Airbnb Host Evicted from Apartment in Greenwich Village

Rent-stabilized tenant substantially profited from 93 individual Airbnb sublettings. In 2010, Linda Lipetz was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to work for over a year. From March 2011 to August 2012, in order to subsidize her rent, Lipetz sublet her rent-regulated apartment located at 39 Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village. Lipetz hosted 93 different people for 338 total days through Airbnb, charging a nightly rate of $95 for one person and $120 for two, … <Read More>


Chumley’s Wins Right to Reopen

Neighbors opposed the reopening of Chumley’s, a former speakeasy located on a residential block of the West Village. Chumley’s, a famous former speakeasy and literary hangout located at 86 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village, closed temporarily in 2007 in order to repair structural defects in its landmark-designated building. Chumley’s is part of the Greenwich Village Historic District. In May 2012 Chumley’s began the process to regain its liquor license and reopen. The reopened Chumley’s … <Read More>


New York State Court of Appeals Permits NYU Expansion Plan

Court found no implied dedication of target parcels as parkland.  In 2012, the City Council approved a plan by New York University to develop two “superblocks” bounded by West 3rd Street, Houston Street, Mercer Street, and LaGuardia Place in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan as part of an expansion plan for the campus.  Assemblymember Deborah Glick, joined by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the Historic Districts Council, and other local … <Read More>


Challenge to NYU Expansion Plan Overturned on Appeal

Coalition of local residents, Greenwich Village community organizations, and elected officials sought to prevent NYU’s development of two superblocks north of Houston Street. In 2012, the City Council voted to approve multiple actions to allow an expansion plan by New York University to develop two superblocks bounded by West 3rd Street, Houston Street, Mercer Street and LaGuardia place in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The project, projected to take 20 years to complete, would entail the construction … <Read More>


Court enjoins Washington Square renovation

Plans sent back to Community Board, Landmarks and Art Commission. Under Parks’ plan to renovate Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, the off-center fountain would be moved 22 feet to align it with the park’s famous arch at its Fifth Avenue entrance. The new fountain would be raised to grade level, have a 45-foot high water plume, and be 23 percent smaller than its current size. Parks received approvals for renovations from Manhattan’s Community Board … <Read More>