The Z NYC Hotel in Long Island City, owned by the estate of the late taxi magnate Henry Zilberman, has sold for $43 million.
Merchants Hospitality Group bought the 100-room tower, at 11-01 43rd Avenue in Long Island City, according to The New York Post. The purchase includes land behind the hotel that could feature an additional building with 109 apartments, according to the Post.
Zilberman, who died in 2014, initially purchased the land for his taxi fleet, but as Long Island City developed he saw an opportunity to build a hotel.
Construction was completed in 2011, and in 2012 the hotel was embroiled in a lawsuit that alleged its logo was too similar to another hotel in Miami, and ultimately changed it. It has a 5,000-square-foot rooftop and every hotel room faces the Manhattan skyline overlooking Roosevelt Island.
Merchants acquired the long-term lease on the former Out Hotel at 510 West 42nd Street for $40 million from Ian Reisner in 2016. It is expected to open a Playboy club at the building next month. [NYP] — David Jeans