City padlocks fallen ‘1OAK’
Landlord evicts celeb fave
The only one getting into this nightclub now is the city marshal.
Celeb magnet 1OAK has been booted from its home in the Meatpacking District after racking up nearly $1.8 million in back rent, according to court records.
The hotspot — where everyone from Lil Nas X and Megan Thee Stallion to rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine and former Mets ace Matt Harvey have partied — was shuttered in 2020 as COVID-19 restrictions were put into place.
Co-owner Richie Akiva vowed in January 2021 that his club would “come back in full force.”
But it never reopened, and on Thursday, the city marshal evicted the club.
The ouster came as a surprise to Akiva, a rep told The Post: “We were completely unaware.”
The club, which also had locations in London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Tokyo and Dubai, opened at 453 W. 17th St. in February 2007. Since then, it has been the site of such highs as Rihanna’s Met Gala after party and lows like Matt Harvey’s infamous night of partying before he failed to show up for a Mets game in May 2017.
By 2021, the rent rose to more than $72,000 a month — unpaid by the club, which didn’t return the premises to landlord N.E.W. Corp. despite being closed, the firm claimed in Manhattan federal court papers.
Akiva’s camp insisted it had been working with the landlord to “find a solution” and reopen 1OAK.
“They’ve been properly evicted,” said N.E.W. Corp. attorney Steven Landy.
Akiva’s 17th Street Entertainment
LLC hauled in more than $1.52 million in federal Payment Protection Program loans in 2020 and 2021, but it hasn’t had access to the cash because of a dispute with corporate partner Katz Group, court records show.
Thanks to the Katz conflict, JPMorgan Chase froze the club’s accounts, leaving it with no way to pay the bills, said Akiva’s attorney, Julian Perlman.
“Richie has been trying to reopen these clubs and still hopes to do that, but you can’t do that when your bank unilaterally freezes your accounts, without a court order,” Perlman said. “1OAK NY could reopen tomorrow, as Richie has been trying to do, if it could just have access to its own money.”
Akiva, whose other club, Up&Down on West 14th, also shuttered during the pandemic, has deep roots in the city’s nightlife. He launched Butter in 2002, bringing in chef Alex Guarnaschelli.
A pal of actor Leonardo DiCaprio, Akiva this year opened private social club Societe, where memberships cost $30,000.