On Monday morning, the developer sent a revised letter.
They would accept the ten-year lease if the city agreed to a modest rent increase after year five. The cooperative's renewal option would remain, but the developer wanted the ability to terminate individual vendors for "material operational failure," a phrase broad enough to cover almost anything.
I read it twice.
"They're trying to give themselves a back door," Priya said.
"Of course they are."
She sat on the edge of my desk, holding the printed terms. "Could we define material failure?"
"We can define it as a health or safety violation that isn't corrected after written notice."
"And if they reject that?"
"Then we tell the city they rejected it."
"What if the committee awards the project anyway?"
"Then the city knows what
