The real estate company managing retail at Manhattan’s busy Fulton Transit Center says rampant crime and mayhem have gone unchecked for years, forcing it to break its lease with the MTA.
Westfield, which runs malls and shopping centers around the world, moved last month to abandon the subway hub only 10 years into its 20-year deal at the downtown facility. The decision prompted the MTA to file suit in Manhattan Federal Court, seeking to prevent the company from pulling out.
Westfield responded on Friday by saying that the transit agency “has not properly maintained public safety and security” at the station, giving it a basis to terminate the lease. The company submitted photos, incident reports and correspondence with the MTA that provide a behind-the-scenes look at a prominent corporation expressing alarm about transit crime.
Westfield’s filings came the same week Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered 750 National Guard soldiers and 250 state police officers to check bags in subway stations to put commuters at ease.
“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.”
Businesses that bailed on the center after reporting “break-ins, theft and vandalism, assault and harassment” included Wetzel Pretzels, Pressed Juicery, Matto Espresso and Häagen-Dazs, according to the…
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