residents of a bankrupt retirement community in Port Washington will continue to receive meals for more than $1 million in unpaid bills under a proposed settlement, according to court documents.

Sodexo attorney Jennifer A. Christian wrote in a letter to the bankruptcy court judge that Harborside agreed to pay $712,983 toward food services debt in exchange for food services provider Sodexo Inc. continuing to feed 181 residents with an average age of 90. on Tuesday.

If the judge approves the deal, residents will be able to eat until at least Nov. 30, he said.

“The parties have reached a resolution on the issues raised in the motion,” Christian said, referring to Sodexo’s Oct. 10 request to leave Harborside, formerly called The Amsterdam at Harborside. he said.

Sodexo had asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alan S. Trust to terminate its 2018 contract to provide food services, citing the retirement facility’s dwindling cash reserves and overdue bills.

Laurie Shinaman, Sodexo’s senior finance director for its seniors business, said in her lawsuit filed with the court that The Harborside “is frequently late on both preliminary and reconciliation invoices and regularly incurs contractual interest charges.”

Sodexo’s contract to provide meals was set to expire in September when The Harborside was sold to Life Care Services Communities LLC for $104 million.

But as Newsday reported on Oct. 8, that deal fell through after state regulators rejected applications for approval due to a lack of information provided by Iowa-based LCS.

In response, LCS executives said they were no longer interested in owning The Harborside after waiting more than nine months for the state Department of Health and the Department of Financial Services to review the deal and explain what additional information was needed.

“Sodexo faces the prospect of being expected to continue providing vital goods and services to (Harborside) and its residents without any assurance other than verbal representations from (Harborside and its attorneys) that Sodexo will be paid,” said another Sodexo attorney, Edward E. Neiger said in a 15-page dossier.

Judge Trust scheduled a hearing on the matter in Brooklyn federal court on Nov. 6. Harborside filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors last year; this was the third such application in 10 years.

State records show Sodexo has 66 employees at The Harborside. They were expected to be hired by LCS after taking over ownership of the luxury resort.

Both The Harborside’s CEO and a Sodexo spokesman did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Harborside has 329 units and offers different levels of care depending on the age of residents, from independent and assisted living apartments to nursing home and dementia care. It is one of four “continuing care retirement communities” on Long Island.

Prospective residents often sell their homes to pay Harborside’s entrance fee, which is determined by the size of the apartment. Under a type of sales agreement proposed in 2021, part of the entrance fee, which was between $527,250 and $2.2 million, must be refunded after the resident’s death.

Residents of a bankrupt retirement community in Port Washington will continue to receive meals for more than $1 million in unpaid bills under a proposed settlement, according to court documents.

Sodexo attorney Jennifer A. Christian wrote in a letter to the bankruptcy court judge that Harborside agreed to pay $712,983 toward food services debt in exchange for food services provider Sodexo Inc. continuing to feed 181 residents with an average age of 90. on Tuesday.

If the judge approves the deal, residents will be able to eat until at least Nov. 30, he said.

“The parties have reached a resolution on the issues raised in the motion,” Christian said, referring to Sodexo’s Oct. 10 request to leave Harborside, formerly called The Amsterdam at Harborside. he said.

Sodexo had asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alan S. Trust to terminate its 2018 contract to provide food services, citing the retirement facility’s dwindling cash reserves and overdue bills.

Laurie Shinaman, Sodexo’s senior finance director for its seniors business, said in her lawsuit filed with the court that The Harborside “is frequently late on both preliminary and reconciliation invoices and regularly incurs contractual interest charges.”

Sodexo’s contract to provide meals was set to expire in September when The Harborside was sold to Life Care Services Communities LLC for $104 million.

But as Newsday reported on Oct. 8, that deal fell through after state regulators rejected applications for approval due to a lack of information provided by Iowa-based LCS.

In response, LCS executives said they were no longer interested in owning The Harborside after waiting more than nine months for the state Department of Health and the Department of Financial Services to review the deal and explain what additional information was needed.

“Sodexo faces the prospect of being expected to continue providing vital goods and services to (Harborside) and its residents without any assurance other than verbal representations from (Harborside and its attorneys) that Sodexo will be paid,” said another Sodexo attorney, Edward E. Neiger said in a 15-page dossier.

Judge Trust scheduled a hearing on the matter in Brooklyn federal court on Nov. 6. Harborside filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors last year; this was the third such application in 10 years.

State records show Sodexo has 66 employees at The Harborside. They were expected to be hired by LCS after taking over ownership of the luxury resort.

Both The Harborside’s CEO and a Sodexo spokesman did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Harborside has 329 units and offers different levels of care depending on the age of residents, from independent and assisted living apartments to nursing home and dementia care. It is one of four “continuing care retirement communities” on Long Island.

Prospective residents often sell their homes to pay Harborside’s entrance fee, which is determined by the size of the apartment. Under a type of sales agreement proposed in 2021, part of the entrance fee, which was between $527,250 and $2.2 million, must be refunded after the resident’s death.