Above: The VW Parts property at 717 Wagner Avenue in Fleischmanns that is owned by William Hrazanek. Photo by Julia Reischel.
Developer Kenneth Pasternak has cancelled a foreclosure sale of two Fleischmanns junkyard properties owned by William Hrazanek, who owes Pasternak more than $1 million in unpaid mortgage payments. The parcels are eligible to be purchased with federal disaster funds by FEMA, but are also allegedly contaminated with pollutants that may bump them out of the buyout program.
The foreclosure sales were scheduled to take place on May 20 on the courthouse steps in Delhi.
"It was cancelled," said Dennis Metnick, Pasternak's lawyer in the foreclosure case. "That is all I can say."
An April 2 foreclosure judgement against Hrazanek for his unpaid debts is still in force, Metnick added.
The foreclosure cancellation is the latest move in a complicated game of strategy between Pasternak and Hrazanek, who have been suing and countersuing each other over the parcels for over a year. In the middle are the Delaware County Planning Department, FEMA, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and the village of Fleischmanns, all of whom have a stake in the future of the land, but no direct say over what happens next.
According to a Catskill Mountain News story from early May, the DEP, FEMA, and the Delaware County Planning Department are in talks with Hrazanek. If all the parties agree on an appraisal of the parcels' value, the buyout process could move forward, foreclosure or no.
Shelly Johnson-Bennett of the Delaware County Planning Department did not return a call for comment on the foreclosure cancellation.
Hrazanek is also facing criminal charges regarding environmental pollution on the two properties in Middletown Town Court. Hrazanek's criminal lawyer, Tom O'Hern, has repeatedly refused to comment on any of the ongoing cases.
