Apple Store in Grand Central May Be Too Good a Deal, DiNapoli Launches Probe

By Tom Dworetzky | December 01 2011 5:40 PM

According to a report in the New York Post, Apple's Grand Central Terminal store may be better for the computer giant than the MTA. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has begun an investigation over its overly generous terms.

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Grand Central Terminal.

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There is no revenue-sharing for the Apple store, making it the only one of the MTA terminal's retailers to escape such a clause. The Post broke the story yesterday and in response, DiNapoli told the paper, The article in the New York Post about the MTA's contract with Apple in Grand Central Terminal is a cause for concern.

In response to pressure from the comptroller, an MTA spokesman noted that because of the upgrades to the space Apple is making, the computer giant is effectively paying $180 a square foot, or almost 10 times the previous tenant. This includes Apple's $5 million payoff to the previous tenant of the balcony space that is part of its store.

However, according to DiNapoli's 2010 audit of the MTA's real estate portfolio, the restaurant paid a low rent and had received $2.4 million from the authority because of problems with the space, the Post reported.