Coalition rallies to save the Williams Memorial Residence, June 18, 2014. Image Credit: CityLaw.
The City of New York experienced a massive influx of unmarried immigrants prior to World War II. For many of these men and women, hotel-style accommodations were more convenient and affordable than rental apartments. Such units generally did not include kitchens, but some included bathrooms. Many City newcomers preferred the old-world comforts of a communal kitchen.
For many New Yorkers without the physical or socio-economic resources necessary to maintain their own homes, single-room occupancy accommodations (SROs) became preferred housing options. Over the years, SRO units have been found in hotels, apartment buildings and even private homes. Today, SRO units are becoming increasingly difficult to identify and, thus, preserve as a viable form of affordable housing.
The rights of SRO tenants are better defined than is the category of individuals entitled to assert them. No single body of law has been formally cultivated for purposes of governing SRO housing. The web of laws and code sections applicable to SROs has become increasingly difficult to penetrate and apply. Consequently, SRO housing is in danger of vanishing despite historically strong and often well-founded support. The current controversy surrounding The Williams, a 15-story senior residence on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, is a case in point.
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31-14 42nd Street, Astoria. Image Credit: Google Maps.
Elderly tenant sought lower tub or walk-in shower. Raquel Nuredin is an 87-year-old tenant of a rent-controlled apartment building located at 31-14 42nd Street in Astoria, Queens owned by Koufa Reality. Nuredin has a claw foot tub in her apartment and is unable to use her tub because she cannot safely enter or exit due to her advanced age. (more…)
158 West 58th Street. Image Credit: Google Maps.
City approved homeless shelter for single men in former single-room-occupancy building on West 58th Street. As part of its “Turning the Tide on Homelessness” initiative, the City planned to operate a homeless shelter in a building at 158 West 58th Street, located on Manhattan’s “Billionaires’ Row.” The nine-story building was constructed in 1910. The building initially operated as single-room occupancy housing and later as the Park Savoy Hotel. The building’s new owner, New Hampton, LLC, partnered with the non-profit organization Westhab, Inc. to convert the building to a homeless shelter for 150 employed or job-seeking men. (more…)
A not-for-profit proposed to convert two buildings in Ozone Park into homeless services facilities. In July 2016, Common Ground Management Corporation, a not-for-profit organization, applied to the City of New York for approval of a homeless shelter and services project. The non-for-profit organization intended to convert two multistory adjacent buildings in Ozone Park into temporary housing for homeless adults that would provide medical and psychiatric services, meals, laundry, and showers for stays of up to nine months. (more…)
Illustrative Bird’s Eye View of the Pfizer Rezoning Site from 2017. Image Credit: Pfizer Sites Rezoning EIS.
Old Pfizer Facility Rezoned for mixed uses. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer operated out of a modest red-brick building located at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Bartlett Street in the Broadway Triangle neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn until Pfizer relocated in 2007. In 2012, Harrison Realty, LLC. purchased Pfizer’s Brooklyn real estate for $12,750,000. Since purchasing the Pfizer Site, the building has been demolished and the site officially designated a ‘brownfield.’ Harrison rented the site out as short-term equipment and vehicle storage for nearby construction sites. (more…)
