By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-28 20:33:57 | Updated at 2025-03-31 12:53:34
2 days ago
A luxury developer wants to 86 Philippe Chow.
Billionaire’s Row building company Extell claims the high end, Upper East Side Chinese restaurant has overstayed its lease in a building they have slated for demolition — and are seeking nearly $1 million in penalties, new court papers reveal.
Extell is taking the trendy Chinese eatery to court after buying the property, and three others next door, just this month for $103 million, with plans to put up a swanky 37-story apartment tower.
The new landlord quickly turned up the heat on the renown eatery, by filing a suit Wednesday that demands $977,000 in penalties from Philippe Chow for allegedly not vacating the location when their lease ended Monday, according to a lawsuit.
The suit, filed against Philippe Chow owner Abraham Merchant of Merchant Hospitality, also claims Chow owes six months of unpaid rent — roughly $390,000 — and could be on the hook for hundreds of thousands more each month it remains in the location at 33 East 60th Street.
A worker at the restaurant, which was the site of a shocking shooting and armed robbery in 2021, told The Post on Thursday that the eatery has not announced an official closing date yet, despite the lease expiring.
What the eatery will ultimately pay is unclear. David M. Grill, of the firm Rivkin Radler, refused to return calls seeking comment, and a communications director for the firm, Laurie Bloom, declined to comment.
In the court papers, which were filed in Manhattan Supreme Court and first reported by Crain’s, Extell claims to be entitled to four times their $61,000 monthly rent for 120 days as punishment for the restaurant not vacating the lease on time.
However, Extell also states in their filing that the “exact amount” will be determined at trial — and that Merchant could owe up to an additional $977,680, depending on when he ultimately vacates.
Merchant told The Post that the information in the suit was “inaccurate” and that they would file their response shortly. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first attempt to collect rent from the high-end spot.
In November, the building’s former owner Sol Goldman sued Philippe Chow for $156,192 in rent arrears, court documents show. A filing from Merchant’s attorney claimed that the owed rent had, in fact, been paid.
In 2016, workers sued Philippe Chow over alleged wage and workplace violations.
In 2009, Philippe Chow was sued by the owner of the eatery where he had been working, Mr. Chow, who claimed his new restaurant’s name was causing confusion and reached the level of trademark infringement.
After six years of litigation, a federal appeals court ordered Mr. Chow to pay $1.1 million in legal fees for Philippe Chow.
