Stuyvesant Town Foreclosure Auction Looms

An appeals court has removed what appears to be the last challenge to a foreclosure auction for the massive Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village apartment complex.

The decision clears the way for senior lenders, CW Capital, to take control of the massive complex. The previous owners, Tishman Speyer and BlackRock, defaulted on loans and turned the development over to creditors.

Yesterday, appeals judges rejected a challenge by another set of creditors -- a hedge fund and a real estate management company. The joint venture purchased some of the debt and then tried to use that foothold to foreclose on the whole property.

A lower-court judge already ruled the joint venture had no right to foreclose, unless it paid off the more than $3 billion owed to the senior lender.

Yesterday's ruling allows the auction to proceed next Monday, even though there's an appeal pending.

Both sides have been courting the Tenants Association, a group of saavy renters who have proven influential during the legal wrangling over the complex.