The Harborside retirement community in Port Washington has until Dec. 9 to present a proposed sale agreement to a federal bankruptcy judge or face the possibility of liquidation, a judge ordered Wednesday.

Judge Alan S. Trust said he wants to know the identity of the prospective buyer for the bankruptcy facility, the terms of the sale, how creditors will be paid and the impact on the 181 residents, whose average age is 90.

The judge also scheduled a Dec. 11 hearing on a motion by the Office of the United States Trustee to dismiss the Chapter 11 case, which would end nearly two years of efforts to reorganize The Harborside and stabilize its finances.

If the motion is approved, the facility’s assets would likely be sold off under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code.

Stan Yang, a lawyer for the U.S. trustee, said it is concerned about fees for lawyers and consultants using The Harborside’s remaining cash, which could mean creditors would not be paid what they are owed.

“The debtor’s financial condition is deteriorating daily and the debtor appears to be incurring unpaid … administrative costs,” he wrote in an 11-page document filed with the court after Wednesday’s hearing. “It is unclear how long the debtor can maintain business operations or when all reserved (cash) funds will be exhausted.”

The hearing in federal court in Central Islip provided few answers to the many questions from residents and their families.

Those questions include the identity of the two bidders The Harborside is negotiating with, when the potential sale would close and if it would be approved by the state Department of Health and the Department of Financial Services.

Ronnie Killcommons, who has lived at The Harborside for 14 years, attended the 30-minute hearing with the family.

“This is my home, and I love living at Amsterdam,” Killcommons said in an interview, referring to the facility’s former name, Amsterdam at Harborside. “The friendship, the community — I don’t want to lose this.”

Killcommons told Newsday that she sold her Garden City home to pay the facility’s entrance fee with the understanding that the remaining funds upon her death would go to her heirs. That may not happen because of the bankruptcy filing, which is the third such filing in 10 years.

“We should be allowed to live where we put our heart and soul,” says Killcommons, 86.

In the hearing, Rachel Nanes, a lawyer for The Harborside, said they were having “productive discussions” with the two bidders.

A meeting, Nanes said, will be held Thursday between The Harborside, bondholders, unsecured creditors and sponsoring Amsterdam Continuing Care Health System Inc. in Manhattan to try to reach an agreement on a sale.

“We’re trying to get consensus on one or more of the (purchase) proposals,” she said, adding that The Harborside hopes to present a final sales agreement to the judge in late December or early January.

The Harborside is trying to negotiate a second sale after the first — valued at $104 million — collapsed last month in a regulatory dispute between the health department and the winner of last year’s auction, Life Care Services Communities LLC. Iowa-based LCS has said it is no longer interested in operating The Harborside.

Separately, residents and their families recently hired attorney Elizabeth Aboulafia to represent them in court.

The move follows residents’ request to Gov. Kathy Hochul that she appoint a facilitator to break the regulatory deadlock between the health department and LCS, as well as work with other potential buyers.

James T. Madore writes about business news from Long Island, including the economy, developments and government-business relations. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.