The Karafin School Inc., operator of a high school for special needs students in Mount Kisco that was about to be evicted from its premises, has petitioned for bankruptcy protection.
Karafin declared $90,000 in assets and $2.6 million in liabilities, in a Chapter 11 reorganization petition filed April 18 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, White Plains.
The school was established in 1972 to serve children with autism, emotional and learning disabilities and other health impairments. In 1982 it moved to an office complex on Radio Circle Drive near the Mount Kisco post office.
As recently as December, according to court documents, about 56 students from low-income communities in New York and Connecticut were enrolled in the school.
Karafin is involved in four lawsuits filed in recent months.
Last December the school sued its landlord, Kisco Radio Circle Associates, of Nanuet, Rockland County, to block an expected eviction.
Karafin did not dispute that it owed back rent, but it disagreed on how much it owed and asked Westchester Supreme Court to declare that the landlord may not cancel the lease.
In February, the landlord petitioned Justice Court of Mount Kisco for an eviction order, claiming the school owed $245,000 in back rent.
Then the landlord filed a complaint in Westchester Supreme Court against K3 Learning Inc., claiming that the Manhattan holding company for specialty schools was advising Karafin to pay creditors but not the landlord.
Also in February, a former school psychologist accused Karafin of retaliation for allegedly firing her because she complained about unpaid wages.
The Mount Kisco court ruled in favor of the landlord on April 17, according to a Westchester Supreme Court record, and the village court was about to issue a warrant of eviction.
By filing for bankruptcy protection, the four pending lawsuits were automatically halted.
Unsecured claims listed in the bankruptcy petition include:
- $519,306 to the New York State Education Department,
- $488,000 to New York City Department of Education for excess tuition payments,
- $305,000 to JPMorgan Chase Bank for a U.S. Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loan to retain 39 jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic,
- $304,449 to Kisco Radio Associates for rent,
- $209,108 to Marcus Kozien, the school counselor and individual education plan coordinator,
- $118,082 in state and federal payroll tax liabilities.
Renee L. Donow, of McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, owns The Karafin School Inc., according to the petition, and is the president, chief executive officer and board chairwoman.
Bart A. Donow is the executive director, according to the school’s website.
Karafin is represented by Nassau County attorney A. Scott Mandelup.
