Lawmakers and office denizens have been rallying in support of Jimmy’s Corner, a well-known Times Square dive bar facing eviction.
Now, an affiliate of the Durst Organization has closed on a sale of the site and others to Ben-Josef Holdings for $20.1 million, The Real Deal has learned.
The buyer, Ronen Ben-Josef’s Ben-Josef Holdings, appears to be creating an assemblage on the block. An entity of the company purchased both 136 West 44th Street, a development site, and 140 West 44th Street, a three-story building that is the site of the bar, along with development air rights from 142 West 44th Street last month.
Ben-Josef already owns the ground lease for the next-door parcel, 128-130 West 44th Street, which he purchased in 2025. That site is currently home to the Chatwal Hotel and Lamb’s Club restaurant. Brokerage BKREA had marketed the sites, with Bob Knakal, Jas Saini and Ryan Candel as brokers. Knakal could not be reached for comment.
The deal points to Ben-Josef having big plans for the block. Whether or not those plans include space for a dive bar is unclear.
Jimmy’s Corner is facing an eviction case from Durst, but that suit was paused after the bar separately sued.
In the suit, attorneys for Jimmy’s Corner argued that an entity of Durst misrepresented the contents of a lease extension and that the termination of the lease was racially motivated.
In a December complaint, the plaintiffs said members of Durst had talked to the bar management about black men congregating and smoking outside the establishment. In 2023 the company allegedly asked management to start additional security measures under threat of eviction. The bar is named after late owner Jimmy Glenn, a black man, and now operated by his son Adam Glenn, according to news reports.
In court documents, attorneys for Durst called the discrimination claims “legally unsupportable.”
Neither attorneys for Durst in that case nor for the bar immediately responded to a request for comment. The Durst Organization and Ronen Ben-Josef also did not immediately respond to requests.
The bar’s potential eviction received significant attention when it came to light. The establishment attracts a diverse clientele and is known for serving cheap drinks in Times Square.
Just weeks ago, State Sen. Julia Salazar and Assembly member Emily Gallagher rallied in support of the bar, saying the case was emblematic of small businesses being pushed out of the city.
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