Deal of the Century: Fire Island Pines Commercial Properties Go for $10.1 M

Going, going, gone! The majority of Fire Island Pines' business district has a new owner - well, two of them.

After a month of speculation and a few hours of bidding and negotiating, the gavel has fallen and the majority of the commercial district in the east coast's gay resort mecca, Fire Island Pines has been bought at auction for less than fifty percent of its initial asking price.

At 10:00 PM Thursday, the following was posted on the former owner, Fire Island Pines Venture's Facebook page:

FIP Ventures congratulates Ian Reisner, owner of the THE OUT hotel, and PJ McAteer, owner of Sip 'n Twirl and Pines Bistro, for their purchase of the Fire Island Pines commercial district properties for $10.1 million today. The closing is set for the end of February. More details will be announced in the coming days. Thank you so much for your continued support, and here's to a terrific Summer 2015!

As previously reported by The New York Times, there was speculation that both Reisner and McAteer would individually bid on the properties that include the famed Pavilion nightclub, the Botel hotel and the Blue Whale restaurant - birthplace of the "tea dance." A small string of retail shops and two sizable residential homes were also part of the auction.

The properties were originally listed at nearly $25 million, and later dropped to $19.5 million. Opening bid for the auction was $8.5 million.

Although McAteer is a long established and respected member of the Pines business community, his partner Mr. Reisner brings with him a certain degree of publicized baggage.

A former investment banker turned successful real estate investor and hotelier, Reisner made headlines in October when a 23-year-old man died after being found unconscious of an apparent overdose in the bathtub of Reisner's Manhattan apartment.

In May of 2014, The East Hampton Star reported that Reisner spent 20 hours in a holding cell after being arrested by village police for an alleged hit and run. A breath test produced a reading of .06, too low for a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated but high enough for the drug-related misdemeanor charge. Reiner refused to have his blood drawn to test for the level and type of drugs that may have been in his body.

The properties were auctioned by David R. Maltz & Co. Inc., the premier full service auction company specializing in debt related sales, and were advertised to be sold free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances.

Reisner and McAteer will be the fourth owners of the properties that make up eighty percent of the commercial waterfront district.