UES CBD Shop Faces Eviction As Landlord Claims Unpaid Rent

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side supplements shop specializing in CBD products is facing eviction as its landlord says months' worth of rent has gone unpaid — but the store's attorney says the claims are misleading.

CBD Kratom was sued in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday by the landlord of its shop on Lexington Avenue between East 61st and 62nd streets.

The location is part of a nationwide chain of stores that sell products containing CBD, a non-psychoactive substance derived from cannabis plants; and kratom, an herbal extract. Both are purported to have health benefits, though the strength of those claims has been challenged by experts.

Since August 2021, CBD Kratom has been "in extended default of its payment obligations, according to attorneys for landlord Terrence Lowenberg, of the company Icon Realty Management.

Most recently, Lowenberg's company served a notice of default on July 14, saying CBD Kratom owed $17,500 for that month, but no payment has been made since then, the lawsuit alleges.

Now, Lowenberg's firm is asking a judge to force CBD Kratom to pay back the allegedly missing rent — and also evict the store from the building.

Reached for comment, an attorney for CBD Kratom said the landlord owes the store tenant improvement money and other fees, and has not responded to "more than a half dozen communications" from the store since January.

"We have always paid the rent owed and merely subtracted the monies they owed to us in an effort to offset the cost for the tenant improvement monies, as they received notice of their default almost 8 months ago," attorney Allie Faver said in an email.

CBD Kratom had hoped to avoid a legal case and negotiate instead directly with Lowenberg's company, Faver added.

"However, we are hopeful that a resolution can be made now that we have involvement with their attorneys that will respond to our communication requests and that the Landlord will fulfill its financial obligations," Faver said. "We are likewise prepared to exhaust our remedies in the alternative if it is necessary."

Patch reported this week that evictions have been slowly rising on the Upper East Side this year after the pandemic moratorium caused them to drop to virtually zero since March 2020. Since that ban expired in January, at least 27 households and two businesses have been evicted in the neighborhood, according to city data.

Related coverage: Upper East Side Evictions On The Rise After Moratorium Ends, Data Show