Manhattan, NY – A 79-year-old Holocaust survivor who runs a kosher cafe on Madison Avenue is suing his landlords for discrimination, claiming they illegally prevented him from selling his business while simultaneously depriving him of customers by walling him off with a decorative door.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
“My youth, my childhood were taken from me in World War II. My old age, my retirement was stolen from me in the last three years,” said Andrew Spitz, owner of InHouse Nosh, a cafe and newsstand in the lobby of 444 Madison Ave.
“My body is breaking down, financially I am almost wiped out. Yet I keep going, not giving in. Maybe something good will happen in the not-too-distant future. Hope is all I have left,” he added.
Spitz, who endured the horrors of the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz, arrived in New York City in 1950, and in 2001 he opened a thriving deli in the former New York Magazine building at Madison Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets. Upscale clothier Burberry moved into the building last year.
In 2006, Spitz decided to sell his remaining time on his lease at the deli in hopes of regaining his $185,000 in life savings invested in the business and enjoying his retirement years, he said.
But over the next three years, building management from 444 Madison Lessee LLC rejected four potential replacements, using excuses ranging from missing paperwork to the ethnicity of the would-be buyers, the lawsuit claims.
Westbrook Partners, which owns the building and oversees 444 Madison Lessee LLC, denied all the charges in their legal papers earlier this month. Company spokesman Frank Marino said he could not comment on landlord-tenant matters.
Making matters worse, the building’s lobby underwent a massive renovation in 2008, in which a decorative mirrored door identical to the adjacent elevator doors was installed directly in front of the cafe’s entrance.
The building ownership refused to install a sign for InHouse Nosh, leaving tenants completely in the dark about the cafe’s existence, Spitz’ lawyer said.
“Why would the building want to have a food service their own tenants don’t even know about?” lawyer Darryl Vernon said, “There’s only one reason why: they want to drive him out and renege on their responsibilities on the lease.”
Some tenants have told Spitz they heard about him purely by accident, and said they were afraid to open the door because they thought it was a janitor’s closet, he said.
Spitz, who travels close to two hours each day from his home in Flushing, Queens, said he struggles to put in full days because of a host of health issues. Now he fears for his future and the dwindling number of days he has left with his wife of 55 years, Ruth.
“I’m reaching out to people to try to bring it to their attention. It’s almost cruel,” Spitz said. “They know, (I’m) an old guy. Physically and financially, how long can a person hold out?”
Is this place really kosher? They have no hechsher, and nobody would give them one, since they have both meat and milk in the same tiny space. But they could still be keeping kosher on their own responsibility; does anyone know whether they do? Or is the article simply mistaken in calling it kosher?
i work on 38th and madison and will BL”N go take a walk there one day this week when the weather is nice. i implore all of us who work in the area to join me. See you there.
At least if you work anywhere near there, we should try to patronize this guy to give him some business and chizuk. It’s the least we can do for a fellow yid and survivor.
What does kosher have to do with it? This is a human interest story. I find it mind boggling how many people in our frum community will show interest or empathy for a situation only if it involves a frum person. How narrow-minded can you be??
Shame on Westbrook Partners. Shame on them. What will they do next? Shut down the elevators because they say walking is good for you? Wake up, Westbrook Partners’ tenants – this could only be the beginning.
its a charpa and a beshoe. kosher food from a jew. so unfair. he should sue and get the building. 5t atturney would take the case.
how do u know that they sell milchigs and fleishigs ,besides depending on circumstances I’m sure u “can” get a hechsher on a place that sell’s both.
btw. your local grocery and supermarket sell both!
I will go bl”n to pay a visit to be mechazek this guy and buy some fruit please everybody join me
If there’s one case that cries out for justice in little guy vs multi million dollar corporations who couldn’t care a less about anyone else , it’s this.
MIllhouse has sunk to a new low. This man has had the strength to go on for 60+ years after the horrors of Aushwitz and is still trying to support himself and his wife at 79 years old and all you can worry about is criticizing this hardworking man who is being treated horribly by a mean spirited landlord. I would rather eat in this man’s deli than in Millhouse’s kitchen any day. I wish I lived in NYC so I could patronize this deli.
all of us who work in midtown should plan to begin patronizing him – even if its for tea or coffee/ soda’s its the least we can do
see you all there next week
all groceries have milchig and fleishig in one place. it is the responsibilities of the consumer to buy the items and to check the hechsher.
Action is what is needed here.
If 100 people a day showed up to shop with Andrew Spitz and supported him
it would make a big differance. Show up at the building, ask for directions at the information desk (since there is no sign and don’t forget to ask why there is no sign for such a fine cafe). Do it at lunch( with a line out the door) people who did not know about the cafe’s existence, will now know.
If you can not show up, call up for delivery.
This is how a community supports a fellow member.
Actions speak louder than words.
Show up and be counted!
I work a block away and never even knew about this place. I will try to remember to go and buy my caffeine fix from him.
milhouse just was trying to prevent a michshol of lifnei eever–eating traif. this list is supposed to be frum. the only thing you are all machmir on is ripping another frum jew to shreds……
“milhouse just was trying to prevent a michshol of lifnei eever”
Even if he doesn’t have hashgacha, it would be a big mitzvah to patronize this place, even for a coffee or bottle of soda. After all this poor yid has been through, stop nitpicking on trivia.
Nebech. We should try to patronize this elderly yid to show our support and call the managment and give them a good yelling..antisemites!
I’m so impressed and proud of the people on this site who are offering to patronize this deli. This story is truly sad and unfair. However, I must add that the fact that he went through the Holocaust should have no bearing on this situation. Any person being treated so cruelly or unfairly should be supported, especially an elderly person. The mention of his Holocaust experiences, however, seem to be self serving.
I wonder what the landlord’s position is on this. I wonder if we have the whole story. I wonder why people can judge before hearing both sides of a story. Sure the way the article presents the story my heart feels for the man, and if I’m around there, I’d like to patronize him, but as far as what the story is – we surely don’t know, because we have no comment from them (yet).
gotta get this story on one of the tv news stations. then he will get loads of people coming in plus
Someone should check but something in my memory tells me that westbrook is owned by an australian co. that was started by a holocast survivor.
No, I don’t think it’s important, since no one can find the place anyway, and the story is not about its kashrus.
No one was being directed to eat there, and if anyone were to go, if there was no te’udah, they couldn’t eat there anyway, so what was your point? that a VIN article could be mistaken for a hashgocha?
Or was it just one more opportunity to open your big, fat, unkosher mouth?