City sues Chetrit Group over alleged “dangerous” conditions at Hotel Carter in Times Square
250 West 43rd Street (Credit - Cyclomedia)
The City of New York filed a complaint in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan yesterday alleging that the Hotel Carter building at 250 West 43rd Street in Times Square, Manhattan, is a danger and a nuisance, and is ordering the Chetrit Group, which owns the property, to repair it, citing more than 150 violations. In addition, the city is asking a judge to impose fines.
Court records represent the position of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete.
Case LINK
The building is tied up in litigation, including Mack Real Estate Group suing in January over a $223 million loan secured by the building. In addition, the Chetrit Group is under financial pressure from additional lenders on other properties, through the company has also forged ahead with other projects, including a joint venture in Lenox Hill.
Latest Chetrit Group Stories:
• Mack Real Estate Group filed a $223 million lawsuit 650072/2025 against Chetrit Group, Meyer Chetrit and Joseph Chetrit on January 06, 2025, seeking a money judgment related to loan at 250 West 43 Street.
• Rabsky, Chetrit sign $165M construction loan with G4 for 58 units in Lenox Hill (March 20, 2025)
• Chetrit’s Hotel Bossert with $177M judgment set for auction in one week (February 06, 2025)
• Blackstone file $65M pre-foreclosure at Chetrit Garment District office (January 30, 2025)
• UDR alleges it is owed $6.2M in unpaid retail condo fees (January 07, 2025)
According to the complaint, “Defendants …have been issued more than 150 violations by City agencies. Rather than taking corrective action, Defendants have allowed the Premises to deteriorate to the point where it poses an imminent threat to the health and safety of the public… Despite the issuance of Commissioner’s Orders, ECB summonses, notices of violation, and two Criminal Court default judgments, Defendants have refused to make necessary repairs, showing complete disregard for the law, the orders of the agency tasked with enforcing those laws, and indeed, the courts… The New York City Department of Buildings (“DOB”) has issued over 150 violations, including more than two dozen Environmental Control Board (“ECB”) summonses, for Defendants’ failure to maintain the Premises in code compliance.
The Real Deal first reported on this court action yesterday.
The property
The hotel building in Times Square has 238,818 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 145 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 14,500 square feet. The zoning is C6-5 which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $25.4 million. The most recent loan totaled $120.5 million and was provided by Mack Real Estate Group on August 1, 2022.
Prior sales and revenue
This property was sold for $191.8 million on January 22, 2015.
The 238,818-square-foot property generated revenue of $12 million or $50 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.
Violations and lawsuits
The property was involved in three lawsuits and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The highest value suit was a $223 million money judgment concerning a loan filed on January 6, 2025, by Mack Real Estate Group against Chetrit Group, Meyer Chetrit, and Joseph Chetrit.
The neighborhood
In Times Square, The majority, or 58 percent of the 10.1 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 30 percent of the space. In sales, Times Square has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $957.8 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 9th highest in Manhattan. For development, Times Square has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 12th highest in Manhattan. It had 2.9 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 29 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the 10 commercial properties representing 1,243,818 square feet of the 2,178,824 square feet. The largest owner is Chetrit Group, followed by Rudin Management and then Tishman. On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 34,313 square feet. It is a 34,313 square-foot mercantile (M) building submitted by NYC Economic Development Corporation and filed by Jhaelen Hernandez-Eli with plans filed January 27, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet.
The owner
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Chetrit Group owned at least 39 commercial properties with 2,494 residential units in New York City with 4,777,242 square feet and a city-determined market value of $909.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $1.6 billion in debt, with top three lenders as Bank of Montreal, Starwood Mortgage Capital, and G4 Capital Partners respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 48 percent of the 4,777,242 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with office properties next occupying 28 percent of the space. The bulk, or 74 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Queens next at 25 percent of the space.
The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Meyer Chetrit, head officer and Lilly Sirkin, agent. The business entity is 250 West 43 Owner Llc.
The surrounding
Within a 400-foot radius of 262 West 43 Street, PincusCo identified one commercial real estate item of interests occurred over the past 24 months. It was a permit application filed on May 15, 2025 for the $15.2 million renovation of 206,659-square-foot residential (R-2) building with 192 residential units at 220 West 42nd Street.
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.