By Chris Fuchs
The city Department of Finance released the names of 125 businesses last week that owe back taxes, one of which is from College Point and is more than $250,000 in arrears.
In addition, four other corporations in the borough were said to be delinquent in settling their debts, owing the city amounts ranging from $92,000 to more than $180,000, according to the Finance Department, the city agency that collects the taxes. These corporations were among 30 to which letters either were delivered or were refused.
AB Enterprise Inc. in College Point is one of three that the department said had received certified or hand-delivered letters informing them of the back taxes they owed. In each of the three cases, the chief executive officers of the corporations did not resolve their debts, said Andrew Eristoff, the commissioner of the Department of Finance.
Robert De Filippis, the chief executive officer of AB Enterprise, owes the city $253,123.98, the commissioner said. Neither De Filippis nor his corporation was listed and could not be reached for comment.
The two other businesses that the department said acknowledged receiving notice of their debts are Corinthian Media Buying, of Manhattan, and Lincoln West Associates, of Manhattan, whose chief executive officer is Abraham Hirschfeld, the jailed parking-lot magnate.
The Finance Department identified the four other Queens businesses that owe taxes as Alpine Container Service of Maspeth; American Bus Company Inc. of Long Island City; Sumo Container Station Inc. of Jamaica; and Sun Dew Corp. of Jamaica. The amounts they owe range from $92,000 to more than $188,000.
A woman who answered the telephone for Alpine Container Friday but refused to give her name, said “it can’t be because we don’t have any back taxes.” She said the chief executive officer, Michael Cotoia, who the department said owes $92,903.36, was unavailable for comment.
The telephone number listed for American Bus Company Inc. directed the caller to dial another number for directory information, for which there is a surcharge. That corporation owes $126,937.49, and no chief executive officer is listed, Eristoff said.
A spokesman for Sumo Container Station said the chief executive officer, Anthony Evangelista, had been in meetings all day Friday and so could not comment. His corporation owes $185,500, according to the Finance Department.
And a woman who answered the telephone for Sun Dew Corp. said Friday that the chief executive officer, Stanley Kushner, had left for the day and was unavailable for comment. The Finance Department said he owes $188,453.77.
Reach reporter Chris Fuchs by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.