SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2011

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS [Abstract]

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

(16)  SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On December 14, 2011, the Board of Directors of the Company declared cash dividends of $.225 for each share of Common Stock and $.2475 for each share of Class A Common Stock.  The dividends are payable on January 20, 2012 to stockholders of record on January 6, 2012. The Board of Directors also ratified the actions of the Company's compensation committee authorizing the awards of 175,950 shares of Common Stock and 61,600 shares of Class A Common Stock to certain key officers and directors of the Company, effective January 3, 2012 pursuant to the Company's restricted stock plan.  The fair value of the shares awarded totaling $4.1 million will be charged to expense over the respective vesting periods.

In December of 2011, the Company entered into a loan commitment to borrow $28 million by placing a non-recourse first mortgage on a formally unencumbered property.  The loan will be for a term of ten years and will require payments of principal and interest based on a thirty-year amortization schedule at the fixed interest rate of 4.85%.  In conjunction with entering into the commitment, the Company placed a good faith deposit with the lender in the amount of $560,000 that is refundable at closing.  The deposit was funded with available cash.  The loan is expected to close later in January 2012.

In December, 2011, a subsidiary of the Company acquired the Eastchester Plaza Shopping Center in the Town of Eastchester, Westchester County, New York for a purchase price of $9 million.  In connection with the purchase, the Company assumed a first mortgage encumbering the property in the approximate amount of $3.6 million that bears interest at the rate of 7.64% per annum. The mortgage matures in April 2012.  The remaining equity needed to complete the acquisition was funded with available cash and borrowings on the Facility.