The owners of a Port Chester hair salon claim that their landlord is pressuring them to vacate a building so that it can be demolished for a $76.1 million apartment-retail complex.
Magaly, Lorena and Angelica Cochachi, partners in the X-S Hair Salon at 163 N. Main St., are asking Westchester Supreme Court to stop White Plains developer David Mann and Lighthouse Living from demolishing the building.
They claim Mann has harassed and intimidated them.
“That’s completely false,” Mann said in a telephone interview, “and we will easily disprove that when we meet in court.”
The X-S salon has leased 3,000 square feet on the ground floor for 20 years and has an option to extend the lease to 2030.
In 2019, according to the complaint, the Cochachis spent $500,000 on renovations.
Mann bought the property from Marvin Wildenberg Associates in March for $5.75 million, according to county property records. He has acquired four other properties on the block that once were home to Tarry Market, Tarry Lodge and Tarry Wine.
Mann’s Tarry Lighthouse plans call for a 6-story structure with 209 apartments, 28,000 square feet of retail space, and parking for 271 cars.
The site plan has been approved and the village Industrial Development Agency has granted preliminary approval for $16.9 million to $20.5 million in tax breaks
X-S salon was the only tenant in the 163 Main St. building with a long-term lease, according to the IDA application. Acuario restaurant, Tandoori restaurant, Redi-Cut Carpet on the ground floor and four office tenants on the second floor were on month-to-month leases.
The Cochachis say they rejected Mann’s proposal because they would end up with a smaller space, higher rent, less foot traffic and fewer customers.
Within days of rejecting the proposal, they claim a campaign of intimidation and harassment began. They were allegedly locked out, electricity and gas were turned off, and debris was dumped by the salon’s exit.
The Cochachis claim that messengers for Mann threatened that if they did not agree to relocate the developer would simply build around their space.
On July 12, Mann sent the salon a notice stating that it was in default on the lease for failing to maintain a liability insurance policy. The Cochachis claim they are fully insured.
Mann said he did not have the electricity shut off. He did have the gas shut off for the vacant spaces and common areas but did not know that the salon was tapped into one of those meters, “in breach of the lease.”
He had proposed moving X-S salon one block away to a newly renovated space for three years. He would “build out the space to your satisfaction,” the proposal states, “with the goal being a replica of the current X-S Hair space.”
He would cover any rent greater than the current lease. In three years the salon could move back to a new building, with the same rent schedule as in the current lease. He would pay the moving costs and build out the new space at no cost.
“In my opinion,” Mann stated in the proposal, “the temporary inconvenience of moving pays tremendous dividends. This space will easily be … the nicest salon in Port Chester, Greenwich and Rye.”
Mann said the Cochachis wanted $1 million.
“That’s just unrealistic,” he said. “I’m willing to give a lump sum payment as an alternative …. Building around them will cost more, but a lot less than $1 million.”
He said he hopes to start demolition in a week or two.
The Cochachis are represented by Purchase attorney Max Di Fabio.
The salon will lose in court and they will have thrown away a more than decent generous offer .. in this case they should have worked with the new owner landlord..
How much is the “lump sump†if they already spent $500,000 on their current location? Why was just one offer made? Shouldn’t they have options? They’re the ones with a long lease. Big developers think they can just throw people out, good for them for fighting back!
They were notified at the same time as the rest of the tenants, they just don’t feel like moving out and wanted to take advantage of the situation
If you read the article, it’s say because they have a lease until 2030. I wouldn’t be in a rush to leave if I wasn’t offered and incentive to move either. I don’t blame them.. this is a $75 million project and they can’t afford to at least pay off their recent renovation? He was trying to move them for almost nothing to him.
A $76.1 million dollar project and they can’t offer them back what they paid for renovations? Seems like he was trying to low ball them and didn’t expect them to fight back. Isn’t Joe Bastianich one of the investors? What’s he’s take on all of this.. Has anyone gotten a quote from him?
Unfortunately the other tenant did not have a lease so they had no choice but to comply. The salon has a lease, legally they have rights. It’s has nothing to do with “they just don’t feel like moving outâ€
If you ask me, either the developer didn’t do his researcher before he bought the property, or thought he could get away by not paying them.
I hate saying this but I don’t think he would be giving them a hard time if they were white men
Who taking advantage of who?
They were notified but they were different because they were the only ones with a long term lease. No one else had leases so they unfortunately had no option. This developer can’t afford to just buy them out? Or at least buy their lease out and set them up at a “replica†of their salon?