By Sarah Trefethen
The latest entry in the roster of unhappy tenants in the Howard Hughes Corporations’ South Street Seaport properties is Heartland Brewery, which filed a complaint in superior court on Monday.
According to the complaint, the restaurant has two, concurrent leases scheduled to expire in 2017.
One is for the restaurant space on the corner of Fulton and South Street, which was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy and is being rebuilt by the tenant. The second lease is for a food preparation and storage space which, according to the complaint, was largely undamaged by the storm.
This second lease is the subject of the complaint, with the tenant alleging that the landlord is attempting to transfer the lease to an alternate space faster and at greater cost to the Brewery than was laid out in the lease.
The businesses in the Howard Hughes-controlled storefronts along the cobblestoned pedestrian plaza on Fulton and Front Streets remain shuttered, and a temporary structure of packing containers filled with different tenants has been set up on the block for the summer.
Late last year, Howard Hughes was reported to be facing lawsuits from the clothing store the Gap; Bridgewaters, a catering hall; and the owner of a number of eateries, all alleging that the landlord was using Hurricane Sandy as an excuse to terminate their leases.
