UPDATE: Thursday, January 16 at 12:30 p.m.: Judith Norell, the founder and one of the owners of Silver Moon Bakery, got back to West Side Rag on Thursday. Norell said she could not get into specifics of the case and the rent payments due to the ongoing litigation, but did provide the following:
“I started Silver Moon Bakery 24 years ago, when there was very little in the neighborhood. I live in the neighborhood,” Norell said. “I would like to continue our work here. We employ 24 people. A lot of the people at the bakery know the customers by name, know what they want to order, they know about birthdays, dogs, and the grandchildren. It’s a real neighborhood place.”
Norell did not want to speak specifically about whether she thought Silver Moon Bakery would remain open or possibly reopen at a different neighborhood location.
She ended with this: “We want to stay open.”
Original Story
By Gus Saltonstall
Silver Moon, a popular, longtime Upper West Side bakery and cafe, is facing eviction for overstaying its lease agreement, according to a lawsuit filed by its landlord last Friday. The suit was first reported on by Crain’s.
Broadside Realty, the landlord of the bakery that first opened on the corner of Broadway and West 105th Street in 2000, claims that Silver Moon owes the company more than $200,000 in rent, according to the lawsuit.
Silver Moon’s most recent lease expired on May 31, 2024, but the bakery has not come to an agreement on a new lease, according to the suit. There are no visible signs that the business is moving out; the bakery was open on Monday morning.
West Side Rag reached out to Silver Moon Bakery for comment. We will update this article when we hear back.
Court documents show that the judge’s decision on the landlord’s eviction request is still pending.
Check back on this article for updates.
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Closing would be a loss greater than Absolute
Absolute was nothing special. The place egregiously unsanitary.
Everytime I walked past Absolute I used to laugh to myself on how foolish some people were to wait in a line for 45 minutes for a bagel, the same bagel they could have gotten at any of the neighborhood stores at half the price of Absolute
You are right. I am going to assume that Silver Moon does not serve sub-par, rat-infested, bakery goods while evading taxes in a cash-only business.
With lease terms like this it’s a wonder any business could survive.
Thats a whole lot of muffins (approximately 2500 not including the cost of making a muffin so probably more like 25,000 muffins) before you can pay the baker. No wonder a cookie is five bucks.
1/1/2025 Retail Rent Charge $13,261.25 /Month
November 1, 2000 to October 31, 2001 $3,000 monthly $36,000 annually
November 1, 2001 to October 31, 2002 $3,200 monthly $38,400 annually
November 1, 2002 to October 31, 2003 $3,600 monthly $43,200 annually
November 1, 2003 to October 31, 20Ò4 $3,708.monthly $44,496 annually
November 1, 2004 to October 31, 2005 $3,819 monthly $45,828 annually
November 1, 2005 to October 31, 2006 $3,934 monthly $47,208 annually
November 1, 2006 to October 31, 2007 $4,052 monthly $48,624 annually
November 1, 2007 to October 31, 2008 $4,173 monthly $50,076 annually
November 1, 2008 to October 31, 2009 $4,299 monthly $51,588 annually
November 1, 2009 to October 31, 2010 $4,428 monthly $53136 annually6/1/17-5/31/18 $12,500.00 $150,000
6/1/18-5/31/19 $12,500.00 $150,000
6/1/19-5/31/20 $12,500.00 $150,000
6/1/20-5/31/21 S12,500.00 $150,000
6/1/21-5/31/22 $12,500.00 $150,000
6/1/22-5/31/23 $12,875.00 $154,500
6/1/2H/31/24 $13,261.25 $159,135
This is so awful. The thought of losing Silver Moon is devastating. These landlords are truly evil to increase rents by this proportion.
Put these landlords in jail. There’s absolutely nothing that could justify a rent jump from $4500 to $12,500. Effing criminals.
Wow. What happened between 2010 and 2017? !
I love Silver Moon and hope they stay forever. But do they really owe 200k like they haven’t paid any rent since the lease expired? That’s not OK.
