A company that manages malls and shopping centers says rampant crime is forcing it to break its lease with the MTA at Fulton Transit Center in Lower Manhattan.

Commercial real estate company Westfield said the MTA has not supplied adequate security and that crime and quality of life issues have pushed retailers out, giving them grounds to back out of the 20-year lease.

“We loved the location. We saw it as a great opportunity but very fast it became a nightmare,” Shlomo Levi, co-founder of Matto Espresso, said.

It was once at the Fulton Center station, but Levi said it only lasted about a year.

“Every day something, every day was a different incident that related to violence mainly with the homeless and people they used to come either grab food they, you know, put their hand in the way, over the counter, take something between tips food, you know, touching the employees,” he said.

Levi said security concerns forced them out of the Lower Manhattan transit hub. Those same concerns are why the company who runs the stores at the station wants to leave.

Levi said shattered glass and vandalization are common.

“The policeman said, ‘Listen, we cannot come here all the time. Make sure you have a baseball bat with you so you can protect yourself.’ It’s like what? You’re kidding me,” he said.

In response, the MTA has filed a lawsuit to try to stop Westfield from breaking the lease.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the transit agency said, “While we are unable to comment on specific pending litigation, we have full confidence in the NYPD, which has surged officers into the subway, to ensure safety across the transit system, including at Fulton Center.”

The lawsuit comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced hundreds of National Guard troops and state police would be deployed into the subway system after a string of violent crimes.