A family real estate drama will now play out in a new venue: bankruptcy court.
Simry Realty Corp, connected to the Haruvi family, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday. The Haruvi family blamed the financial trouble on a years-long legal battle with member Michelle Haruvi, who claims she was unfairly cut out of the business.
The filing affects nearly 500 apartments across seven Manhattan properties. It also puts a stay on Michelle Haruvi’s fight to unwind a 2022 restructuring deal.
“To break the stranglehold of protracted state court litigation that unduly interferes
with the ability to pursue a mortgage restructuring or refinancing, Simry is seeking Chapter 11
relief,” family member Aileen Haruvi wrote in a bankruptcy court declaration.
Brothers Abe and Arthur Haruvi traced their wealth back to the 1960s, when their father began amassing properties. Each brother owned half of Simry. Simry in turn was connected to seven different Manhattan properties. The family’s legal troubles started in 2022.
Arthur transferred some of his interest in Simry to his two daughters, Michelle and Aileen, such that they both owned about 18 percent of the business.
But after the pandemic, disagreements grew between the brothers. In 2022, Arthur and Abe reorganized Simry. That meant an $80 million cash buy-out of Abe’s half of the company, along with a partnership with another company, Jade Venture Partners.
Conversations about the deal took place somewhat informally, according to court records. Michelle then sued the family and Simry, alleging that as a shareholder she was not properly notified or given the opportunity to review the transaction.
Michelle’s complaint was eventually dismissed by a trial court judge in 2024, but an appellate court reversed that decision in 2025, sending the issue back to litigation.
The litigation has stymied the company’s ability to refinance its mortgages, which matured in June 2024, according to the bankruptcy filing.
The bankruptcy filing will put a stay on that litigation, according to a notice from an attorney for Simry.
An attorney for Michelle Haruvi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A bankruptcy attorney for Simry also did not return a request for comment Monday.
Simry owns between $50 million and $100 million in assets, according to company estimates. Company liabilities are in the same range. The properties affected by the bankruptcy are 309 to 315 West 54th Street, 38 and 54 West 75th Street, and 244 West 74th Street, all in Manhattan.
Peter Hungerford, a defendant in Michelle’s lawsuit and a business partner of Arthur Haruvi’s, said Arthur and his attorneys are hoping for a swift resolution to the family litigation. “This filing has nothing to do with the real estate, the business plan, or any of the entities my firm and I are affiliated with,” Hungerford said in a statement. “It is incredibly unfortunate that a decade-long family feud over money has come to this.”
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