346 Broadway. Image Credit: Brett.

Landmarks permit that would have seen designated interior converted to inaccessible private residence, and historic clock mechanism disconnected, is ruled to have been issued irrationally and influenced by erroneous legal counsel. The Landmark Preservation Commission designed spaces in the former New York Life Insurance Building, located at 346 Broadway, constructed in 1894 to 1898, as an interior City landmark in 1987. The designation included the 13th floor clock tower, which held the four glass clock faces and the clock mechanism, driven by a 1000-pound weight, with a 5,000-pound bell above the mechanism. At the time of designation, the property was owned by the City, and the clock tower was occupied by a gallery, artist studios, and a public service radio station. (read more…)

187 East 4th Street, Manhattan. Image credit: CityLand

East Village landlord improperly deregulated luxury apartment while receiving a City J-51 tax benefit. Until 1999, apartment 5M at 187 East 4th Street in Manhattan’s East Village was a rent-stabilized unit with a rent of $1,464 per month. When the apartment became vacant the owner, 72A Realty Associates L.P., installed new windows, closets, cabinets, countertops and other improvements totaling over $18,000 in costs. Based on the improvements, the owner obtained a J-51 real property tax abatement. At the same time the owner raised the rent by 20 percent based on the vacancy, and added an additional 1/40th of improvement costs. These increases raised the rent above the $2,000 threshold for decontrolling the apartment. (read more…)

HPD provided temporary housing for tenants and then filed liens against the tenants’ former landlords for expenses in providing the temporary housing. The Court of Appeals issued one opinion involving two separate cases concerning expenses incurred by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for temporary shelter. In 1995 the Fire Department issued a vacate order affecting two tenants of a building in Brooklyn owned by David Rivera. HPD provided the tenants with temporary shelter services in single-room occupancy apartments from June 1995 through December 1995. HPD, acting under the City’s Administrative Code, filed a notice of lien against Rivera’s building seeking reimbursement for HPD’s expenses. (read more…)

221 North 9th Street, Brooklyn. Image credit: GoogleMaps

Construction company failed to erect sidewalk shed when construction reached planned sidewalk shed height. In 2015, the owner of 221 North 9th Street in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn obtained a construction work permit from Buildings to tear down a one-story structure that was previously occupied by the Sugarland Nightclub, a gay bar and nightclub. The owner contracted with King’s USA Group Inc. to replace the club with a four-story 70-foot-tall mixed-use building. (read more…)

75 Stewart Avenue, Brooklyn. Image credit: CityLand

Tenants sought loft law protection by claiming that two attached structures on one zoning lot were two separate buildings. A two-story building was constructed at 538 Johnson Avenue in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in 1916 using timber and wood planking. A four-story building was constructed adjacent at 75 Stewart Avenue in 1919 using concrete columns, beams and slabs. The four-story structure abuts the eastern wall of the two-story structure, and the stairwell in the two-story building was extended to reach all four floors. Both buildings were owned by Goldberger Dolls for 50 years, and were used in the production of dolls. In 1997 Goldberger sold the buildings under a single deed to Brocho V’Hatzlocho Corporation. (read more…)