Developer Gotham Organization Sued For $200K In Unpaid Rent

432 Park Ave. South
432 Park Ave. South

Gotham Organization has been sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent that has gone unpaid.

An affiliate of Samco Properties, which owns 432 Park Ave. South, where Gotham has leased office space since 2015, filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court claiming Gotham owes it $200K in total unpaid rent, and $41K since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in New York in April, Crain’s New York Business reports.

Gotham claims it was within the rights of its lease to withhold the rent. There were “numerous deficiencies and incidents” with the office space and that it would withhold the payment until these issues were addressed, Gotham Chief Operating Officer Phil Lavoie told Crain’s in a statement.

Samco is asking the court to compel Gotham to pay its unpaid rent and legal fees.

Landlords have been taking their tenants — particularly retailers hit hard by the pandemic — to court to get rent for the past six months.

Vornado has filed lawsuits against Times Square retail tenants like U.S. Polo Association in August for $1.1M and Planet Hollywood for $5.5M last month. JEMB Realty sued its Herald Square tenant H&M in June, alleging the retailer owed the landlord $4M.

Tenants have been trying their luck in court too, as the pandemic pushed many retail tenants into financial distress: Nationally, many have been filing lawsuits in an attempt to exit their leases early.

Gotham isn't the only real estate company that has been sued for unpaid office rent in Manhattan this year. Paramount Group sued tenant Douglas Elliman for $273K in back rent at 712 Fifth Ave. in June.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

Why Top-Secret Facilities Are Permeating Greater D.C.'s Office Market

DivcoWest Sells Glendale Office Building For $70M

Bally's Lines Up $560M Loan For Bronx Casino: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

Data Center Spills 5,000 Gallons Of Fuel Into New Jersey River

Historic Brooklyn Hotel To Be Turned Into Ritz-Carlton-Branded Condos

Hines And Rialto Close Office Credit Fund At $1.1B

Rig Collapse At Citadel HQ Site Sends 4 To Hospital

Taconic Partners Sheds Another NYC Life Sciences Property

Northern Virginia Office Tower Sells For Double Its 2024 Price

Oxford Properties' U.S. Investment Head On Why It's Buying Office Again — And Where

Fertility Provider Opens Clinic At 1900 Lawrence Office Tower: The Denver Deal Sheet

Office Revenues Are Failing To Keep Pace With Expenses