CHEEKTOWAGA – The future of Mr. Bill’s Restaurant currently rests in the hands of Supreme Court Justice E. Jeannette Ogden after a state-wide business development corporation is moving forward with foreclosure proceedings according to documents filed with the court.
The New York Business Development Corporation petitioned the court June 7th asking for a default judgment against the owners of Mr. Bill’s because they never answered summonses issued to them in April requesting them to respond to the foreclosure complaint filed in Supreme Court.
The NYBDC also requested that the court appoint a referee to “compute the amount due to the lender” and to ascertain whether the Cleveland Drive property – which contains the restaurant and a separate residence – should be sold as one parcel.
The new court filing comes two months after NYBDC and the owners of Mr. Bill’s – John and Kathy Beck, JBecks Properties, Inc. and JBecks Restaurant, LLC, – restructured the terms of a half-million dollar small business loan. The Becks defaulted on the loan last November according to the original foreclosure complaint filed with the court on March 5th.
A modified complaint a few weeks later also said the business failed to pay property taxes to the Town of Cheektowaga for $17,191.56. The action sought a judgment to foreclose on the Cleveland Drive restaurant and a private residence on Miller Street in Depew.
“They’re redoing the loan, and that’s the paperwork they have to file in order to redo the loan,” John A. Beck, President of JBecks Properties Inc. told Cheektowaga Chronicle by phone this spring. “I’ve worked out an agreement with the bank to restructure my loan.”
Pat MacKrell, President, and CEO of New York Business Development Corporation did not want to comment on the matter due to his company’s policy.
“We never, ever, comment on collection or litigation matters,” said Mr. MacKrell. “NYBDC is not a public entity, it’s a private company, so I appreciate your interest, and I know why you’re calling, right, but it’s just a matter of policy that’s inviolable here.”
It is important to note that while the NYBDC is a private entity, the development company does use public monies from the New York State Common Retirement Fund according to the Office of the New York State Comptroller. It granted 13 loans totaling $7.5 million during the 2017 fiscal year and has been issuing US Small Business Administration-backed loans since 1987.
Cheektowaga Chronicle held off publishing an article in the springtime while we waited for the case to play out in court. The Becks never answered the foreclosure complaint and an attorney for The Becks or the JBecks business entities was never listed on the court docket.
The Forbearance Agreement which Mr. Beck told Cheektowaga Chronicle was being worked out months ago, was made public earlier this month in an exhibit to continue the foreclosure proceeding. At the time the agreement was formed in April, it delayed foreclosure action by the lender, restructured the loan, and gave The Becks money to pay the past tax bill owed to the Town of Cheektowaga.
A monthly $7,000 loan payment had to be made by The Becks, or they would be back in default under the restructured terms of the deal. The NYBDC wrote in their recent court filings that The Becks were current on the new loan.
The Town of Cheektowaga and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance were named as defendants in the action.
Cheektowaga leases a portion of the town-owned property to the restaurant for parking cars. The restaurant pays the town $500 a year according to a lease agreement filed with the court.
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued a tax warrant to JBecks Properties Inc. on August 16, 2017, for $24,688.09.