That’s pretty much what tenants do these days. The landlord-tenant laws were made totally one-sided (i.e., tenant-protective) in 2019 by Stewart-Cousins and it’s nearly impossible for a landlord to collect back rent or evict a non-paying tenant or a tenant violating its lease in other ways (like selling illegal weed or operating without a building permit, etc.).
The 2019 tenant protection laws apply only to residential units, and then only rent regulated units. Get your facts straight. No impact on commercial leases and commercial tenants though there have long been advocates for some form of commercial rent control.
The lawsuit alleges that Silver Moon was only $6k in arrears at the time the lease expired. By overstaying, Silver Moon allegedly triggered a holdover clause that increases the rent 150%- from $13k to over $33k monthly. Silver Moon allegedly has paid $38k rent since the lease expired.
It’s an increasingly common clause. There are residential subleases in coops that trigger double the monthly rent past the end of the term if there’s no renewal in place.
!! That’s like loansharking.
So the Landlord didn’t want to give them a new lease?
If they start a GoFundMe for the back rent I am betting they would do well! I would contribute! First Absolute, then this – I cannot stand the idea of losing another beloved UUWS institution.
Silver Moon cannot solve this problem with a “GoFundMe” to cover a recurring obligation; all you are doing it delaying the inevitable.
Silver Moon is trash. They charge $30 for 6 of the driest, lousiest macaroons I’ve ever tasted. No wonder they can’t make rent.
Their Macaroons are Magnificent! I love them! I am gluten free so I was so happy about the Silver Moon Macaroons.
Macarons? Macaroons are something we’d love to see there but haven’t yet.
French macaroons. They are completely different from the ones you’re used to.
Not a fan of macaroons. But the cakes, breads, and cookies are great.
First absolute, then st. James gate, now silver moon? WTF
Any litigators out there: Would a 2.5x holdover rent clause actually be enforceable under NY Law? Is that excessive?
Not a litigator, but I just read through it, and since they signed it it’s likely enforceable. I wonder though, given the gap between lease and lease extension arguably they didn’t enforce it prior. It seems strange the landlord really seems to want them out and if you look over the ledger it appears Silver Moon was really trying to make payments on an increasingly hostile landlord dropping charges for anything they could to make them hurt. Why not just negotiate a lease and keep them in the building? I think the landlord would be limited to the market rate on recovery so if they can’t prove they would not recover 2.5x. Whole lot of greedy landlords responsible for shuttered stores on Bway.
How are the landlords “greedy”? Silver Moon signed a rental contract and didn’t fulfill their side of the contract. Nobody forced Silver Moon to agree to the terms of the contract.
The landlord has every right to collect its past due rent.
I’m sorry the bakery will likely close but ranting nonsense is not helping matters.
Yes, the landlord needs to have protections against delinquent tenants. There are two businesses being run out of that space, the landlord’s and the tenants, they are both allowed to make money despite the endless complaints about “greedy landlords”. Building owners take a great risk, they borrow money to purchase the space in the hope that they will have a long term credit worthy tenant. It doesn’t always work out and the mortgage still has to be paid whether or not Silver Moon pays it’s bill.
BOOO HOOOOO. Won’t someone think of the landlords?
If it’s the same landlord as in 2000, it was able to pay its mortgage on $3,000 a month then; hard to see why it needs a 340% increase in rent unless it refinanced the mortgage at a much higher value and still think the rent ought to cover it. That’s kind of the definition of a greedy landlord.
I question whether it would be considered to be effectively inappropriate consolidated damages for breach. I can’t research it for free so I can’t tell you, but maybe someone else can.
Yes – courts in NYC have generally found holdover rent clauses to be enforceable and treated as liquidated damages. In some cases the holdover rent was as high as 3x the stated rent.
I am a long time customer of this business since it has opened. This is a neighborhood staple. I am there every weekend for GREAT pastries. The staff is always great and they know their customers. Enough of these places closing. Everyone has their opinion but if you don’t like the place, DON’T go!! DD is probably your taste anyway .. walk the 2 blocks and leave us alone! PS.. read the great comment below why the rent is the amount. Stop making assumptions without knowing the facts. I know, it’s so hard to do actual research, stop getting your info from social media. Cheers!
