Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard sued for missing $27K rent on NYC apartment
New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is being sued in a Manhattan federal court after missing rent on his $27,000-per-month Tribeca apartment, the New York Post reported Friday.
Syndergaard had signed an eight-month lease on a three-bedroom, 2,700-square-foot duplex at 116 Hudson St., the landlord states in the lawsuit. The lease term began on March 20, but the lawsuit says Syndergaard never moved in and hasn’t made any rent payments.
Here's more from the New York Post report:
Syndergaard “treated the binding Lease like an option,” the lawsuit alleges.
After signing up for the rental, Syndergaard “decided not to take possession of the Leased premises, Syndergaard repudiated and abandoned his obligations under the Lease, refusing to take possession of the Leased Premises, and declining to make any of the required payments,” the court documents say.
The original agreement was reached one month before a citywide shutdown was put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Major League Baseball season was suspended on March 12.
Four days after Syndergaard’s lease was scheduled to begin, his season officially ended when he opted to undergo Tommy John surgery.
The changing circumstances undoubtedly changed Syndergaard’s plans for the summer. After missing the first payment, the landlord notified Syndergaard on April 17 that he had defaulted on the lease, according to court documents. Two weeks later, Syndergaard’s lawyer informed the landlord he was free to re-rent the duplex since his client had “no intentions” of moving in.
The landlord is seeking $250,000 for the full value of the eight-month lease.
Syndergaard claims landlord is trying to extort him
Syndergaard released a statement on Twitter on Saturday night pushing back on the landlord’s claims.
He said he offered to pay two months rent ahead of time and “gave timely notice” to try and re-rent the place.
— Noah Syndergaard (@Noahsyndergaard) May 24, 2020
“So let me get this straight,” Syndergaard wrote. “I fairly, and in good faith offered to pay two months rent (over 50K) to. a landlord for a place I was never going to step foot in due to a global pandemic that took a severe toll upon the residents of NYC, gave timely notice to attempt to try and re-rent, while getting [Tommy John surgery] and now living in Florida for rehab, and the landlord tries to extort me for 250K while leaking this story to the media, and I’m the bad guy?
“Yeah, OK. See you in court pal.”
What does Noah Syndergaard’s future hold?
Syndergaard, 27, was among baseball’s best pitchers in 2015 and 2016 before injuries started to plague his career. He made just 32 combined starts over the next two seasons before going 10-8 with a 4.28 ERA in 32 starts last season.
Slated to reach free agency following the 2021 season, this was going to be an important season for Syndergaard’s future. After failing to reach an agreement on a contract extension last season, there were constant rumors about a trade that never happened. The Mets held on and eventually avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $9.7 million over the winter.
Due to his injury, Syndergaard is now a lock to return to New York in 2021. But his return to ace status is anything but a guarantee.
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