City of Ogdensburg moves to Evict Ahava

CANTON, NY — The owner of kosher food operations in Ogdensburg will be evicted by the city for failure to pay rent and utilities.

Ahava of California LLC, Venice, Calif., reportedly owes the city $90,000 in back rent and $618,138 in delinquent utility payments, according to a four-page complaint filed Friday. The city will evict the business March 10, should the delinquent bills not be paid. The Times was unable to ascertain whether the plant was operating Friday.

“They haven’t paid a penny to us,” City Manager Arthur J. Sciorra said Friday. “They have been beleaguered and continue to be beleaguered with outstanding creditors. We couldn’t simply let this continue anymore.”

The Ogdensburg plant employs about 60 full-time workers, company officials said last year.The Times has been unable to determine when or if the plant will cease operations or how the closure will affect workers. Ahava filed for bankruptcy protection last year, but a federal judge recently dismissed their petition.

Ahava hasn’t paid its $15,000-a-month rent since August. Mr. Sciorra said Ahava’s lawyers told him this week they won’t contest the lease termination.

“We hope we can find a new owner to run the plant,” Mr. Sciorra said.

New York City attorney Stephen Wagner, representing Ahava, didn’t return a call for comment, and no one answered calls at the plant Friday. The plant’s Web site, www.northcountrymanufacturing.com, has been shut down.

The city acquired the Main Street building and property in late July for delinquent property taxes. Previous owner St. Lawrence Food Corp. didn’t pay the 2006 tax bill on the property, totaling $89,000, city officials said.

St. Lawrence Food, owned by Moise A. Banayan, leased the kosher food operations in Ogdensburg and Lowville to Ahava in 2007. The lease for Ogdensburg was signed Oct. 30, 2007, while Lowville’s was signed Aug. 29, 2007.

Moise Banayan has had no ownership interest in Ahava since his brother, Fariborz Banayan, bought out Moise Banayan’s 50 percent share in Ahava in August 2005.

Moise Banayan filed for federal bankruptcy protection in April.

Ahava, doing business as North Country Manufacturing and Ahava National Food Distributor, filed paperwork in July with U.S. Bankruptcy Court Central District of California. In the bankruptcy filing, the company listed its assets and liabilities each at $1 million to $10 million and said it had more than 200 creditors.

Earlier this month, a federal judge overseeing the Ahava bankruptcy dismissed the action because the company’s secured creditors argued an auction to sell the company’s assets wouldn’t yield enough of a return to satisfy outstanding debts.