Controversial real estate developer and restaurateur James McGown, known for bankrupting his way through the Big Apple, is offering 13 Brooklyn, N.Y., properties in a pre-foreclosure real estate auction set for March 27, Crain’s New York Business reported yesterday. Among those up for sale is 320 Court St., which currently houses McGown’s Buschenschank beer garden. Other properties included in the auction are Brooklyn’s 555 Union St. and 557 Union St., as well as 65 4th Ave., which is the site of McGown’s Cherry Tree Bar. McGown gained notoriety in 2010 for owning a basement condo in TriBeCa described by tabloids as a "sex cave." He has filed more than a half-dozen bankruptcy petitions in the past six years for businesses including South Brooklyn Pizza. The auction will be conducted by East River Mortgage Corp., a real estate entity owned by McGown that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012.
