Owners at a boutique Carnegie Hill condominium have sued three LLCs tied to Arch Companies co-founder Jeffrey Simpson, alleging the entities owe nearly $240,000 in unpaid monthly common charges while Simpson's control of the condo board has kept other owners from collecting what they're owed. The lawsuit, covering four of the six units at 1055 Park Avenue, also accuses board members of having a personal interest in shielding themselves and their affiliates from the very charges at issue.
According to The Real Deal, the complaint was filed in New York County and updated this past Wednesday. The 12-story glass-clad building, described by CityRealty as the only all-glass residential structure on Park Avenue, sits between East 86th and East 87th streets and holds just five residences along with a doorman, concierge, resident manager and fitness center. It was developed by Trevor Davis and, per CityRealty, completed in 2008.
Simpson, through LLCs, bought four units at the building in 2021 for roughly $7 million, acquiring the penthouse, Unit 1, Unit 4 and a unit suite, the report states. He later defaulted on loans secured by his stakes in the penthouse and Unit 1 in 2024, and an entity called New York 555 acquired those loans from Maxim Credit Group before transferring ownership of the apartments to a new entity this past January. Simpson appears to retain ownership stakes in Unit 4 and the unit suite through two of the defendant LLCs, the outlet notes.
Who Owes What, According to the Complaint
The lawsuit names the entity that took over Simpson's ownership in the penthouse and Unit 1 and alleges that entity now owes roughly $149,000 in its predecessors' unpaid common charges, the report says. Other entities tied to Simpson allegedly owe roughly $81,000 for Unit 4 and $8,600 for the unit suite. The complaint argues condo bylaws make new owners liable for a predecessor's unpaid charges — a theory broadly consistent with how New York Real Property Law § 339-z treats statements of unpaid common charges tied to a unit upon conveyance.
The owners of the other two units in the building say they have been unable to collect outstanding charges because Simpson controls the board — he serves as its president, with his wife and another relative also sitting as board members, per the same account. Irvine Realty Group, the management firm, and the other owners have asked the court for authority to pursue the case without condo board approval. An attorney for Irvine and the other owners did not respond to a request for comment, the outlet reported.
Simpson's Bankruptcy and the Board Standoff
Simpson told The Real Deal he has not paid common charges on the apartment where he lives with his wife and children because of an ongoing personal bankruptcy case, which he voluntarily initiated this past February. A bankruptcy judge ruled this past August that the automatic stay in Simpson's Chapter 11 case does not apply to entities that own or owned the condominiums. A bankruptcy filing separately identifies Jeffrey Solomon Simpson as the debtor in a Chapter 11 matter, Case No. 26-10359 (LGB), according to a document posted by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Simpson said he has repeatedly asked New York 555 officers to pay the outstanding common charges, but those officers have not paid them, the report states. He also said a lender was pretending to own the apartments and had conducted faulty foreclosures. The fallout has hit the building's rental market: the previous penthouse tenant left after the entity took over the loans, a prospective renter for Unit 1 later withdrew, and Simpson said neither the penthouse nor Unit 1 has since been rented. “I can't pay for four apartments,” he said. “I can't lease them.”
Simpson's Defense and Arch's Turbulent Years
Simpson described the lawsuit as an attempt to “weaponize the board without the authority of the board.” He said he reduced the building's overall monthly common charges by roughly $200,000 and renovated the lobby and made other improvements that enabled higher rents. “I used my resources and my abilities to turn that building around,” he said, adding, “People quickly forget the good things you do for them.”
Simpson co-founded Arch Companies with Jared Chassen in 2017, and the firm grew its portfolio to include $1 billion in assets, according to the same report. Rising interest rates slowed Arch's development pipeline in 2022, and costly lawsuits created doubt among the firm's investors that same year. Simpson and Chassen have since become embroiled in a years-long court battle over control of Arch Companies.
