East Lyme, CT - Some Angry With the Auction of The Elms Hotel

East Lyme, CT - An auction Saturday of The Elms Hotel and a nearby rooming house known as the Little Indian Pond Lodge generated a strong turnout and some serious interest, but buyers willing to meet the sellers' conditions were few.
In the end, the only the four-unit rooming house, a short walk from the hotel on Ocean Avenue, did find a buyer, however, although the final bid price was not disclosed.

The highest in-person bid during the rooming house auction was $350,000, from David Pasquale and his wife. But another bidder made a higher offer over the telephone that was accepted, said owner Frank Forrestt. He declined to name the bidder or the final price.
The Pasquales, who had come from their home near New York City with their 11/2-year-old son Jack said that he was angry that the auctioneer, David Mendel, executive vice president of Posnik & Co., accepted telephone bids and other ways the auction was conducted.
But Mendel said that one of the telephone bidders is an Orthodox Jew who could not attend in person for religious reasons.