Extell Sues Upper East Side Restaurant for Overstaying Lease

A prolific Upper East Side developer is suing luxury Chinese restaurant Philippe Chow over claims that the business has overstayed its lease in a building that is set to be demolished.

Advertisement

According to a lawsuit filed last Wednesday, Extell Development is seeking more than $1 million in penalties from the restaurant, located at 33 East 60th Street (between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue), after buying the property and three others next door in early March for $103 million. The firm is planning on constructing a huge complex that includes a 37-story apartment tower on the land.

Free Upper East Side News, Delivered To Your Inbox

The suit was filed on March 26 against Philippe Chow owner Abraham Merchant. Extell is seeking arrears owed through March 24 in the amount of $390,266.01, in addition to claimed holdover rent that could total as much as $977,680.20, depending on when Merchant ultimately vacates.

East Side Feed couldn’t get in touch with Philippe Chow by press time; however, a worker for the restaurant told the New York Post last week that Philippe Chow hasn’t announced a closing date for the restaurant yet despite the building purchases and now the lawsuit.

The story was first reported by Crain’s New York Business. In the court papers, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Extell claims that it is due four times the amount of the $61,000 per month rent for 120 days due to the fact that Philippe Chow did not leave the property at the time the lease stipulated.

Though it was initially reported that Extell was only building the 37-story condominium complex on the land, the rest of the current plans for the plots are unknown, as they continue to change and run into issues such as the one concerning Philippe Chow.

This isn’t the first time that Merchant has been sued over the property. Late last year, the Goldman family, which owns Solil Management, the former owners of the buildings, sued him over unpaid rent, according to Crain’s New York.

Have a news tip? Send it to us here!