RFA Frontino Bankruptcy

Reporting debt of $2,508,159 to a combined 174 creditors, New York City general contractor and construction manager RFA Frontino filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 23, 2020, according to the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York

Of RFA Frontino’s 172 creditors with secured and unsecured claims, 82 creditors are contractors, material suppliers, and equipment lessors with nonpriority unsecured claims.  

Between June and September of 2019, RFA Frontino was involved in at least two personal lawsuit filings from two construction workers affiliated with two different subcontractors. Both construction workers serviced the RFA Frontino’s apartment building project at 168 Plymouth Street in Brooklyn, New York, a property at the center of over half of the claims from construction-related businesses in the bankruptcy petition.  

The GC and construction manager, which is headquartered in Long Beach, NY, reported the following totals in their bankruptcy petition: 

  • $2,508,159 in liabilities
  • $5,454,152.41 in assets 
  • $1,485,501 in checking 
  • $3,048,579.41 in accounts receivable 

Beyond the $1.48 million in total checking RFA Frontino lists in their bankruptcy petition, the company also reports having $868,873 in a subholding account and $1,703 in a payroll account with their bank, JPMorgan Chase. In total, RFA Frontino reports $2,356,077 in total cash or cash equivalents as of the bankruptcy filing date. 

Bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code involves the reorganization of the debtor’s assets, debts, and business affairs. Overall, a Chapter 11 filing allows the struggling business to continue operating without shutting its doors while configuring a plan of reorganization to pay back creditors. 

RFA Frontino’s bankruptcy filing lists two secured claims worth a combined $353,000. 

JPMorgan Chase Bank has a $203,000 claim from a line of credit, while the Small Business Administration (SBA) has a claim worth $150,000 for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).

RFA Frontino also reported 172 unsecured claims worth a combined $2,508,159. 

RFA Frontio reports 171 nonpriority unsecured claims and one priority unsecured claim, due to the IRS over payroll taxes. 

The following 82 contractors, suppliers, and equipment lessors are listed in RFA Frontino’s bankruptcy filing as creditors with nonpriority unsecured claims: 

  • 1-800 Mr. Rubbish –  Amount unknown 
  • A Plus Plumbing Corp. – $146,987
  • A&S Steel Contractors Ltd – $71,250
  • Able Fire Prevention Corp – $1,033
  • ACON Construction Inc – $2,944
  • Adler Windows – $0
  • Air Exchange and Energy – Amount unknown 
  • Aircraft Air Conditioning – $255,150
  • American Elite Construction – $5,521
  • American Spray-On Corp – Amount unknown 
  • Ameriscan GPR – Unknown 
  • Architectural Iron Company – Amount unknown 
  • Arsenal Scaffold Inc. – $36,000
  • Atlas Acon Electric – Amount unknown 
  • AXOS Designs Inc – $300
  • Belvedere Fireplace & Chimney – Amount unknown 
  • Big Apple Window Cleaning – Amount unknown 
  • CallAHead Corp. – $8,168
  • Celtic Building Supplies – $16,374
  • Certified Lumber – Amount unknown 
  • Checker Glass Corporation – $513
  • Chutes Enterprise – $9,000
  • Cintas First Aid and Safety – $517
  • Colony Hardware – UnAmount unknownknown 
  • Construction Safety Network – $34,920
  • Contractors Line and Grad – Amount unknown 
  • Core Mechanical – $33,790
  • Creative Floor Solutions – $18,000 
  • Cusack Custom Wood Flooring – $13,875
  • Digitech Printers – Amount unknown 
  • Empire State Electrical – $60,052
  • Ennish Construction – $396,833
  • Enobrac Plumbing Inc. – $3,150
  • Feldman Lumber – Amount unknown 
  • G-Tech Elevator – $8,478
  • Geoland – Amount unknown 
  • GMC Contracting & Estimating – Amount unknown 
  • Gotham General Carptentry – $10,120
  • Grato Parquet – Amount unknown 
  • Hamilton Metalcraft – $4,365
  • Henry Restoration – $16,992
  • High Rise Fire Protection – Amount unknown 
  • Illuminico – $49,580 
  • Infinity Painting Inc. – Amount unknown 
  • Jersey Granite & Tile LLC – $92,588
  • JLM – $8,980
  • Kilroy Architectural – $61,646 
  • KM Associates of NY Inc. – $9,826
  • KNS Building Restoration – $100,148
  • L.I.F. Security – $30,761
  • Lake Landscape and Masonry – Amount unknown 
  • LCD Elevator Repair Inc. – $4,840
  • Lion Electric Inc. – Unknown 
  • LL Overhead Garage Doors – Amount unknown 
  • Loading Dock, Inc. – Amount unknown 
  • Maspeth Welding Inc. – $79,662
  • Medley Air Inc. – $13,840
  • Mercon Contracting Inc. – $11,011
  • Metropolis Group Inc. – Amount unknown 
  • Metropolitan Lumber & Hardware – Amount unknown 
  • Mode Unlimited – $123,416
  • Nithun Construction Company – $21,176
  • Pasenti Concrete – $48,131
  • Patriot Sawcutting Inc. – $12,122
  • Pella Windows & Doors – Amount unknown 
  • Plan B Engineering LLC – Amount unknown 
  • Priority NY Inc. – $49,950
  • PS Industries Incorporate – $2,625
  • Queens County Carting Inc. – Amount unknown 
  • Regulator Construction Co. – $24,500
  • Rock Group – $124,774
  • Roof Services – $29,887
  • RPO Inc. – Amount unknown 
  • Saltus LLC – $825
  • Select Interiors – $31,504
  • Site Safety LLC – Amount unknown 
  • Spring Scaffolding – Amount unknown 
  • Star Dash Mechanical – Amount unknown 
  • Stone Source – $13,311
  • The Marin Organization – Amount unknown 
  • Trinity Highway Products – Amount unknown 
  • Vespa Stone – $20,000

Personal injury lawsuits & OATH violations 

A construction worker from subcontractor GMC Contracting & Estimating and a construction worker from subcontractor G&A General Contracting have both filed personal injury lawsuits against RFA Frontino following workplace accidents at the 168 Plymouth Street apartment jobsite in Brooklyn, NY. 

The first claim was processed on June 24, 2019 from the construction worker employed by G&A General Contracting after the plaintiff was “struck by falling construction equipment,” according to the lawsuit. 

On September 13, 2019, the second personal injury lawsuit was filed after alleging negligence against RFA Frontino. 

Each lawsuit is currently still active. 

The 85,000-square-foot apartment project in Brooklyn is slated to house 46 new apartments and will scale 137 feet. 

NYC Dept. of Buildings Violations

According to the NYC Department of Buildings, RFA Frontino is currently involved in three Environmental Control Board (ECB) violations worth a combined $15,000 in penalties at 142 Watts Street, New York, NY — an 8,200 square-foot mixed-use building in which RFA Frontio is servicing as a construction manager.

The violations — which are commonly referred to as Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) violations — are placed when a property fails to comply with an aspect of the New York City Construction Codes or Zoning Resolution. 

The largest OATH violation penalty fee RFA Frontino faces is for $10,000. The remaining two violations are each for $2,500. 

Each violation was served on August 7, 2020, and the OATH hearing date for all three violations is set for January 21, 2021.