In your words, I think that making assumptions that because one does not frequent Silver Moon Bakery must immediately like Dunkin Donuts demands some facts too.
So-called great businesses can also have lousy business models. Seems to be the case here.
Yes. A lousy business model that has kept them open for a quarter century.
If you didn’t review and update your business model for 25 years in significantly changing economic realities, then your current business model is probably inferior to others. Customers gravitate to other businesses for numerous reasons.
Greedy landlords
I like their products very much, but their prices have become outrageous so I go there very infrequently now. Some of the priciest cakes and tarts around.
Look above at David Neff’s helpful post about what they have to pay in rent each month. IT is shockingly high.
Sadly, for any decent bakery to exist in Manhattan, the prices have to be pretty high, given the extraordinary rents. I’d suggest comparing prices at similar independent bakeries. I think you’ll find Silver Moon is pretty typical (sadly).
Maybe some businesses that operate at the margin need to be in lower-cost midblock locations. Space on major avenues comes at a premium.
Silver Moon is like a cornerstone of this community!!! I really hope local leaders find a way to help b/c this neighborhood can’t afford to lose this institution!
Wait. Last I heard, the owner was the landlord. Way back to
When this spot was a lingerie store
Lorette’s Lingerie!
Such depressing news . This neighborhood is losing everything nice. Ugh.
Wonderful bakery with great standards, not to be found easily. What a wonderful place experience to know great bread and pastries and cakes, made with hard work and pride on the premises! This is a par excellent business that keeps to great standards and utilizes excellent ingredients. This bakery is a treat that we are lucky to have! I am very saddened to know that this kind of authentic business cannot continue to survive in our neighborhood! So sad! Thank you Silvermoon for your great productions, and for your kind staff, and for your commitment to great food! You are par excellence!
Please lower rents on the UWS so businesses can survive.
The community is adamant about supporting our local businesses.
Don’t the landlords know that property values increase with functioning neighborhoods? Great neighborhoods bring wealth and stability.
The city council needs to intervene in the cases of landlords who try to keep out businesses so that they can reassess tax rates downward.
Correct me if I’m wrong. 😑
Right. Because having no rental income in order to lower property taxes is the best way to make money as a landlord. Last I checked, shelling out cash every month is not a way to turn a profit.
You do know they get tremendous tax breaks when they have empty storefronts, right? It is absolutely a winning business model, otherwise they’d lower their prices until they found a tenant, not keep their storefronts empty for years on end, making the UWS a ghost town.
I’m genuinely curious, how do you know this? Are there any laws you can point to? With all the long-term vacancies, it sounds legitimate, but I’m just wondering where you’re getting this info from. Thank you.
It’s amazing that despite all of the comments to all of the threads regarding this topic, that people still believe that an empty storefront somehow accrues to the benefit of the owner.
This persistent claim that landlord’s keep storefronts empty and get tremendous tax breaks is simply wrong.
In a March 2019 post from the WSR:
“….., we called an Upper West Side landlord and leading tax attorney, who said the following:
“…there is no benefit to the landlord derived from leaving retail space vacant. There is no tax benefit other than the fact that s/he receives less income and therefore pays less tax. It would be similar to taking a cut in salary just to pay less in taxes.
“Furthermore, when a space is vacant the landlord not only loses the rental income and the contribution by the tenant to his/her real estate taxes, but also incurs the broker fees and renovation costs when the space is rented…
“The landlord can petition for a reduction in real estate taxes because of an alleged diminution in the value of the property due to loss of commercial rental income, however this will not offset the economic loss suffered as a result of vacant space.”
I wish people would stop perpetuating the narrative that landlords are keeping space empty because of tax breaks.
In a working paper published by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, the authors analyze why storefronts remain vacant for long periods of time. The authors conclude that in the long run, a primary driver of retail vacancy in dense urban areas is the fact that landlords are willing to forgo rents today in order to preserve the option to lease their space to someone else (who might pay higher rents and may be of a better financial quality) tomorrow.
I do have a correction. This is an urban myth that won’t die, and I wish WSR would actually profile small-time building owners and co-op shareholders who own storefronts.
