The Broadsheet – Lower Manhattan’s Local Newspaper
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Wagnerian Woes
Battery Park City Hotel Operator Implodes Amid Allegations of Loan Default, Fraud
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Even by the standards of the distressed Lower Manhattan hotel industry, the spiraling adversity faced by the owners of the shuttered Wagner Hotel in Battery Park City is remarkable. On Thursday, the current owners of the hotel were sued by the company that sold them the property in 2018, which also provided a $96 million loan to enable the transaction. In a story first reported by Crain’s New York, Urban Commons (the current owners, who purchased the hotel for $147 million) is facing a court claim by Westbrook Partners (the former owners, who lent Urban Commons the $96 million) for defaulting on that loan.
This follows a raft of related litigation. In October, 2021, lenders and investors filed suit against Urban Commons, alleging that executives of the company accepted $1 million from an investor, which was intended to finance hotel acquisitions that never took place, and then refused to return the original funds.
These accusations echo those contained in a 2020 suit filed by two other investors, who alleged that Urban Commons executives promised them a 70 percent return on an investment of $750,000, which was earmarked for helping to bankroll the firm’s purchase of the Wagner Hotel. In the event, the investors claim never to have received profits or payments of any kind, and say that the firm broke off contact when they demanded their money back.
Also last October, the company was named by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance as one of its largest business-tax delinquents, citing unpaid taxes of more than $392,000 related specifically to its operation of the Wagner Hotel.
In June, 2021, the city of Long Beach, California seized from Urban Commons the Queen Mary, the historic ocean liner permanently moored there, after the company failed to maintain and preserve the vessel (which is designated as a floating landmark) and operate it as a cultural and tourist destination, in compliance with a lease signed in 2016. An investigation by Long Beach’s auditor found that Urban Commons had “intentionally and explicitly misrepresented” its finances, after the municipal government had issued $23 million in bonds to help the firm upgrade the ship.
In May, 2021, the Fitch bond rating agency noted that the Wagner Hotel’s delinquency on ground rent and payments in lieu of taxes (both levies collected by the Battery Park City Authority from property owners) contributed to $3 million in arrears owed to the Authority.
The previous January, more than 20 Urban Commons subsidiaries and affiliates filed for bankruptcy in a series of proceedings related to unpaid taxes and other debts on 18 properties (chiefly hotels) located throughout the U.S.
All of these developments come on the heels of a 2020 legal action by condominium owners at the Ritz-Carlton residences (the apartment tower located above the Wagner Hotel), arguing that Urban Commons was in violation of multiple terms of its ground lease. These alleged violations included the requirement that the facility be branded to a world-class operator of premium hotels and resorts, that it be recognized as such by national ratings agencies, and that it be managed by a company that has a decade or more of experience overseeing at least five comparable hotels. Residents of the Ritz-Carlton condominium argue that the Wagner’s substandard operation detracts from their quality of life and diminishes the value of their homes.
Matthew Fenton
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Outlier on the Esplanade
Southern Battery Park City Shows Bump in COVID Test Results
Amid generally receding concerns about COVID-19, the southern section of Battery Park City had the fourth highest rate of infection in Manhattan during the one-week period between October 25 and 31, according to the City Department of Health data. Read more…
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Ask and You Might Receive
Push for Seaport Community Center at Site of Demolished Waterfront Building
Community Board 1 (CB1) is reviving calls for a waterfront community center in South Street Seaport at the site of the New Market Building (which was demolished last fall). Read more…
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Eyes to the Sky, November 7-11
Total Lunar Eclipse; Dark Sky Conference
It would be easy to sleep through the eclipse of the Full Frost Moon that begins before dawn on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8—and how easy to observe at least parts of the drama as the white orb fades to red-orange under Earth’s shadow. The progression from faintest beginning to total eclipse back to the fully visible moon transpires between 3:02am EST and 8:56am EST. In our locale, moonset on the 8th is 6:41am, coinciding with eclipse totality. To see the “blood moon” setting, prepare to be at a location with an unobstructed view to the west-northwest around 6am. Follow the attached diagram to choose your viewing times. Virtual opportunity HERE. Join me November 11-12 at the Under One Sky conference, a virtual, 24-hour, worldwide event of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA). Led by experts and storytellers in the dark sky movement, discover resources to support the protection of the night: to save energy, save wildlife, safeguard human health, and see the stars. Admission is free, registration is required.
