The Company has elected to be treated as a REIT under Sections 856-860 of the Internal Revenue Code ("Code"). Under those sections, a REIT that, among other things, distributes at least 90% of real estate trust taxable income and meets certain other qualifications prescribed by the Code will not be taxed on that portion of its taxable income that is distributed.  The Company believes it qualifies as a REIT and intends to distribute all of its taxable income for fiscal 2023 in accordance with the provisions of the Code. Accordingly, no provision has been made for Federal income taxes in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

The Company follows the provisions of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes” that, among other things, defines a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. ASC Topic 740 also provides guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition.  Based on its evaluation, the Company determined that it has no uncertain tax positions and no unrecognized tax benefits as of January 31, 2023. As of January 31, 2023, the fiscal tax years 2019 through and including 2022 remain open to examination by the Internal Revenue Service. There are currently no federal tax examinations in progress.

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and tenant receivables. The Company places its cash and cash equivalents with high quality financial institutions and the balances at times could exceed federally insured limits. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its tenants and may require certain tenants to provide security deposits or letters of credit. Though these security deposits and letters of credit are insufficient to meet the terminal value of a tenant’s lease obligation, they are a measure of good faith and a source of funds to offset the economic costs associated with lost rent and the costs associated with re-tenanting the space. The Company has no dependency upon any single tenant.

Marketable equity securities are carried at fair value based upon quoted market prices in active markets with changes in fair value recognized in net income.

The Company occasionally utilizes derivative financial instruments, such as interest rate swaps, to manage its exposure to fluctuations in interest rates. The Company has established policies and procedures for risk assessment, and the approval, reporting and monitoring of derivative financial instruments. Derivative financial instruments must be effective in reducing the Company’s interest rate risk exposure in order to qualify for hedge accounting. When the terms of an underlying transaction are modified, or when the underlying hedged item ceases to exist, all changes in the fair value of the instrument are marked-to-market with changes in value included in net income for each period until the derivative instrument matures or is settled. Any derivative instrument used for risk management that does not meet the hedging criteria is marked-to-market with the changes in value included in net income. The Company has not entered into, and does not plan to enter into, derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. Additionally, the Company has a policy of entering into derivative contracts only with major financial institutions.

As of January 31, 2023, the Company believes it has no significant risk associated with non-performance of the financial institutions that are the counterparties to its derivative contracts.  At January 31, 2023, the Company had approximately $154.8 million in secured mortgage financings subject to interest rate swaps. Such interest rate swaps converted the LIBOR or Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”)-based variable rates on the mortgage financings to a fixed annual rate of 3.74% per annum. As of January 31, 2023 and October 31, 2022, the Company had deferred assets of  $11.5 million and $15.9 million, respectively (included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheets), relating to the fair value of the Company’s interest rate swaps applicable to secured mortgages.

Charges and/or credits relating to the changes in fair values of such interest rate swaps are made to other comprehensive income/(loss) as the swaps are deemed effective and are classified as a cash flow hedge.

Comprehensive income (loss) is comprised of net income applicable to Common and Class A Common stockholders and other comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) includes items that are otherwise recorded directly in stockholders’ equity, such as unrealized gains and losses on interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedges, including the Company's share from entities accounted for under the equity method of accounting. At January 31, 2023, accumulated other comprehensive income consisted of net unrealized gains on interest rate swap agreements of $12.1 million, inclusive of the Company's share of accumulated comprehensive income from joint ventures accounted for by the equity method of accounting.  At October 31, 2022, accumulated other comprehensive income consisted of net unrealized gains on interest rate swap agreements of approximately $17.2 million, inclusive of the Company's share of accumulated comprehensive income from joint ventures accounted for by the equity method of accounting. Unrealized gains and losses included in other comprehensive income/(loss) will be reclassified into earnings as gains and losses are realized.

The Company evaluates each acquisition of real estate or in-substance real estate (including equity interests in entities that predominantly hold real estate assets) to determine if the integrated set of assets and activities acquired meet the definition of a business and need to be accounted for as a business combination. If either of the following criteria is met, the integrated set of assets and activities acquired would not qualify as a business:

An acquired process is considered substantive if:

Generally, the Company expects that acquisitions of real estate or in-substance real estate will not meet the definition of a business because substantially all of the fair value is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of similar identifiable assets (i.e. land, buildings, and related intangible assets) or because the acquisition does not include a substantive process in the form of an acquired workforce or an acquired contract that cannot be replaced without significant cost, effort or delay.

Acquisitions of real estate and in-substance real estate that do not meet the definition of a business are accounted for as asset acquisitions. The accounting model for asset acquisitions is similar to the accounting model for business combinations except that the acquisition consideration (including acquisition costs) is allocated to the individual assets acquired and liabilities assumed on a relative fair value basis. As a result, asset acquisitions do not result in the recognition of goodwill or a bargain purchase gain. The relative fair values used to allocate the cost of an asset acquisition are determined using the same methodologies and assumptions as the Company utilizes to determine fair value in a business combination.

