Connect with us

Published

on

Iconic wine retailer Sherry-Lehmann’s Park Avenue landlord has won permission to finally clear out old shelves, fixtures and leftover bottles of wine at the storied shop — which have been collecting dust for more than a year since it shuttered in scandal.

New York judge Suzanne Adams on March 4 approved an order of ejectment that enables Hong Kong-based property giant Glorious Sun — which is owed more than $4.8 million in unpaid rent on the swanky space at 505 Park Ave. — to retake possession of the store at the corner of East 59th Street.  

The famous vintner — whose clientele over the decades included Henry Kissinger, Greta Garbo and Andy Warhol — closed its doors after 89 years on March 10, 2023 after the New York State Liquor Authority found that it was selling alcohol with a lapsed license.

The agency ordered it to close and it never reopened.

The SLA fined the business $5,000 for the licensing offense a sum that is still outstanding.

In recent years, the iconic retailer has been dogged by costly, ill-fated moves.

The biggest, according to some insiders, may have been a 2007 decision to rent the space on Park Avenue after leaving its longtime flagship at 679 Madison Ave. where it had owned its real estate for 60 years.

Sherry-Lehmann was paying nearly $2 million in annual rent for three-story, 9,500-square-foot space at the bottom of the glass-and-steel tower, a source with knowledge of the business told The Post.

After a long delay that some observers blamed partly on COVID-related delays in the courts, the shop this week finally appeared to be getting cleared out.

The stores glass entry doors are now covered with drop cloth and its big display window — which had famously showcased rare vintages in splashy, artistic presentations during the holidays — now features a white sheetrock wall.

You cant take over a space just because a tenant hasnt paid rent, Edmund OBrien, the landlords attorney told The Post earlier this month, adding at the time that Glorious Sun was expecting to take possession of the space by the end of March.

We did what we had to do to get an order of ejectment and well follow through with the actual eviction,” O’Brien added.

Once it’s available for a new tenant, the location is likely to fetch as much as $250 per square foot, according to Jeffrey Roseman, vice chairman of Newmark.

“59th and Park Avenue is a majestic corner, very high profile and there will be interest [from tenants] for sure,” Roseman added.

Glorious Sun last year sued Sherry-Lehmann and its co-owner Shyda Gilmer, who have been accused of taking money for wine futures and not delivering the goods to collectors, stiffing New York on $3.3 million in unpaid sales tax and not delivering purchases made online or over the phone.

A wine storage business associated with the store called Wine Caves also has mysteriously disappeared along with its contents, say others who are still trying to retrieve their bottles.

Meanwhile federal investigators including the FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service have been investigating the business and raided the store last year along with a facility in Pearl River, NY where its believed the the wine storage business was moved to from Queens.

The federal investigation is ongoing, a spokesperson for the USPIS told The Post.

Subscribe to our daily Business Report newsletter!

Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.

Gilmer never responded to Glorious Sun’s lawsuit, while Sherry-Lehmann’s past owners, also named in the suit, argue that they long ago severed ties with the business and have no stake in it, according to court documents.

It’s unlikely that there is anything left in the store of great value since the the retailer wasn’t paying its bills before it shuttered — including from its vendors. At the end, most of its shelves were either empty or stocked with cut-rate vintages including a $15 bottle of Chateau Franc Couplet Bordeaux that was purchased by a New York Post reporter on the day it closed.

Fixtures that remain in the shop — including a pair of Austrian wine barrels dating from the 1940s, historic photos and magnums of wine that could still be been seen through a small opening in the corner window this week — may get auctioned off, an industry expert said.

The New York Sheriff’s office did not immediately return calls and emails seeking comment.

Founded in 1934 by Sam Aaron and his brother, Jack a reputed bootlegger during Prohibition Sherry-Lehman built a reputation as a gateway to the US market for fine French wineries. It stocked some of the finest burgundy wines and is credited with introducing Dom Perignon to the US in 1946.

Continue Reading

Sports

Manfred to rule on Rose ban after Trump meeting

Published

on

By

Manfred to rule on Rose ban after Trump meeting

NEW YORK — Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said he discussed Pete Rose with President Donald Trump at a meeting two weeks ago and he plans to rule on a request to end the sport’s permanent ban of the career hits leader, who died in September.

