Westfield says it wants to break its lease at Fulton Center over crime and security concerns.
Photo by Dean Moses
The shopping mall operator Westfield wants to break its retail lease at Lower Manhattan’s Fulton Center, citing crime and security concerns as reasons to leave less than halfway through its term.
The global retail giant has operated the shopping space within the Financial District transit hub since 2014, subleasing to businesses like Dunkin’ Donuts, Shake Shack, and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. But earlier this year, the company moved to terminate its 20-year lease after less than a decade — prompting the MTA to file a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court alleging breach of contract.
In its response filed in court on Friday, first reported on by Gothamist, Westfield said that crime has become a significant concern at Fulton Center, where eight separate subway lines converge. The MTA has been “derelict” in its duty to provide security at the facility, they allege, and as a result, “[h]omeless encampments, unauthorized vendors, assaults, vandalism, employee intimidation and harassment, and other dangerous incidents became normal occurrence” there.
Disorder in the hub has made it “nearly impossible to attract ‘high quality’ subtenants,” Westfield claims; many subtenants have “begged Westfield for help” while others have simply severed their own leases. One subtenant emailed Westfield to break the lease and cited violent behavior by homeless individuals against workers and theft of tips and merchandise.
Westfield also closed Fulton Center’s bathrooms for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic as homeless individuals took up residence, the company says, only reopening them when the MTA agreed to limit hours and post security at the door.
The company says it has had to spend $690,000 on repairs related to vandalism and arson incidents.
The owner of a beauty store at Fulton Center, who asked to remain…
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