A New York judge had ruled that Empire State Realty Trust could begin seizing assets of the Pacifica Foundation to cover a $1.8 million judgment against WBAI, the New York sister station of KPFA. Empire State Realty Trust had filed a motion in California to follow through on the seizure after a 30-day waiting period. The motion was to have gone into effect Monday.
According to the SF Chronicle, representatives of Empire State had promised to give at least one day’s notice before seizing assets, and before that happened a dozen Pacifica supporters came forth to chip in on the $2 million balance due. The loan was verbally committed by supporters of another Pacifica station, KPFK in Los Angeles, said Bill Crosier, interim executive director of the Pacifica Foundation.
“This would be a short-term loan to pay off the judgment, then the plans are to repay it with another, longer-term loan,” Crosier explained.
With the addition of the bridge loan, Pacifica is $8 million in debt, and that debt is growing every day. The rent on the transmission tower for WBAI, which sits atop the Empire State Building, is $60,000 a month, and the $2 million covers rent and interest only until last May. Pacifica has since incurred another $400,000 in unpaid back rent, on a tower lease that runs through 2020, with built-in annual increases of 9 percent.
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