The landlords of a 95,000-square-foot office building near Herald Square filed lawsuits against two of their major tenants, alleging that they failed to pay rent for months.
United Group and American Equities, the owners of 29 West 35th Street, argue in court documents that flex-office startup Knotel and business software provider Sprinklr owe the landlords $536,000 and $283,000, respectively, for rent and legal fees.
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Together, Knotel and Sprinklr occupy more than 75 percent of the office space in the 12-story building.
Knotel owes rent for April, May and June for its space on the second, third, fourth, 11th and 12th floors, according to the lawsuit.
Since the pandemic ravaged the office market, Knotel, which manages 2.5 million square feet in New York, has been slapped with multiple lawsuits by its landlords. The firm is trying to sublet some of its space to other tenants.
Knotel spokesperson Mousa Ackall said the company has reached positive resolutions with many landlords as it evaluates its portfolio to meet the needs of its customers.
“We take our landlord relationships very seriously, and will continue to actively engage with them to achieve good outcomes during these challenging times,” he said in a statement.
Sprinklr owes its landlords rent for May and June for its space on the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth floors, the lawsuit alleges.
The company — which recently raised $200 million from a private-equity firm, according to the Wall Street Journal — and its attorney Jeffrey Zukerman did not return email messages seeking comment Monday.
The landlord entities are shell companies associated with Paul Sohayegh and Roni Movahedian, the sponsors of Empire State Equities. The firm, which bought the building for $30 million in 2007, tried to sell the property in 2017, according to Real Estate Alert. The landlords’ attorney, the law firm Baltzis Daigle, did not return email messages seeking comment.