Man claiming to be holder of LLC-owned property in downtown Pearl River threatens frivolous lawsuit for RCT coverage

This afternoon, Monday, June 5 a man claiming to be the owner of a Pearl river building featured visually alongside recent Rockland County Times articles discussing LLC-owned properties, threatened to sue the Rockland County Times if the newspaper did not issue a “retraction” of the photo in the next edition of the newspaper. He said the articles had led to speculation regarding ownership of the property that could cost him “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

He said absent a “retraction,” the next communication to the Rockland County Times would be from his attorney. When asked for his identity and whether the property is owned by an LLC, the individual refused to provide his name and affirmed that the property is owned by an LLC. The phone number of the call traced to the address of the building in question.

The articles the caller complained about had reported on the Town of Orangetown’s proposed law that would require ownership of LLC-held properties to be made public.

The Rockland County Times issued a statement: “The caller claimed the building is both owned by his LCC and refused to provide his identity. That would make the building a good example of an LLC-owned property impacted by the proposed law. We offered to publicize the identity of the owner so as to quell any rumors but he refused to provide it. He has not accused the paper of misrepresenting any facts, so there is nothing to retract.”

According to www.propertyshark.com the lot and building is indeed owned by a LLC.

Peach Properties, LLC, purchased it for $620,000 from Paul and Rita Hadeler in 2013. Its 2015 valuation is listed at $638,850 and the lot pays $23,225 annually in property tax. New York State lists the address of Peach Properties LLC as 17 Rt. 340, Orangeburg. The name of the owner of the LLC is not provided in the listing.