There is zero tax deduction for empty storefronts. The city will not accept challenge to an individual property valuation because of vacancy.
The city aims to raise property tax revenue every year regardless of occupancy. The city is making housing and commercial storefronts unaffordable.
Silver Moon is not that great. They are overpriced and do not carry bialys!! But they are the only bakery in this area and it would be a shame to lose them. I much prefer the baked goods in West Side Market, (where they do carry real, old-fashioned, authentic bialys.) Their pastries and muffins are also good.
I can’t tell if you’re trolling people. West Side Market for baked good?! Their baked goods are mass-produced atrocities.
They are a French Bakery, not necessarily where one would expect to find a bialy lol. Which WS has bialys??
I still don’t understand the economics of storefront leasing – if SM goes, odds are the space is vacant for a while; too may other open storefronts. Hopefully the owner of SM is talking to the landlord at the old Absolute space – maybe they’ll cut a deal!
in a 2018 piece, the West Side Rag said this: “SMB anchors the charming, unchanged historic building, that is captured over the years in these shots below. Judith was able to open SMB because her then landlord, Georgia Stamoulis, became her partner. To this day, Georgia remains Judith’s partner, but Georgia’s brother, Michael Rose (who owns Broadway Cellar) is the current SMB landlord. To Georgia and Michael, we owe a word of thanks for keeping this vibrant bakery right where it belongs, bespoke for their special, low-lying corner of Broadway.”
so, inquiring minds want to know: what has happened since then?
This Michael Rose? https://nypost.com/2019/11/13/uws-landlord-caught-on-camera-scuffling-with-ny1-reporter-michael-herzenberg-slugging-another-man/
georgia was my landlord at 246 west 106th street and was a very lovely lady
I don’t actually love their products. The breads are meh and the pastries are overpriced and mediocre. But it’s popular and it’s a mainstay in the neighborhood. Both parties seem to be at fault here, Silver Moon for reneging on the terms of the lease and the landlord for not negotiating a fair renewal. Who do they think is going to move in there when every block in the area has an empty storefront? The Broadway area from 96-106 is a dead zone. Maybe they think Columbia gold dust will wash down one or two more blocks.
SMB shoulda vamoosed it during COVID, like so many other deadbeat tenants did. Yeah, you all know who you are.
Silver Moon was open today. Should be easy to go up there and get a comment.
Google this creep landlord 246 west 106th street.
Mike Rose. we almost froze to death.
And other horrible moments. He refinanced his buildings, all of them facing broadway between 105 and 106 and a few along 106 not too long ago. Let’s not talk about that fire.
Perhaps Columbia University can find some space for Silver Moon!in one of their buildings. Gail Brewer are you reading this?
Real question is what is going to happen to that block of Broadway—tear down of all the existing (low rise) buildings and construction of a massive hi rise?
SMB and Columbia are NOT in Gale Brewer’s district.
The perfect trio: greedy developers, landlords, and politicians. The only way out is through. Having lived in this neighborhood for a long time, I know firsthand that we need change. These challenges are a shock to the system, underscoring the urgent need for reform.
Do you think that if the city were run by Republicans, these problems would go away? This is an honest question.
I agree, we need to get rid of the rat-infested establishment in NYC.
Let’s start with the mayor’s office and work our way down.
After that go after AG Barr.
A good start.
That you Mayor Hip Hop for destroying our once great city.
Have a blessed day.
Blame the right wing republicans who have—for decades—refused to enact commercial rent regulation. All you people who bemoan the “greedy landlords”— did you vote republican? Did yiu buy your apartments when the market was low? Will you not be “greedy” when it’s time to sell and not ask for the max?
Commercial rent control is a surefire way to reduce both retail footprints and tax revenue. Why should we be subsidizing private businesses just because they happen to exist now? How many great stores and restaurants would never open because the same stores stayed in the same place forever, paying rents that aren’t enough to cover property taxes?
Most commercial property owners in our neighborhood are small-time owners who own a single building, OR co-ops who live in the buildings that house these stores. There’s no reason to pick winners and losers in a business transaction.
