He\u2019s not going to take a dive.<\/p>\n
The owner of Jimmy\u2019s Corner \u2014 Times Square\u2019s last remaining dive bar \u2014 is fighting to keep his father\u2019s boxing-themed watering hole alive against a highly personal attack from its bigwig landlord.<\/p>\n
Adam Lee Glenn, 44, sued the Durst Organization last week to prevent the real estate giant from evicting the West 44rd Street bar after more than 50 years in business. <\/p>\n
The suit contends Durst officials looking to sell the building want to declare the lease void because the bar\u2019s namesake Jimmy Glenn died in 2020 \u2014 arguably a betrayal of the close friendship he shared with the company\u2019s former Seymour Durst.<\/p>\n
Jimmy\u2019s Corner is trying to stay open as its landlord pushes to evict. LP Media<\/p>\n
\u201cI sort of always knew that one day \u2014 and I hoped it was far away \u2014 like progress is going to come,\u201d Adam Glenn said. \u201cBut I hoped that when it did, it would come in the right way and that they would sort of have the grace and the decency to do this in a way that works for all of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like they\u2019ve taken a position that they don\u2019t need to do that. And so, you know, I took the position that if you\u2019re not going to do the decent thing, then I\u2019m going to fight you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hole-in-the-wall was opened in the early 1970s by Jimmy Glenn, a Hall of Fame boxing trainer who stuffed its narrow walls with memorabilia from the sweet science.<\/p>\n
Jimmy Glenn founded the bar in the early 1970s. Chad Rachman\/New York Post<\/p>\n
He also fought against the \u201cBad Old Days\u201d seediness of Times Square, then replete with sex shops, prostitutes and gangsters. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud that I still get people who come, like, who used to live in the building next door,\u201d Adam Glenn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they said, \u2018I lived in Times Square in the 80s and the only reason I felt safe was because I knew Jimmy was here. The only reason this block felt okay was because your family watched out for us.’\u201d<\/p>\n
As Times Square went from tawdry to touristy over the decades, Jimmy\u2019s Corner remained an oasis for locals and travelers alike who are thirsty for $3 beer and a taste of a bygone era.<\/p>\n
\u201cJimmy\u2019s bar is one of the last legs that represent New York,\u201d said Clarence Sessoms III, 36, a bar regular from the Bronx.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou take Jimmy\u2019s out of New York, you take the foundation from New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bar draws loyalty from locals and travelers alike. LP Media<\/p>\n
Jimmy Glenn worked as a boxing trainer and crossed paths with many greats, including Muhammad Ali. Jonathan Baskin for NY Post<\/p>\n
Glenn was friends with Seymour Durst, a real estate titan. Chad Rachman\/New York Post<\/p>\n
Dan Dion, 55, has been patronizing the bar for 25 years during his frequent visits to the city from Nashville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s welcome here, everybody feels comfortable here and in the world of Times Square that has changed so much in 25 years, this place hasn\u2019t changed at all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should have landmark status as far as I\u2019m even concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenn rented from Durst until the real estate magnate\u2019s death in 1995, when his son Douglas Durst \u2014 another friend \u2014 took over, according to the lawsuit. <\/p>\n