Speaking Monday at a meeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred said he and Trump discussed several issues, including concerns over how immigration policies could impact players from Cuba, Venezuela and other foreign countries.

Manfred is considering a petition to have Rose posthumously removed from MLB’s permanently ineligible list. The petition was filed in January by Jeffrey Lenkov, a Southern California lawyer who represented Rose prior to the 17-time All-Star’s death at age 83.

“I met with President Trump two weeks ago … and one of the topics was Pete Rose, but I’m not going beyond that,” Manfred said. “He’s said what he said publicly. I’m not going beyond that in terms of what the back and forth was.”

Trump posted on social media Feb. 28 that he plans to issue “a complete PARDON of Pete Rose.” Trump posted on Truth Social that Rose “shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING.”

It’s unclear what a presidential pardon might include. Trump did not specifically mention a tax case in which Rose pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of filing false tax returns and served a five-month prison sentence.

The president said he would sign a pardon for Rose “over the next few weeks” but has not addressed the matter since.

Rose had 4,256 hits and also holds records for games (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890). He was the 1973 National League MVP and played on three World Series winners.

An investigation for MLB by lawyer John M. Dowd found Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team. Rose agreed with MLB on a permanent ban in 1989.

Lenkov is seeking Rose’s reinstatement so that he can be considered for the Hall of Fame. Under a rule adopted by the Hall’s board of directors in 1991, anyone on the permanently ineligible list can’t be considered for election to the Hall. Rose applied for reinstatement in 1997 and met with Commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002, but Selig never ruled on Rose’s request. Manfred in 2015 denied Rose’s application for reinstatement.

Manfred said reinstating Rose now was “a little more complicated than it might appear on the outside” and did not commit to a timeline except that “I want to get it done promptly as soon as we get the work done.”

“I’m not going to give this the pocket veto,” Manfred said. “I will in fact issue a ruling.”

Rose’s reinstatement doesn’t mean he would automatically appear on a Hall of Fame ballot. He would first have to be nominated by the Hall’s Historical Overview Committee, which is picked by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and approved by the Hall’s board.

Manfred said he has been in regular contact with chairman Jane Forbes Clark.

“I mean, believe me, a lot of Hall of Fame dialogue on this one,” Manfred said.

If reinstated, Rose potentially would be eligible for consideration to be placed on a ballot to be considered by the 16-member Classic Baseball Era committee in December 2027.

Manfred said he doesn’t think baseball’s current ties to legal sports betting should color views on Rose’s case.

“There is and always has been a clear demarcation between what Rob Manfred, ordinary citizen, can do on the one hand, and what someone who has the privilege to play or work in Major League Baseball can do on the other in respect to gambling,” Manfred said. “The fact that the law changed, and we sell data and/or sponsorships, which is essentially all we do, to sports betting enterprises, I don’t think changes that.

“It’s a privilege to play Major League Baseball. As with every privilege, there comes responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is that they not bet on the game.”

Manfred did not go into details on his discussion with Trump over foreign-born players other than to say he expressed worry.

“Given the number of foreign-born players we have, we’re always concerned about ingress and egress,” Manfred said. “We have had dialogue with the administration about this topic. And, you know, they’re very interested in sports. They understand the unique need to be able to go back and forth, and I’m going to leave it at that.”

Continue Reading

Technology

Palantir is soaring while its tech peers are sinking. Here’s why

Published

on

By

Palantir is soaring while its tech peers are sinking. Here's why

Alex Karp, chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies Inc., speaks during the AIPCon conference in Palo Alto, California, US, on March 13, 2025.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tech stocks have struggled in 2025, as recession and trade war fears sap investor appetite for riskier assets.

Palantir is the exception.

Against a volatile market backdrop, the software maker’s stock has gained 45% and is the best performer among companies valued at $5 billion or more, according to FactSet. The closest tech names are VeriSign, up 33%, Okta, up 30%, Robinhood, up 29%, and Uber, up 29%.

President Donald Trump‘s frenzy of government department overhauls is partially to thank for the pop.

