League of Arab States Officials Say Landlord Illegally Trying to Evict Them
By Samuel Maull Associated Press Writer
Published: Dec 24, 2001
NEW YORK (AP) - The League of Arab States, an association of 22 Mideast countries, filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that its landlord is illegally trying to evict it from its Manhattan offices in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.
The league says in court papers that the landlord's managing agent, Sage Realty, asked the league to leave its midtown offices about a week after the attack.
The agent said other tenants wanted the league out of the building because they were worried that the group would attract trouble, according to court papers.
The Arab League, which has permanent observer status at the United Nations and diplomatic immunity, believes it has a valid lease and has no intention of leaving, according to the court papers.
"I told them that this was uncalled for," said the Arab League's chief official, Ambassador Hussein Hassouna of Egypt. "We feel like we are being discriminated against, and we informed the U.S. mission to the U.N."
A woman who answered the phone at Sage Realty said no one was available to comment.
The landlord told the league in a Sept. 17 letter that security would be increased throughout the building, and earlier this month the league received a bill for $79,027 for the changes, the court papers said.
The ambassador said the landlord added the security charges to the rent and then gave the league a week to pay or be evicted.
Hassouna, who has headed the 56-year-old Arab League for four years, said he has had office space in the building for 30 years. He said the current lease began in March 1983 and doesn't expire until mid-2003.
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