Owner of Times Square bar Jimmy's Corner sues landlord in attempt to fight eviction
Jimmy's Corner, one of the last dive bars in Times Square, is facing eviction, but its owner is suing the landlord to stay open.
It has all the makings of a David-and-Goliath story -- a 50-year-old bar versus one of the largest private owners of commercial property in New York City.
The bar on West 44th Street is one of the last remaining relics of old New York in Times Square. It opened in 1971, and you can still get a beer there for $3.
After Jimmy Glenn, the bar's original owner, died in 2020 and his son Adam took over, the Durst Organization, which owns the building, decided to sell.
"We told Adam Glenn over a year ago he would have to vacate the building. We offered him $250,000 even though we were not required to do so, and allowed the bar to remain open longer. These efforts have not been met with good faith," a spokesperson for the Durst Organization said in a statement.
"They snuck a provision into a past amendment to a lease that said if my dad dies, they can kick us out. I don't believe that that's right," Glenn said. "I don't believe that my dad knew that that was there, and I think they took advantage of their friendship and his trust and love for them to sneak something past him."
Glenn said he accepts that Jimmy's Corner may not be able to stay in its original location forever, but through his lawsuit, he is trying to stay there at least through the end of his lease in 2029.