UPDATE: On February 1, 2017, the City Council voted 47-0 to approve four bills that would help protect tenants of three-quarter houses in New York City. During the vote, Council Member Donovan Richards called three-quarter houses a wide spread problem that would not be cured by the bills and that the City would need to track progress on the issue to determine future responses. Council Member Ritchie Torres called predatory operators of three-quarter houses the … <Read More>
Search Results for: Illegal occupancy
Appellate Court Upholds AirBNB Law [UPDATE: Court of Appeals Denies Leave to Appeal]
Court found that DOB letter of objection exception to the Multiple Dwelling law was no longer valid. On March 17, 2016, New York Appellate Court reversed a Lower Court’s Decision and thus denying Grand Imperial LLC’s Petition for a Letter of No Objection to rent its property for shorter than the legally required time period. Grand Imperial LLC owns a Single-Room Occupancy building, located at 307 West 79th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, … <Read More>
Airbnb Opposition Makes for Strange Bedfellows
There are some things you can always count on here in New York: alternate side of the street parking, the subways always running (except when they’re not, like late nights and weekends), the Yankees making the playoffs (except when the Mets do) and landlords and tenants being diametrically opposed. Like Superman and Kryptonite, oil and water, landlords and tenants have always had one thing in common – a mutual distrust of one another.
That is … <Read More>
CityLand’s Top Ten Stories of 2014
Welcome to CityLand‘s third annual top ten stories of the year! We have selected a range of our most popular and prominent stories, guest commentaries and profiles concerning New York City land use in 2014. Our third year as an online publication was marked by a new Mayor, a new Council, and a massive push to address the City’s housing shortage. We at CityLand are excited to continue providing in-depth coverage of the latest … <Read More>
ECB Held Premises Used as Adult Establishment Violated TCO
Respondents argued DOB-approved alteration plans sufficient to change occupancy of premises from cabaret to adult establishment. On October 13, 2011, the City’s Department of Buildings (DOB) issued notices of violations to 725 7th Avenue Realty Co. for illegal use of the premises as an adult establishment, as well as illegal use of the second floor and cellar. The premise is currently occupied by the Lace Gentlemen’s Club located at 725 7th Avenue in Manhattan.
The … <Read More>
Residential Property in Brooklyn Used for Commercial Purposes Padlocked
Brooklyn property with two-family home was being used as contractor yard, junk salvage, and for commercial vehicle storage. Between December 2011 and April 2012, the City Department of Buildings sent inspectors three times to 2422 West 1st Street between Avenues X and Y in Gravesend, Brooklyn. The R4 residentially zoned lot is occupied by a two-story, two-family home. The inspectors, during their visits, observed in the property’s rear and side yards construction equipment and … <Read More>