The value of tangible assets acquired is based upon our estimation of value on an “as if vacant” basis. The value of acquired in-place leases includes the estimated costs during the hypothetical lease-up period and other costs that would have been incurred in the execution of similar leases under the market conditions at the acquisition date of the acquired in-place lease. We assess the fair value of tangible and intangible assets based on numerous factors, including estimated cash flow projections that utilize appropriate discount and capitalization rates and available market information. Estimates of future cash flows are based on a number of factors, including the historical operating results, known trends, and market/economic conditions that may affect the property.

The values of acquired above and below-market leases, which are included in prepaid expenses and other assets and other liabilities, respectively, are amortized over the terms of the related leases and recognized as either an increase (for below-market leases) or a decrease (for above-market leases) to rental revenue. The values of acquired in-place leases are classified in other assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and amortized over the remaining terms of the related leases.

Land, buildings, property improvements, furniture/fixtures and tenant improvements are recorded at cost. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred. Renovations and/or replacements, which improve or extend the life of the asset, are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives.

The Company is required to make subjective assessments as to the useful life of its properties for purposes of determining the amount of depreciation. These assessments have a direct impact on the Company’s net income.

The Company reports properties that are either disposed of or are classified as held for sale in continuing operations in the consolidated statement of income if the removal, or anticipated removal, of the asset(s) from the reporting entity does not represent a strategic shift that has or will have a major effect on an entity's operations and financial results when disposed of.

In September 2021, the Company entered into a purchase and sale agreement to sell its property located in Chester, NJ (the "Chester Property"), to an unrelated third party for a sale price of $1.96 million as that property no longer met its investment objectives.  In accordance with ASC Topic 360-10-45, the property met all the criteria to be classified as held for sale in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, and accordingly the Company recorded a loss on property held for sale of $342,000, which loss was included in continuing operations in the consolidated statement of income for the year ended October 31, 2021. The amount of the loss represented the net carrying amount of the property over the fair value of the asset less estimated cost to sell.  The net book value of the Chester Property was insignificant to financial statement presentation and as a result the Company did not include the asset as held for sale on its consolidated balance sheet at October 31, 2021.  In December 2021, the Chester Property sale was completed and the Company realized an additional loss on sale of property of $8,000, which loss is included in operations in the consolidated statement of income for the three months ended January 31, 2022.

The Company accounts for lease income in accordance with ASC Topic 842 "Leases".

The Company's existing leases are generally classified as operating leases. However, certain longer-term leases (both lessee and lessor leases) may be classified as direct financing or sales type leases, which may result in selling profit and an accelerated pattern of earnings recognition.

The Company leases space to tenants under agreements with varying terms that generally provide for fixed payments of base rent, with designated increases over the term of the lease. Some of the lease agreements contain provisions that provide for additional rents based on tenants' sales volume ("percentage rent"). Percentage rents are recognized when the tenants achieve the specified targets as defined in their lease agreements. Additionally, most all lease agreements contain provisions for reimbursement of the tenants' share of actual real estate taxes, insurance and Common Area Maintenance ("CAM") costs (collectively, "Recoverable Costs") incurred.

Lease terms generally range from 1 to 5 years for tenant spaces under 10,000 square feet (“Shop Space”) and in excess of 5 years for spaces greater than 10,000 square feet (“Anchor Spaces”). Many leases also provide the option for the tenants to extend their lease beyond the initial term of the lease. If the tenants do not exercise renewal options and the leases mature, the tenants must relinquish their space so it can be leased to a new tenant, which generally involves some level of cost to prepare the space for re-leasing. These costs are capitalized and depreciated over the shorter of the life of the subsequent lease or the life of the improvement.

CAM is a non-lease component of the lease contract under ASC Topic 842, and therefore would be accounted for under ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers and presented separate from lease income in the accompanying consolidated statements of income, based on an allocation of the overall contract price, which is not necessarily the amount that would be billable to the tenants for CAM reimbursements per the terms of the lease contract. As the timing and pattern of providing the CAM service to the tenant is the same as the timing and pattern of the tenants' use of the underlying lease asset, the Company, in accordance with ASC Topic 842, combines CAM with the remaining lease components, along with tenants' reimbursement of real estate taxes and insurance, and recognizes them together as lease income in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.

Lease income for operating leases with fixed payment terms is recognized on a straight-line basis over the expected term of the lease for all leases for which collectability is considered probable at the commencement date. At lease commencement, the Company expects that collectability is probable for all of its leases due to the Company’s credit checks on tenants and other creditworthiness analysis undertaken before entering into a new lease; therefore, income from all operating leases is initially recognized on a straight-line basis.  Lease income each period is reduced by amounts considered uncollectable on a lease-by-lease basis, with any changes in collectability assessments recognized as a current period adjustment to lease income. For operating leases in which collectability of lease income is not considered probable, lease income is recognized on a cash basis and all previously recognized uncollected lease income, including straight-line rental income, is reversed in the period in which the lease income is determined not to be probable of collection.