All commercial rent control will do is give an incentive to leave storefronts empty or convert storefronts to market-rate apartments.
As for Ms. Norwell, who says “I started Silver Moon Bakery 24 years ago, when there was very little in the neighborhood.”
Achem many of us were in the neighborhood 24 years ago and there was PLENTY around. It comes off as a bit self-centered. This is a commercial rent dispute between two business entities, not a hero vs. villain story.
I was assuming she meant not so many bakeries
One way to discourage landlords from evictions like this is to aggressively but legal prevent them from renting to space. Just w thought. There are more of us than of them.
I want to understand landlords side also
The huge jump in rent ( 2010 to 2017). Coincides with mortgage crash and recovery. Just spit balling but that could raise rents.
I can only speculate. But there is City data that suggests some indication of the property owner’s motivations: https://propertyinformationportal.nyc.gov/parcels/parcel/1018770015
Since 2014, the value of the building that houses the store has increased from $714,150 to $1,305,000. This is a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% *every year*, which means the City has been increasing the landlord’s property taxes far above the inflation rate.
It appears the property owner split the building into two tax lots a few years ago; had they not the growth rate would possibly be higher.
You can look up real estate tax bills on the NYC DOF site. It seems that, at this valuation, the building owner is paying $140,000 just for this year’s property taxes. Now add insurance, admin and repairs.
The building appears to have a mortgage from 2008 for $13M. They refinanced a few times and now the mortgage is $17M. That seems a bit high for a two story commercial building, but that’s a detail only the owner knows. The building may need lots of repairs like a new roof, new sidewalk, new electrical — who knows.
There are 5-6 other tenants in the space. Silver Moon appears to pay roughly $100/sq. ft. of rent which is very average, if not a bargain for a corner space on Broadway. Still, Silver Moon probably pays the most rent of all the tenants given their ground-floor corner space.
And yet the Silver Moon rent only covers the property taxes for the building. This should tell us something about the onerous real estate tax regime in this City, and how it’s ruining affordability for renters, owners and businesses alike.
The French cookies are macarons, not macaroons. They are made of meringue, so of course they’re dry.
The location won a cannabis dispensary license a few months ago.
Bravo to Gus Saltinstall for breaking this story before The New York Times!!
I wonder whether the landlord actually hopes to sell the building and is possibly not willing to negotiate? This is, after all, a very low-rise building with few tenants. I have no knowledge to support this, it’s pure speculation on my part. From the perspective of a real estate investor, this might make sense, but from the perspective of someone simply living in the community, it would be painfully sad to see Silver Moon go!
Greedy bakers! 😏
Silver Moon really enhances this neighborhood every day. It is an anchor, and if it left, there would be a gap that nothing is going to fill. I urge the owners of the building to renew the lease. Retail is struggling terribly, and you will not fill that place with a tenant for Many many years. You certainly will not fill it with a business that is as ro bust and as reliable.
Maybe the landlord is vacating the building so he can demolish it and build a big ugly tower.
Just so people know in keeping with bizarre, byzantine and down right illogical ways of NYC property tax system commercial real estate is totally different than elsewhere in USA.
Elsewhere in USA commercial real estate (which includes multi-family housing) is taxed based upon assessed value. NYC switches that up by using both assessed value but attaches more weight to income of building.
NYC commercial property owners must submit income information to NYC DOF who in turn decides tax rates based in good part on reported revenue.
https://www.noahre.com/blog/commercial-real-estate-taxes#:~:text=For%20commercial%20properties%20in%20NYC,on%20the%20building%27s%20reported%20income.
https://cbcny.org/research/new-york-city-property-taxes
My nutritionist doesn’t let me go there, but it looks nice, and the name is cute. This may be a result of new year’s resolutions to reduce calories. They stayed open during the festive season, and now announce closing while we go the gym and sear abstinence. I am afraid that Ben & Jerry’s will soon close until the end of the NY resolutions
The landlord should do everything to keep the bakery open including not hiking the rent. It’s hard to get a similarly successful business in that spot. Dont be greedy.