Of all the characters battling for control of the Empire State Building during the 1990s, none has been more reviled by the New York tabloids than Leona Helmsley.

Helmsley battled to keep her husband's empire intact. (Photo by Associated Press/David Cantor)

The widow of real estate tycoon Harry Helmsley, Leona Helmsley was dubbed the “Queen of Mean” in the tabloid press, and her rise in the New York real estate scene during the 1990s coincided with the decline of her aging husband. By all accounts fiercely protective, Helmsley did whatever she could to maintain her husband’s empire.

Colorful and controversial, Helmsley stalked the halls of the Empire State Building, fired longtime employees and sought to gain total control of the building.

She had her antagonists. Donald Trump was one. Surprisingly, her business partner Peter Malkin was another.

Control of the Empire State Building’s lease was the root problem. Her firm, Helmsley-Spear, owned 63.75 percent of the lease while Malkin’s firm, Wien and Malkin, controlled 23.75 percent just enough to block Helmsley from doing anything without his approval.

They sued and they countersued, a mini-battle in a larger war, until suddenly the legal wrangling stopped. In December 1997, Helmsley and Malkin issued a press release saying that “both parties regret any negative implications that may have been drawn from legal papers” and “expressed pleasure at the amicable resolution of their disputes.”

They didn’t say how or why they called their truce but it made perfect business sense. Trump was still hammering away at the two in court in his attempt to break their hold on the Empire State Building lease.

A united front against him proved beneficial. By 2000, Trump’s legal battles against
the two reached their end when an appellate court ruled against him once and for
all. As the New York Post declared, “Trump Fails to Topple Queen of Mean.”

By 2000, Hideki Yokoi was dead, and both Kiiko Nakahara and Renoir had been in and out of prison. Meanwhile, Leona Helmsley was selling off the buildings her husband Harry had acquired throughout his career.

It was here that Trump decided, finally, to sell. A decade of turmoil was coming to
an end.

His asking price: $65 million. And the man to whom the deal looked attractive
was only one who could bring ownership and management of the building’s
lease under one title for the first time since 1961. Peter Malkin. In March, 2002 he
paid a reported $57.5 million for the building.

After a decade in which suits and countersuits were filed and levied by anyone and
everyone with an interest in the Empire State Building, a calm seemed in store.

Or so it seemed.

On April 10, Leona Helmsley sued her longtime partner Peter Malkin and his law firm
for breaching numerous ethical obligations. Her goal is to terminate his hold on the
114-year lease. The battle for the Empire State Building rages on.