HELL'S KITCHEN — A "high-end" food court has signed a lease to take over retail space in the Port Authority Bus Terminal currently housing a post office, deli and juice spot, officials said.
The storefronts — which sit near ticket windows for New Jersey Transit and George Segal’s “The Commuters” sculptures — are currently occupied by the USPS branch, a Jamba Juice and a Deli Plus.
But the Port Authority's board of directors approved a new, 10-year lease with OHM Concession Group LLC, which has plans to build an "upscale" food court where the other businesses operate, authority spokesman Steve Coleman said.
"OHM will use the space to construct a food court that will feature multiple diverse, high-end dining options for travelers and other bus terminal visitors," read a statement announcing the deal.
Jamba Juice signed a lease for another space in the bus terminal, while the post office and deli have failed to negotiate new deals elsewhere in the transit hub, Coleman added.
"[USPS] didn't appear interested in moving to another location," he said.
The three current tenants' leases will expire on Jan. 30, the statement noted.
OHM will pay $1.14 million for the space during the first year of the lease — $600,000 more than the post office, Jamba Juice and Deli Plus combined were paying, Coleman said.
The post office branch offers services more convenient to commuters traversing the bus terminal on their way to or from work than the USPS’s nearby, street-level locations — like the one on 42nd Street next to the Port Authority, or a post office further down on 38th Street, several patrons said on Thursday.
“I’ve been coming here for years — it’s convenient,” said Manhattan resident John Garvey, who's in his 60s, noting that he frequents the branch about three or four times a month. “I find it convenient for me because I work close by… [but] it’s convenient for people getting off the bus, people coming from New Jersey.”
Other patrons, like 66-year-old New Jersey resident Esperanza Martinez, said she sends out her mail at the Port Authority post office to avoid the crowded 42nd Street site.
“To have one here I can stop in and just get going makes a big difference for me,” said Martinez, who would also have to find another place to purchase the commemorative stamps she collects.
“A lot of people think it’s anachronistic — the prevailing thing is that no one uses the post office anymore — but I disagree,” she said.
A USPS spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the new lease Thursday, a day after saying a deal was still being negotiated.
Garvey, meanwhile, lamented the possibility of the post office disappearing after conducting his business at the branch Thursday morning.
“What’s going to happen to the people that work here?” he asked. “A lot of people I know, they’d miss this.”
