All Forum Posts by: John Clark

Samuel Pentowski

"John Clark You seem to have a fixation on Cheesecake Factory and Heather Frosco. I can see what you are trying to say, but I'm finding it difficult to see how her opinion (regardless of what it is) regarding Cheesecake Factory has any bearing on you."
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No, I have no fixation on Cheesecake Factory or Heather Frusco. I have a fixation on those who don't think through their ideas. If Heather wants to call non-paying tenants thieves, she is free to do so. She needs to all all such tenants thieves, though, not just some. She refuses to do so. That is an idiotic position.

Originally posted by @Jonathan R McLaughlin: "...we need to think about the responsibility of landlords to the larger public too."

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The public should pay for public goods. If society is going to strip landlords of their ability to coerce rent payments from tenants, then in fairness society should pay the rent and not externalize the cost onto landlords, who are private parties.

Per Jerry W: "@John Clark , are you saying The Cheesecake factory not paying rent makes it ok for no one else to pay rent? I think the mall owners should be able to evict them if they choose, or not to. Suggesting someone is immoral for insisting upon them performing a contract they agreed to do is pretty judgemental."

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No, Jerry, I was not being judgmental. It was Heather Frosco who called non-paying tenants thieves (shoplifters to be precise). Likening non-paying residential tenants to thieves is what's judgmental. My point was that if residential tenants are thieves, what does that make commercial tenants who are behaving the same way? Heather Frusco wants to give corporations a pass, and I called her out on that.

So I am not saying that if corporations don't pay then no one has to pay. I'm saying that if one is going to label non-paying tenants as criminals, then you have to label all non-paying tenants as criminals.

Heather got the vapors.

I DO consider paying one's bills to be a moral obligation. Heather, for some unknown reason, wants to give corporations a pass. I refuse to give corporations a pass. I also think Heather is being inconsistent in her position, as she is refusing to condemn what she herself has labeledcriminal corporate behavior.

Originally posted by @Heather Frusco: You obviously have a grudge against giving tenants options other than 'free'

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Not at all, Heather. I just think that if you are going to call non-paying residential tenants thieves -- and you are -- then you have to call non-paying commercial tenants thieves.

Stop whining.

"I seldom disagree with Jay, but I am confident that a mass majority of our C class tenants will make good on any rent they are short through this crisis. How sure? If I am wrong, I offer to take Jay to a steakhouse for dinner next time he is in San Diego. Not a wager, I am not expecting anything from Jay if I am correct. I have faith in our tenants. We screen well and we build expectations.

For missed rent payback: We were thinking one year payback time for up to 2 months missed, and 18 months if they are 3 months rent behind. So it could be a while before I know if I am correct.

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One year payback for two months is (forgetting time spent coming on stream for cash flow) is 6 months payback for 1 month. That is a 16. 667 percent rent increase. Yet we have a push for rent control that comes nowhere near allowing a such a huge percentage increase. If tenants had those reserves this problem wouldn't exist. We all know they don't have such reserves (neither does Cheesecake Factory, evidently, since it won't commit to paying April's rent at any time).

Class C neighborhoods are living paycheck to paycheck. The money will never be made up. Even if it could, there is a good possibility that rent control would forbid making the money up on a regular basis.

@Heather Frusco "I'm sorry sir but if you are not able to realize that using a paid service without intending to pay for it, is wrong... don't really know what you would like anyone to say... I've got a tip for you... it's wrong."
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My dear lady, I understand all too well, and what I understand is that you are trying to evade and make excuses for your corporate masters. Cheesecake Factory has already announced that it will not pay rent for April, 2020, due to its desire to save cash, whilst paying dividends, paying huge and unjustified salaries, whilst not saying that it will make up April rents at all, and while drawing down lines of credit without income.

I especially like the drawing on lines of credit bit, because it is an EXACT analogy to you telling tenants to use credit cards. Yet, yet!! . . . Cheesecake Factory STILL WON'T PAY APRIL RENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The horror! The Horror! And yet while you whine that human tenants not paying rent is "wrong" and label them as thieves, you refuse to criticize, or label as thieves, corporations doing the exact same thing.

Your whining hypocrisy is showing, Heather. Why won't you just admit that according to YOUR standards, Cheesecake Factory is a thief?

BTW -- you say there's no Cheesecake Factory near you, but you are from union City, NJ. There's a Cheesecake Factory at
Newport Centre Mall 30 Mall Drive West, UNION CITY, NEW JERSEY.

God I can't stand whiners.

"FYI, Cheesecake Factory said they were not paying April rent due to their cash position. They are basically hoarding their cash along with drawing from a LOC to make sure they have the funds to continue operations when the time is clear"

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So let's break this down, Greg. CF is deliberately not paying rent, borrowing money without income, AND has never said that it would pay the April rent at any time. It also spent money on dividends (frittering away money better used in reserves?) and paying exhorbitant (sp) salaries (2 million to the CEO).

By the way -- cheesecake factory is never an anchor tenant -- physical footprint is too small.

I just want Heather to admit that if non-paying tenant humans are thieves (her word was shoplifters), then non-paying tenant corporations are thieves, too. So far she's running away from her own words. Not the hallmark of a mature, intelligent, person.

"if you don't agree, then what would you call it? If you're continuing to occupy a unit with the knowing intention to never pay for your occupancy what would you call that? I hope that's straight forward enough John and can't wait to hear the reply. "

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Oh, but I do agree as to those who have a knowing intention "to NEVER pay." I just want to see if you extend the same label to established corporations pulling the same stunt. Now stop evading, and for the love of God, stop whining: Is Cheesecake Factory a den of thieves or not?

No confusion, Heather. Here's a cut and past from your original post:  "1 - Tenants should also have saved 'reserves' in place - so if they are already missing their rent payment come April just a few weeks into this, they are selectively deciding not to pay for their shelter in hopes of rent forgiveness - which is no different than shoplifting or any other use of a service with the knowing intention not to pay - no one to blame but one person"


You called them thieves -- shoplifting is theft. So quit evading and singing and dancing -- Do you agree that the Cheesecake Factory company is a den of thieves? Will you boycott it and encourage others to do so?

"John, don't really know what you're talking about..."

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Sure you do Heather, you said tenants who didn't pay rent are thieves in your original post. I pointed out that Cheesecake Factory has made a deliberate decision to not pay rent. So per you, it's a den of thieves. Are you going to boycott it? Are you going to label it a den of thieves? Stop getting the vapors and answer the questions.