"When a rent-regulated tenant's building is destroyed, the owner must either re-house the tenant - or buy out their leases, according to state regulations. Darryl Vernon, the tenants' attorney, said his clients wanted to be re-housed, "but [they] built a multi-million dollar condominium, and refused to put [my clients] back in.""
"The $1.7 million owed to the tenants was calculated by the state housing agency, and has already been affirmed in a state appellate court, according to the suit. The owner also notched a major victory in 2023 when the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal ruled that he didn't have to offer new apartments to the former tenants, but was still on the hook for stipend payments."
In 2015, an illegal gas line caused an explosion at an East Village building that killed two people and destroyed three buildings. Developer Yanic Cohen purchased the vacant lots for $9.15 million in 2017 and constructed a 21-unit luxury condo. State regulations require building owners to either re-house displaced rent-regulated tenants or buy out their leases. Cohen's LLC, Avenue Second Owner, has refused to pay the $1.7 million in housing stipends owed to four displaced tenants. The amount was calculated by the state housing agency and affirmed by a state appellate court. The tenants filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court seeking the owed compensation.
#tenant-displacement #housing-regulations #real-estate-development #legal-dispute #rent-regulated-housing
Read at New York Post
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]