Taxpayers Lost Big Time with EDC’s
Outrageous Deal on
Marriott Marquis Hotel Lease, Audit Finds
Comptroller John C. Liu today called on
Mayor Bloomberg and the City’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to
renegotiate a lease agreement with the Marriott Marquis Hotel that
could
cost taxpayers at least $344.9 million.
“This
is one of worst deals since Manhattan was sold for $24,” Comptroller
Liu said. “The EDC betrayed its fiduciary responsibility to act
in taxpayers’ interest when it recommended this sweetheart deal to the
City in 1998. The clock is ticking — the lease set to expire in less
than four years would let the Marriott Marquis purchase one of the
hottest pieces of New York real estate for a fire-sale
price of $20 million — that’s ten cents on the dollar compared to its
value today.”
Comptroller
Liu urged the City to renegotiate the lease or find another tenant for
this prime real estate. “City Hall needs to reexamine this
agreement and do whatever it can to recoup the millions taxpayers have
lost in this boondoggle. If Marriott refuses to renegotiate the lease
they should vacate the property; after all the land still belongs to the
City and there are certainly other luxury
hotels that would be willing to pay a fair price for a Times Square
location.”
The
Marriott Marquis was built on City land under a 1982 agreement that was
fair and beneficial to both the hotel and the City. In 1998, the
City’s EDC encouraged City Hall to rewrite the terms and shorten the
life of the 75-year lease by 40 years. The new lease drastically cut the
hotel’s rent payments and allows the Marriott Marquis to buy a large
corner of the Theater District for a song when
the lease expires in 2017 — instead of 2057.
Comptroller
Liu’s audit conservatively estimates that taxpayers stand to lose
$344.9 million since the EDC rewrote the Marriott Marquis’ lease
with two major changes:
- Below Market Value Purchase Price (Loss of $173.1 million) – The EDC provided the Marriott with the right to buy the land at Broadway and 46th Street for a bargain basement price of $19.9 million. The original lease allowed the Marriott Marquis to purchase the land in 2057 for “fair market value,” which today is estimated to be worth $193 million, according the City’s Finance Department records.
- Rent Forgiveness (Loss of $171.8 million) – The EDC agreed to dramatically reduce Marriott Marquis’ annual rent payments to the City by allowing the hotel to pay off all of its back rent in lieu of current rent.
EDC’s Excuses
When
asked why the agency revised the lease at such a disadvantage to the
City, EDC officials responded that the individuals who had brokered
the deal no longer worked at the agency and that the EDC had little or
no record of the transaction
—
a breathtaking assertion for a deal of this magnitude that is still in
effect. In addition, officials pointed to Times Square’s condition and
the need to develop it, in contradiction
of the fact that, by 1998, Times Square had boomed and hotels and other
businesses were pushing to open there.
Missing Documents: Breach of Contract
Under
its lease Marriott has to keep financial records for six years. Audits
in both 1990 and 1997 uncovered that the Marriott failed to follow
this provision. As a result of these scathing reports, Marriott wrote
to the City in 1997 that it “changed its retention policy and since late
1995 every underlying document is stored on CD-ROM” and that it was
complying with the six-year retention policy
stated in the Lease Agreement. When auditors last year asked for
Marriott to turn over six years of financial records, Marriott stated it
only had records dating to 2008, a violation of its contractual
obligation. Because of Marriott Marquis’ indisputable
contract breach, Comptroller Liu is asking the City to reopen the lease
and renegotiate the terms that have left the City at such a lopsided
disadvantage. Moreover, Comptroller City should pursue recoupment of
the lost $344.9 million.
Other Findings:
The
Marriott Marquis owes the City $3.6 million in Accrued Unpaid Rent
interest dating to 1998. Under its 1998 agreement Marriott was required
to pay off back rent with interest. However, Comptroller Liu’s audit
found that the Marriott Marquis failed to make an interest payment of
$1.8 million at that time. Over time, compounded interest has increased
the amount Marriott owes the City to $3.6 million.
A copy of the audit is attached to this e-mail. It is also available for download at
http://www.comptroller.nyc.
No comments:
Post a Comment