NBA gets sued by Manhattan landlord over $1.2million in back rent for its store on Fifth Avenue - but the league says the claim is meritless because the city forced it to close due to COVID-19

The NBA is being sued by a Manhattan landlord for failing to pay $1.2 million in back rent over April and May for the its store on Fifth Avenue, while the league insists the claim is meritless due to New York's coronavirus lockdown.   

NBA Media Ventures, LLC is required to pay $625,000 of its $7.5 million annual fee on the first day of each month under teams of its lease with 535-545 FEE LLC, according to the suit filed Tuesday in New York.

The NBA entered into the lease agreement for the property at 545 Fifth Ave. in November 2014.

Counting other fees such as water, the owners of the building are seeking more than $1.25 million.

Meanwhile the league contends that the ongoing coronavirus lockdown is an extenuating circumstance. 

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People standing and walking by the front window of the NBA store in Manhattan in 2017

NBA Media Ventures, LLC is required to pay $625,000 of its $7.5 million annual fee on the first day of each month under teams of its lease with 535-545 FEE LLC, according to the suit.  Counting other fees, the owners of the building are seeking more than $1.25million

'Like other retail stores on Fifth Avenue in New York City, the NBA Store was required to close as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Under those circumstances, we don't believe these claims have any merit,' NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. 'We have attempted, and will continue to attempt, to work directly with our landlord to resolve this matter in a manner that is fair to all parties.'

Much of Manhattan still remains closed during the pandemic. 

Recently one commercial landlord in Manhattan told New York Times that around 80 percent of the company's retail tenants missed rent in April, although many more were able to pay some portion this month. 

According to the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), a trade group, New York City and State collected only $78.5 million in tax revenue for the sale of residential and commercial properties in April after garnering $217.5 million on those taxes in March. 

'The real estate sector is the city's economic engine,' James Whelan, REBNY's president, told the Times. 'The pandemic has caused that engine to stall, and we should expect such alarming trends to carry through May and June in the best-case scenario.' 

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Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference at the United Center on February 15 in Chicago. Less than a month later he would suspend the season indefinitely

Designer stores on 5th Avenue shuttered amid coronavirus quarantine

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The NBA suspended its season March 11, becoming the first of the U.S. major pro leagues to do so after it became known that All-Star center Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19. The list of NBA players who were known to test positive eventually grew to 10 — not all were identified — and Commissioner Adam Silver said last month that the actual total was even higher. 

The league has been in talks with The Walt Disney Company on a single-site scenario for a resumption of play in Central Florida in late July. Games would be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, a massive campus on the Disney property near Orlando. 

Bass said last week that the conversations were still 'exploratory,' and that the site would be used not only for games but for practices and housing as well.

On Wednesday the league reminded teams that players who are currently outside the US have been cleared to return, though quarantine rules may apply in some areas.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf signed an order last week providing the exemption for professional athletes from rules put in place during the pandemic that would have otherwise barred their entry into the U.S.

Wolf says sports 'provide much needed economic benefits, but equally important, they provide community pride and national unity. In today's environment, Americans need their sports.'

A small number of NBA players from foreign countries left for home during the pandemic. Teams are expecting guidance, perhaps as soon as later this week, as to when they will be allowed to resume full-scale practicing in advance of a possible resumption of the NBA season later this summer. 

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The NBA has been in talks with The Walt Disney Company on a single-site scenario for a resumption of play in Central Florida in late July. Games would be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, a massive campus on the Disney property near Orlando