When establishing a new business in NYC, you have to decide whether to sign a long-term or short-term commercial lease. A given New York City commercial lessor — landlord — might only offer one type or the other, but as you seek out NYC retail space for lease, you can find space for whatever kind […]
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NYC Commercial Lease Litigation: Do Landlords Have a Duty to Mitigate Damages?
Under current New York law, commercial landlords have no duty to mitigate damages if a commercial tenant breaks the lease. In this circumstance, mitigating damages generally means an obligation on the part of a landlord to re-rent the space. This decreases — mitigates — the landlord’s damages from a tenant breaking the lease since the […]
Read more...Legal Cannabis And NYC Commercial Leases
Cannabis is legal in New York State, and dispensary licenses were issued in late November for the first thirty-seven retail outlets. See the Bloomberg media report here. At about the same time, New York issued the first set of Guidelines for cannabis retailers. See Leafly media report here. The Guidelines are temporary and will be […]
Read more...NYC Leasing Pro Tips as Retail Leasing Hits a “Turning Point”
According to a recent NY Post media article, retail leasing here in NYC may have reached a “turning point” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NY Post cites a recent report by CBRE, highlighting two critical metrics indicative of an improving retail leasing environment in New York City. The first is a 2.2% […]
Read more...Memorandum of Lease: What is it and do I Want One?
NYC commercial leases are complicated and typically contain many clauses and provisions that might seem mysterious. An example of a “mysterious” clause that you might see in an NYC commercial lease is the Memorandum of Lease clause. Under New York law, either the landlord or the tenant can prepare a Memorandum of Lease (“MOL”). Compared […]
Read more...Revenue Sharing or Profit-Sharing in NYC Commercial Leases
Revenue-sharing and profit-sharing in NYC commercial leases remain fashionable even though the recent pandemic is beginning to recede. During the pandemic, because of mandated closures and other factors, many landlords and tenants looked to revenue/profit-sharing arrangements as a method to prevent lease defaults and permanent business closures. However, revenue/profit sharing is not particularly new and […]
Read more...The COVID-19 Guaranty Law and NYC Commercial Leases
During the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things, New York City passed an Ordinance prohibiting the enforcement of personal guaranties in commercial leases for specific restaurants and retail stores. Generally, this has become known as the NYC Guaranty Law. With many NYC commercial restaurant and retail store leases, a landlord will require that the business owners […]
Read more...Now may be the Time to Lease Space due to Large Retail and Office Vacancies
If you have been thinking of starting your own business in New York City, now may be the time since NYC remains “awash with space,” as reported in this NY Post media article. From the report, Manhattan availability rates continue to hover around 17%, and average asking rents are around $75 per square foot. As […]
Read more...NY Eminent Domain and Commercial Lease Provisions
There was an interesting article in TheRealDeal — see here — about the New York town of Southhold’s efforts to use the power of eminent domain to seize property in the Town owned by Brinkmann Hardware. The site in question is about 1.75 acres along the main street in Southold. Brinkmann Hardware bought the property in 2016, […]
Read more...NYC Commercial Lease Litigation: Dangers of Being a Subtenant
It is not unusual for tenants to lease New York City commercial lease space as a subtenant. That means the main lease is between the property owner and the primary tenant. The primary tenant then gives a sublease to the party occupying the space. If you are considering signing a sublease, you should seek legal […]
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