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Monday, November 7
10am
Meet at the Netherland Memorial Flagpole, Battery Park
Learn about the park’s rich history, many important landmarks and monuments, SeaGlass Carousel, beautiful perennial gardens designed by renowned Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, and much more. Free.
2pm-3:30pm
6 River Terrace
Weekly walk and writing session led by author Jon Curley. Free.
7pm
McNally Jackson, 4 Fulton Street
The history of the Sackler dynasty is rife with drama—baroque personal lives; bitter disputes over estates; fistfights in boardrooms; glittering art collections; Machiavellian courtroom maneuvers; and the calculated use of money to burnish reputations and crush the less powerful. Empire of Pain is the saga of three generations of this family and the mark they would leave on the world.
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Tuesday, November 8
10:30am
6 River Terrace
Join in on the fun featuring easy-to-follow Latin dance choreography while working on your balance, coordination and range of motion. Free.
12pm-1pm
Online
Lunchtime talk hosted by the Museum of American Finance, about how to manage personal finances, avoid debt and build for the future. Free.
1pm
St. Paul’s Chapel
Today, hear Samara Joy.
1:30pm-2:30pm
Rockefeller Park
Children ages 6-10, are invited to play in a pop-up clinic. Join BPCA coaches for a dodgeball skills session ending in a scrimmage open to all levels. Free.
3pm-4pm
Rockefeller Park House
Children are invited to take part in an art project and activities themed around voting and responsible citizenship. Free.
3:30pm-5pm
Rockefeller Park
Play the popular strategy game while getting pointers and advice from an expert. For ages 5 and up (adults welcome). Free.
6:30pm
China Institute, 40 Rector Street
As the Chinese saying goes: a harmonious family prospers everything (家和万事兴). Do marriage and family still hold the foundational value for Chinese nowadays? Join in the conversation with two experts in this field. Free.
7pm
Online
Diane Zinnia, Anna Malaika Tubbs, Jessica Dulong and Richard Jeffrey Newman read from their work during this month’s virtual salon. The theme: trauma. Free.
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Lower Manhattan Greenmarkets
Tribeca Greenmarket
Greenwich Street & Chambers Street
Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8am-3pm (compost program: Saturdays, 8am-1pm)
Bowling Green Greenmarket
Broadway & Whitehall St
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8am-5pm (compost program: 8am-11am)
The Outdoor Fulton Stall Market
91 South Street, between Fulton & John Streets
Indoor market: Monday through Saturday,11:30am-5pm
CSA pick-up: Thursday, 4pm-6pm; Friday, 11:30-5pm
Outdoor market: Saturdays, 11:30am-5pm
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Today in History
November 7
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Dust devil on the surface of Mars, as photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor. The robotic space probe launched by NASA on this day in 1996.
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1492 – The Ensisheim Meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the earth around noon in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France.
1665 – The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published.
1805 – Lewis and Clark sight Pacific Ocean
1837 – In Alton, Illinois, abolitionist printer Elijah P. Lovejoy is killed by a mob while attempting to protect his business from being destroyed a third time.
1874 – A cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly, is considered the first important use of an elephant as a symbol for the U.S. Republican Party.
1908 – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are reportedly killed in San Vicente, Bolivia.
1929 – The Museum of Modern Art opens to the public.
1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt elected for a record fourth term as President of the United States of America.
1973 – Congress overrides President Richard M. Nixon’s veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval.
1989 – David Dinkins becomes the first African American to be elected Mayor of New York City.
1996 – NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor.
2017 – Soprano Audrey Luna sings highest-ever note at the Met Opera: A above high C
2020 – Rudy Giuliani holds infamous Trump campaign press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philadelphia to contest the US election results
Births
1728 – James Cook, English captain, navigator, and cartographer (d. 1779)
1879 – Leon Trotsky, Russian theorist and politician, founded the Red Army (d. 1940)
1926 – Joan Sutherland, Australian-Swiss soprano (d. 2010)
1996 – Lorde, New Zealand singer
Deaths
1962 – Eleanor Roosevelt, humanitarian and politician, 39th First Lady of the United States (b. 1884)
2011 – Joe Frazier, American boxer (b. 1944)
2016 – Leonard Cohen, Canadian writer and singer-songwriter, dies at 82
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The Broadsheet Inc. eBroadsheet.com editor @ ebroadsheet.com ©2022 All Rights Reserved All photos © Robert Simko 2022 unless otherwise credited
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