Menswear Retailer Taking Plaza Hotel to Court

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Scaffolding—the omnipresent reminder that New York City will always be a work in progress—is stirring up some trouble at the Plaza Hotel. Its owners are facing a wrongful eviction lawsuit from Angelo Galasso, the London-based menswear brand that's been operating out of the Edwardian Room since 2012, according to The Real Deal. The original lease agreement tied the store to that space until 2023.

Angelo Galasso received a default notice earlier this month stating that it owed $545,000 in back rent, and that the dissolution of the lease would begin today if that wasn't paid. However, the retailer fired back, saying that the scaffolding that's been up since the opening has hurt its business, and the hotel has "repeatedly rebuffed attempts for a lease modification."

Further, the clothing brand says that as of February, it's had an agreement with the hotel to pay only half the rent due to this issue—which still comes out to $77,100 per month—and lawyers for Angelo Galasso maintain that those payments are current.

The two parties will meet in Manhattan Supreme Court on September 29th for a hearing (the brand has a temporary restraining order on the eviction for now). An easy fix? Take the scaffolding down. The Plaza originally said that the eyesore would be "up for a few months" on Central Park South when Angelo Galasso first opened—and in November of last year, it was extended to cover its Fifth Avenue-facing facade.
· Menswear Retailer Sues Plaza Hotel Owners [TRD]
· Angelo Galasso Checks Into the Plaza Hotel [Racked NY]