New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman speaking at New York Law School. Image credit: CityLaw
Schneiderman announces settlement with New York City landlord accused of harassing rent-stabilized tenants across two boroughs. On September 27, 2017, New York State Attorney General Eric. T. Schneiderman announced that a settlement had been reached between the State and ICON Realty Management. ICON owns several rent-regulated buildings in the East Village, the Lower East Side, and Brooklyn. The Attorney General alleged that ICON had engaged in illegal methods to harass rent-regulated tenants, including dangerous construction work and failing to provide essential services. (read more…)
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman speaking at New York Law School, March 18, 2014. Image credit: CityLaw
Schneiderman announces settlement with New York City landlord accused of harassing rent-stabilized tenants. On May 4, 2017, New York State Attorney General Eric. T. Schneiderman announced that a settlement had been reached between the State and several companies controlled by Sassan “Sami” Mahfar and Sina Mahfar. The companies owned four residential buildings on Manhattan’s Lower East Side—22 Spring Street, 102 Norfold Street, 113 Stanton Street, and 210 Rivington Street. The Attorney General alleged that the companies and their principals the Mahfars had engaged in illegal methods to harass rent-regulated tenants, including dangerous construction work, failing to provide essential services, and hiring a relocation company that used illegal tactics to coerce buyouts. (read more…)
The Rivington House. Image credit: edenpictures/Flickr
UPDATE: On December 6, 2016, the New York City Council voted 42-0 to approve Introduction 1182-2016 which requires the Department for Citywide Administrative Services to conduct an extensive review of a request to remove a deed restriction on a property managed by DCAS, including a public hearing, to determine whether the request removal furthers the best interests of the City.
The legislation is a response the controversial sale of the Rivington House to a luxury condo developer after DCAS removed deed restrictions that prevented such a development. “The City Council can assure that this will never happen again to any other community,” said the bill’s sponsor Manhattan Council Member Margaret Chin.
The bill will now go to the Mayor for his signature. (read more…)
City Planning Commission hearing testimony at the June 8th hearing. Image credit: CityLand
The proposed rezoning would facilitate the development of a mixed-use building where an unoccupied, deteriorating building currently stands. On June 8th, 2016, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application to amend the City’s zoning map to facilitate the construction of a 13-story mixed-use building at 255 Houston Street, located on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.
(read more…)
Advocacy group selects areas in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island as meriting preservation attention in 2013. The Historic Districts Council announced its “Six to Celebrate” list of preservation priorities on January 3, 2013. The areas identified by HDC consist of the Bronx Parks System, Manhattan’s East Village/Lower East Side and Tribeca neighborhoods, Brooklyn’s Greenpoint and Sunset Park neighborhoods, and Harrison Street in Staten Island.
The six areas were chosen from applications submitted by neighborhood groups around the city. The selected preservation targets will be commemorated at an event held by HDC on January 29, 2013. (read more…)
Proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. Credit: LPC
New district would encompass more than 300 buildings in an area that was home to successive waves of immigrant groups. On June 26, 2012, Landmarks heard extensive testimony on the proposed designation of the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. The proposed district would encompass approximately 330 buildings located primarily along Second Avenue between St. Marks Place and East 2nd Street and adjacent side streets. A portion of the district would extend along East 6th and East 7th Streets, reaching Avenue A.
The area is largely characterized by multi-family 19th century tenement buildings that housed various immigrant groups newly arrived to the country. The area became home to German and Irish immigrants as wealthier New Yorkers moved uptown, and in time became known as Kleindeutschland (Little Germany). Later, the area became home to Jewish and Eastern European immigrants, and Second Avenue became a focal point for lower Manhattan’s Jewish community, gaining the title of the “Yiddish Rialto.” After World War II, the neighborhood came to be dominated by Latin American immigrants. Realtors began calling the neighborhood the “East Village” shortly after the removal of the elevated Third Avenue subway line in 1955. The area has a rich legacy in the arts, and in social activism. Landmarks calendared the district on June 28, 2011.
(read more…)
