advocating for several structures in the neighborhood to be designated as official landmarks, including the former Shelton. The LPC hosted public hearings in 2013 to determine whether the New York Marriott East Side and four other structures in East Midtown should be designated as New York City landmarks. In mid-2016, the LPC proposed protecting twelve buildings in East Midtown, including the New York Marriott East Side, in advance of proposed changes to the area's zoning. On November 22, 2016, the LPC designated the New York Marriott East Side and ten other nearby buildings as city landmarks. Ashkenazy Acquisitions offered to buy the hotel for $290 million in December 2014. Morgan Stanley sold the building in 2015 to Lexington Avenue Hotel, a limited partnership between Ashkenazy Acquisition and Deka Immobilien, a subsidiary of DekaBank, for $270 million. Deka Immobilien owned an 85 percent stake in the hotel, while Ashkenazy owned the remaining 15 percent. Ashkenazy and Deka placed the hotel for sale in September 2016 but were unable to find a buyer for the hotel. Ashkenazy signed a contract in March 2019 to purchase the New York Marriott East Side for $174 million, placing $2 million in an escrow account managed by the Chicago Title Insurance Company. Although tourism in New York City was increasing at the time, Deka would have recorded a nearly $100 million loss if the sale had been completed. Ashkenazy twice postponed the purchase date and ultimately failed to buy the hotel before the July 2019 deadline. This prompted Deka to sue Ashkenazy for breach of contract. Closure The New York Marriott East Side temporarily closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and laid off 316 employees that May. The Lexington Avenue Hotel partnership subsequently failed to make payments on its $53 million mortgage, which was to have been paid in July 2020. The closure was intended to be temporary, but in October 2020, it was reported that the hotel had permanently closed. Ashkenazy sued Marriott the same month, accusing Marriott of breach of contract and saying that the hotel misappropriated $12 million to bolster its own balance sheet. Ashkenazy subsequently withdrew its complaint. In February 2021, DekaBank foreclosed on the unpaid mortgage of $63 million. Deka Immobilien ultimately paid back the full loan. This allowed Deka to also take back all the capital that it had invested in Lexington Avenue Hotel; as such, Ashkenazy