By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
The Wing, a women-focused co-working company which shuttered its freshly-designed offices last summer, is being sued in multiple cases for unpaid back rent.
As reported by Crain’s NY, landlords for three of the firm’s five New York locations have filed lawsuits against The Wing, alleging unpaid back rent and missed bills. Abner Properties is one of the landlords, preparing to file a suit in reference to owed rent at 45 E. 20th St.– the famed Flatiron District property where the Wing first opened its doors 2016. The business had expanded to eventually take on a 14,000-square feet of space, spanning two-floors, at the 12-story mid-rise office building. Details of the sums allegedly due have not yet been revealed.
The Wing was co-founded in 2016 by Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan as co-working space and a women’s proprietary club. As of July 2019, it boasted some 12,000 members with up to 11 office locations in New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston. In August the fast-growing group closed all its lavishly decorated offices abruptly, even after having raised roughly $118 million from a string of well-known investors including WeWork and Airbnb. As per the NY Post, the club had charged members about $200 per month, and at its peak had a 9,000 person waitlist. The firm had influential fans including Jennifer Lopez and Meryl Streep.
Gelman herself, formerly a press secretary for Scott Stringer, too was somewhat of a celebrity. By June 2020, everything started to come apart though. Gelman stepped down after allegations from staffers that she had mistreated colored employees. Members got emails that the remaining six locations would too shutter, due to “increasing global economic challenges” and “the backdrop of the Covid pandemic.” The business was closed for a year. Then it was sold to the Regus-owned International Workplace Group (IWG) in 2021. The Wing has not yet filed for bankruptcy protection. This might be because IWG, a global company run by Mark Dixon with 1,000 co-working spaces across the country, may want to reopen some of the Wing’s coworking locations with different branding.
As per Crain’s, last week, the Wing was also slapped with a lawsuit from developer Thor Equities. The real estate company is suing for $133,000 in back-rent, plus interest and fees, for the Midtown office space it rented at 25 W. 39th St. The Wing had occupied a full-floor, spanning 12,200 square feet at the 16-story building located near Bryant Park. Thor had also previously sued the company in July 2020, claiming $270,000 in unpaid rent. Despite the height of the pandemic, the Wing ended up paying up in relation to that suit.
The Wing also faced another suit in October from the Baden family of Chicago, which owns 52 Mercer St. in SoHo. The Wing was also renting at this building, and the company sued, alleging a whopping $1.6 million in back-rent and other unpaid bills, Crain’s reported. The case is still outstanding.
