One year after signing a lease for the Metro Theater space, Urban Outfitters is nowhere to be found in Manhattan Valley.
The space, a former movie theater on Broadway between 99th and 100th streets, is still vacant due to litigation involving the property.
The building’s owner, Al Bialek, said that he could not provide details on the vacancy because of the lawsuit. “We’re waiting for some court decisions,” he said.
Winick Realty Group was working to lease the space last year, but the company’s president Benjamin Fox said that the company has not been involved since the signing of the initial lease with Urban Outfitters. “The last time an agent is involved is when a lease was signed, and that was my involvement,” he said.
“We have no involvement with the property at this time due to the uncertainty surrounding the ownership of the property and the status of the net lessor. There was back-and-forth between the landlord and the net lessor,” Fox said.
A net lease is one in which the tenants are responsible for some or all of the property expenses. The building’s net lessor was not Urban Outfitters.
Fox said that Urban Outfitters was simply a bystander to the building’s problems.
“Urban was basically sitting on sidelines waiting for the phone to ring, and the phone never rang. Urban signed a lease, did everything they were supposed to do. They were waiting to have the space delivered to them last July, and the rest is history,” he said.
Although the theater is currently covered with signs designating Eastern Consolidated as its realtor, that company also says it is no longer affiliated with the space.
Peter Carillo, a director with Eastern Consolidated, declined to comment on any specifics of the status of the vacancy, but confirmed that the owners were currently in litigation.
“The litigation has nothing to do with us,” he said.
Urban Outfitters did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Neighborhood residents and business owners have been confused by the continued vacancy and Urban Outfitters’ future plans.
Jay San, an employee at West Side Stationers, next to the Metro Theater building, speculated that Urban Outfitters pulled out of the deal because of the current economic downturn.
San was unsure if this was the ideal location for an Urban Outfitters branch anyway.
“Urban Outfitters attracts a different type of crowd,” San said. “The existing crowd is more likely to go to T.J. Maxx.” A T.J. Maxx did open up a few months ago on Columbus Avenue and 97th Street.
Jay Hamid, the manager of NY Sports Trax and Shoes on 100th Street and Broadway, said there are a good number of young people around, but they aren’t shopping here, since most of the stores in the area are grocery and food stores.
He said he would have welcomed the arrival of Urban Outfitters. “It’s better than having nobody there—for the last few years it’s been vacant,” Hamid said.
Germain de la Croix, the owner of Cafe Provincia, located across the street from the former theater, has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. He noted that the property was a “very big, interesting space.”
He said he hopes that a future tenant will fill the space with culture—perhaps a ballroom, an art gallery, or another theater.
“People could spend time there,” de la Croix said. “People around here would like art, galleries. They would like it. I certainly know my customers would.”
cathi.choi@columbiaspectator.com
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