Margot Samel Gallery in Tribeca faces eviction in rent dispute

A New York landlord has filed a non-payment eviction petition against Margot Samel Gallery in Tribeca, alleging more than $26,000 in unpaid rent and other charges.

The dispute concerns the gallery’s ground-floor retail space and partial basement at 295 Church Street, a building owned by landlord Carol L. Wolchok. The petition was filed March 9 in New York Civil Court and was verified by Robert Wolchok, the property manager.

The gallery signed a five-year lease for the space that began January 31, 2022. The lease is scheduled to run through January 31, 2027.

The petition also names “XYZ Corp.” as an unidentified undertenant, a placeholder often used in eviction filings to account for unknown occupants.

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Court Documents: Eviction Petition Against Margot Samel Gallery

Records from New York Civil Court

Urgent MatterAdam Schrader

Wolchok said that a written rent demand dated February 10 was served to the gallery asking it to pay $35,306.68 in base rent and additional charges owed through February 1 or surrender the premises.

Partial payments totaling $9,785 were made after the demand was served, Wolchok said. But the landlord alleged that Margot Samel Gallery still owes $26,429, including rent and other charges that came due in March.

The landlord asked the court to issue a judgment of possession for the premises and authorize a warrant of eviction, along with a money judgment for the alleged arrears, interest, legal fees and additional rent that may accrue during the court proceedings.

“The filing relates to a reconciliation of certain building access and service charges connected to renovations we undertook at the gallery,” Samel told Urgent Matter. “We are in discussions with the landlord and expect the matter to be resolved shortly.”

A response from the gallery had not yet appeared in the docket as of publication.

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