Elad Group CEO Miki Naftali steps down

From left: Miki Naftali, The Plaza, 21 Astor Place and the Grand Madison

Miki Naftali has stepped down as CEO of Elad Properties, which owns The Plaza Hotel, the New York Post reported. Despite speculation that controversy in The Plaza Hotel led to his stepping down, Miki Naftali insisted that was not the case. Naftali, who forged the $675 million purchase of The Plaza in 2004, vacated his role to pursue a new venture that includes an investment in an undisclosed mixed-use space in the city. Naftali will hold on to a 49 percent stake in Elad Properties. According to the Post, insiders believed Naftali was under fire from his boss, Isaac Tshuva who owns Elad Properties’ parent company the Elad Group, because of an inability to land long-term tenants in the hotel’s restaurant and retail spaces. Elad’s recent lawsuit against the Oak Room that forced the owners to shutter the space, they said, merely expedited the process. But Naftali shrugged off the criticism, and told the Post that starting on his own “is something that I decided a few months ago.” Elad Properties also runs 21 Astor Place, the O’Neill building on Sixth Avenue and the Grand Madison, among other Manhattan properties. [Post]