“When you think about macroeconomic concerns, you as a company need to be more efficient, and this is where Palantir thrives,” said Bank of America analyst Mariana Pérez Mora.

Palantir has set itself apart in the software world for its artificial-intelligence-enabled tools, gaining recognition for its defense and software contracts with key U.S. government agencies, including the military. In the fourth quarter, its government revenues jumped 45% year-over-year to $343 million.

Read more CNBC tech news

Companies have faced immense volatility in 2025 as tariffs threaten to jeopardize global supply chains and halt day-to-day manufacturing operations by hiking costs. Those fears have brought the broad market index down about 7% this year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has slumped 11%.

Tech’s megacap companies — Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla — are all down between 7% and 31% so far this year.

At the same time, the Trump administration has clamped down on government spending, giving Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency freedom to slash public sector costs. Some administration officials have touted shifting dollars from consulting contracts to commercial software providers like Palantir, said William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma.

“Palantir’s business model is highly aligned with the priorities of the Trump administration in terms of increasing agility and being very quick to market,” he said.

That’s put Palantir in the league with major contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, which have outperformed in this year’s downdraft. Many companies in the space are also looking to partner with the firm and tend to flock to defense during recessionary times, DiPalma said.

Stock Chart IconStock chart icon

hide content

Palantir vs. the Nasdaq Composite

CEO Alex Karp has also been a vocal supporter of American innovation and the company’s central role in helping prop up what he called the “single best tech scene in the world” during an interview with CNBC earlier this year. Karp also told CNBC that the U.S. needs an “all-country effort” to compete against emerging adversaries.

But the ride for Palantir has been far from smooth, and shares have been susceptible to volatile swings. Shares sold off nearly 14% during the week that Trump first announced tariffs. Shares rocketed 22% one day in February on strong earnings.

Its inclusion in more passive and quant funds over the years and the growing attention of retail traders has added to that turbulence, DiPalma said. Last year, the company joined both the S&P and Nasdaq. Palantir trades at one of the highest price-to-earnings multiples in software and last traded at 185 times earnings over the next twelve months. That puts a steep bar on the stock.

“There really is no margin for error,” he said.

WATCH: Palantir CEO on Elon Musk & DOGE: Biggest problem in society is the ‘legitimacy of our institutions’

Palantir CEO on Elon Musk & DOGE: Biggest problem in society is the 'legitimacy of our institutions'

Continue Reading

Technology

NXP Semi shares sink on tariff concerns, CEO Kurt Sievers to step down

Published

on

By

NXP Semi shares sink on tariff concerns, CEO Kurt Sievers to step down

Kurt Sievers, chief executive officer of NXP Semiconductors NV, during the Federation of German Industries (BDI) conference in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, June 19, 2023.

Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz | Bloomberg | Getty Images

NXP Semiconductor Inc. fell about 8% on Monday after the chip company announced that CEO Kurt Sievers will step down as part of its latest earnings.

Here’s how the company did, versus LSEG consensus estimates:

  • Earnings per share: $2.64 adjusted vs. $2.58 expected
  • Revenue: $2.84 billion vs. $2.83 billion expected

Sievers will retire at the end of the year, with Rafael Sotomayor stepping in as president on April 28, 2025.

The company beat expectations on the top and bottom lines but cited a “challenging set of market conditions” looking forward.

“We are operating in a very uncertain environment influenced by tariffs with volatile direct and indirect effects,” Sievers said in an earnings release.

Sales in NXP’s first quarter declined 9% year over year.

The company posted $1.67 billion in auto sales during the first quarter, trailing analyst estimates of $1.69 billion.

Read more CNBC tech news

NXP Semi said that second-quarter sales would come in at a midpoint of $2.9 billion, ahead of the $2.87 billion that analysts were projecting. Second-quarter adjusted EPS will be $2.66, in line with analyst estimates.

The company logged first-quarter net income of $490 million, which was a 23% year-to-year drop from $639 million.

NXP’s net income per share was $1.92 compared to $2.47 during the same time a year ago. A drop of 22%.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

WATCH: Uncertainty from Big Tech is fine right now.

Uncertainty from Big Tech earnings is fine right now, says Big Tech's Alex Kantrowitz

Continue Reading

Trending