Her group sent its request for relief to the developer in July, she said, but it’s still waiting for a proper response. Youngelson said her three shops probably won’t survive if Ashkenazy forces her to pay all of the back rent she owes. (Anthem and Dick’s Last Resort are also closed, although owner Briar Group says Anthem’s closure is temporary.) And the vacancies are adding up. However, with Cheers closed, three corners of the central Quincy Market building are now empty. Sara Youngelson, treasurer of the Faneuil Hall Merchants Association, tallied up more than 40 food stalls, stores, and restaurants and 20 or so pushcarts still open during a walk-through on Friday. (The original Cheers pub in Beacon Hill, formerly the Bull & Finch, remains open.) Plus, Ripperger said Ashkenazy was unwilling to bend on the requirement to eventually pay off all the back rent, making the permanent closure inevitable. Instead, the establishment, which Kershaw opened 20 years ago to replicate the set of the TV show, is losing money. Like other Faneuil Hall tenants, they usually make enough in the summer months at their Cheers restaurant to withstand the slow winter months. While rents have not been collected since March, he said, many tenants still need additional relief.Īny fix won’t come in time for restaurateur Tom Kershaw and his top lieutenant, Markus Ripperger. The Ashkenazy spokesman said the developer and city officials have been in talks to modify this obligation to the city, and that any such change would directly benefit the tenants. Some have suggested that the city give Ashkenazy a break on its $4.2 million annual tax bill, paid through a “payments in lieu of taxes” program - as long as the tenants benefit from a big chunk of that reduction. A spokeswoman said the city has not sent any follow-up correspondence in recent weeks, although city officials and the developer remain in “constant contact” about the issue. That was before the marketplace reopened on July 1 and the closures began to cascade. Golden wrote to Ashkenazy in June, seeking relief. (The 99-year lease was first signed in 1975 with a previous company to help revive the property.) But he also said the lease gives the city little authority to compel Ashkenazy to do so. Brian Golden, director of the Boston Planning & Development Agency, said Ashkenazy has an obligation to help the locally owned businesses survive. The city-owned property has long been one of New England’s busiest tourist attractions. Sorting out the dispute that Faneuil Hall Marketplace is becoming poses a significant challenge for Mayor Martin J. They worry that Ashkenazy overpaid for the marketplace’s long-term lease, in a $140 million deal about nine years ago, and now they could end up paying the price.
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