Eli Gindi, an Oak Room owner, tells The New York Times that rent negotiations with the hotel broke down in March.

Papers filed with the state Department of Labor list the Oak Room as closing on July 31. But a hotel spokesman tells the Times it's in discussions with potential new owners.

The Plaza's owners have sued the Oak Room's owners for $33.3 million for what a spokesman called "numerous violations of the lease."

Gindi says the dispute centers on "Day and Night," a lucrative Oak Room event that drew hundreds of people and but upset the hotel's year-round tenants.

( Source: The NY Times )