The Company, as a lessor, may only defer as initial direct costs the incremental costs of a tenant operating lease that would not have been incurred if the lease had not been obtained. These costs generally include third party broker payments, which are capitalized to deferred costs in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and amortized over the expected term of the lease to depreciation and amortization expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.

In those instances in which the Company funds tenant improvements and the improvements are deemed to be owned by the Company, revenue recognition on operating leases will commence when the improvements are substantially completed and possession or control of the space is turned over to the tenant. When the Company determines that the tenant allowances are lease incentives, the Company commences revenue recognition when possession or control of the space is turned over to the tenant for tenant work to begin.

Lease termination amounts are recognized in operating revenues when there is a signed termination agreement, all of the conditions of the agreement have been met, the tenant is no longer occupying the property and the termination consideration is probable of collection. Lease termination amounts are paid by tenants who want to terminate their lease obligations before the end of the contractual term of the lease by agreement with the Company. There is no way of predicting or forecasting the timing or amounts of future lease termination fees. Interest income is recognized as it is earned. Gains or losses on disposition of properties are recorded when the criteria for recognizing such gains or losses under U.S. GAAP have been met.

Percentage rent is recognized when a specific tenant’s sales breakpoint is achieved.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the actions taken by federal, state and local governments to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, (i) initially by ordering closures of non-essential businesses and ordering residents to generally stay at home, and (ii) subsequently by phasing re-openings resulted in many of our tenants temporarily, or even permanently, closing their businesses, and for some, their ability to pay rent was impacted.

As a result, in accordance with ASC Topic 842, we revised our collectability assumptions for many of our tenants that were most significantly impacted by COVID-19. This amount includes changes in our collectability assessments for certain tenants in our portfolio from probable to not probable, which requires that revenue recognition for those tenants be converted to cash-basis accounting, with previously uncollected billed rents reversed in the current period.  From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic through the end of our second quarter of fiscal 2021, we converted 89 tenants to cash-basis accounting in accordance with ASC Topic 842.

We did not convert any additional tenants to cash-basis accounting in the second half of fiscal 2021, fiscal 2022 or the three months ended January 31, 2023.  As of January 31, 2023, 36 of the 89 tenants are no longer tenants in the Company's properties.

As of January 31, 2023, the Company is recording lease income on a cash basis for approximately 3.3% of our tenants in accordance with ASC Topic 842.

At January 31, 2023 and October 31, 2022, $20,315,000 and $19,895,000, respectively, have been recognized as straight-line rents receivable (representing the current cumulative rents recognized prior to when billed and collectable, as provided by the terms of the leases), all of which is included in tenant receivables in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

The Company provides an allowance for doubtful accounts against the portion of tenant receivables that is estimated to be uncollectable. Such allowances are reviewed periodically. At January 31, 2023 and October 31, 2022, tenant receivables in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets are shown net of allowances for doubtful accounts of $6,382,000 and $6,213,600, respectively. Included in the aforementioned allowance for doubtful accounts is an amount for future tenant credit losses of approximately 10% of the deferred straight-line rents receivable, which is estimated to be uncollectable.

The Company calculates basic and diluted earnings per share in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Basic earnings per share (“EPS”) excludes the impact of dilutive shares and is computed by dividing net income applicable to Common and Class A Common stockholders by the weighted average number of Common shares and Class A Common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue Common shares or Class A Common shares were exercised or converted into Common shares or Class A Common shares and then shared in the earnings of the Company. Since the cash dividends declared on the Company’s Class A Common stock are higher than the dividends declared on the Common Stock, basic and diluted EPS have been calculated using the “two-class” method. The two-class method is an earnings allocation formula that determines earnings per share for each class of common stock according to the weighted average of the dividends declared, outstanding shares per class and participation rights in undistributed earnings.

The Company's primary business is the ownership, management, and redevelopment of retail properties. The Company reviews operating and financial information for each property on an individual basis and therefore, each property represents an individual operating segment. The Company evaluates financial performance using property operating income, which consists of base rental income and tenant reimbursement income, less rental expenses and real estate taxes. Only one of the Company’s properties, located in Stamford, CT (“Ridgeway”), is considered significant as its revenue is in excess of 10% of the Company’s consolidated total revenues and accordingly is a reportable segment. The Company has aggregated the remainder of its properties as they share similar long-term economic characteristics and have other similarities including the fact that they are operated using consistent business strategies, are typically located in the same major metropolitan area, and have similar tenant mixes.

Ridgeway is located in Stamford, Connecticut and was developed in the 1950’s and redeveloped in the mid 1990’s. The property contains approximately 374,000 square feet of GLA.  It is the dominant grocery-anchored center and the largest non-mall shopping center located in the City of Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut.