Westfield seeks to break retail lease at Fulton Center, citing crime concerns in legal battle with MTA

The shopping mall operator Westfield wants to break its retail lease at Lower Manhattan’s Fulton Center, citing crime and security concerns as reasons to leave less than halfway through its term.

The global retail giant has operated the shopping space within the Financial District transit hub since 2014, subleasing to businesses like Dunkin’ Donuts, Shake Shack, and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. But earlier this year, the company moved to terminate its 20-year lease after less than a decade — prompting the MTA to file a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court alleging breach of contract.

In its response filed in court on Friday, first reported on by Gothamist, Westfield said that crime has become a significant concern at Fulton Center, where eight separate subway lines converge. The MTA has been “derelict” in its duty to provide security at the facility, they allege, and as a result, “[h]omeless encampments, unauthorized vendors, assaults, vandalism, employee intimidation and harassment, and other dangerous incidents became normal occurrence” there.

Disorder in the hub has made it “nearly impossible to attract ‘high quality’ subtenants,” Westfield claims; many subtenants have “begged Westfield for help” while others have simply severed their own leases. One subtenant emailed Westfield to break the lease and cited violent behavior by homeless individuals against workers and theft of tips and merchandise.

Westfield also closed Fulton Center’s bathrooms for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic as homeless individuals took up residence, the company says, only reopening them when the MTA agreed to limit hours and post security at the door.

The company says it has had to spend $690,000 on repairs related to vandalism and arson incidents.

The owner of a beauty store at Fulton Center, who asked to remain anonymous, told amNewYork Metro, during a reporter’s visit to Fulton Center Wednesday, that one homeless individual stole her wallet and went on a shopping spree at Kate Spade. Another allegedly told her to “s—k my dick” and stalked her as she went to get on the subway.

“I have lived in New York my entire life and have never been so scared,” she said.

In its lawsuit against the company, the MTA accused Westfield of abandoning the riding public in its own “self-serving business interests.”

“[New York City Transit Authority] will face irreparable injury if Westfield abandons the Fulton Center in derogation of its Lease obligations by advancing its own self-serving business interests over the interests of NYCTA, retail establishments in the Fulton Center, and members of the public,” the agency wrote.

Major crime in the subway was up about 13% year-to-date in 2024 as of the end of last month, and City Hall has recently surged NYPD presence in the subway by 1,000 cops per day. Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul also announced a surge of 250 MTA Police officers and 750 National Guard members into the subway system to assist the NYPD in bag checks and other crime-fighting efforts.

“While we are unable to comment on specific pending litigation, we have full confidence in the NYPD, which has surged officers into the subway, to ensure safety across the transit system, including at Fulton Center,” said MTA spokesperson Joana Flores.

Malls have been on the decline nationwide over the past several years amid the explosion of e-commerce and other economic headwinds. Westfield was purchased by French shopping conglomerate Unibail-Rodamco in 2018; the combined company’s stock price has declined by 73% over the past ten years.

Westfield has not made similar complaints about crime at its mall in the nearby Oculus, which is owned by the Port Authority and serves the PATH train, at the World Trade Center.