Retail management company Westfield, which oversees large shopping centers around the world, is breaking its lease with the Metropolitan Transit Authority due to rampant crime.
Fulton Transit Center is one of the busiest transit stations in New York City, but the level chaos and malfeasance forced Westfield to leave the metro station halfway through a 20-year lease, The Gothamist reported Tuesday.
Westfield informed the MTA in February that it was going to leave the sprawling hub, prompting the transit authority to file a lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court. Westfield responded Friday, saying the MTA "has not properly maintained public safety and security," which gives it the right to break the lease agreement.
Westfield's motion comes after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's March 6 order of 750 National Guard troops and local police to patrol the Big Apple's subway system and conduct routine bag searches. Hochul on Monday restricted the troops from carrying long rifles as critics complained the sight of armed security made the metro stops look like a "war zone."
"For years, Westfield has repeatedly notified the MTA about the unsafe conditions and the very slow and difficult permitting process at Fulton Center. Such conditions coupled with the unprecedented global pandemic and macro political and economic environment continue to directly impact the significant financial and operational difficulties Westfield faces," Westfield attorney Hyura Choi wrote in a Feb. 12 letter to the MTA filed in the case.
"Multiple tenants have left, citing concerns about safety and security, and additional tenants have expressed a desire to leave, remaining only due to significant economic incentives Westfield has offered (to its financial detriment) simply to keep spaces occupied and help save these local businesses."
MTA spokesperson Joana Flores wrote in an email to the Gothamist: "While we are unable to comment on specific pending litigation, we have full confidence in the NYPD, which has surged officers into the subway, to ensure safety across the transit system, including at Fulton Center."
While online shopping and changing consumer habits have reduced the popularity of malls, Westfield cited "homeless encampments, unauthorized vendors, assaults, vandalism, employee intimidation and harassment" as the primary reasons for tenants leaving.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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