99 Vandam Street

Loft Law prevents using bankruptcy as a tool to circumvent housing law. In 2002, Bridge Associates of Soho, Inc. (“Bridge Associates”) acquired 99 Vandam Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. 99 Vandam is a seven-story residential loft building that has been governed by Article 7-C of the New York Multiple Dwelling Law (“Loft Law”) since approximately 1991. Loft Law governs the conversion of manufacturing and commercial use buildings to residential use buildings. The law generally requires landlords to bring buildings into conformity with the required laws and codes for residential occupancy. Since acquiring the once commercial building, Bridge Associates never received a certificate of occupancy for residential use, nor have they commenced the process to bring the property into compliance with the Loft Law.

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Tenants in loft law units sought rent regulation protection based on 2010 amendments. 59 Crosby Street in Manhattan was an interim multiple dwelling covered under the 1982 loft law. This law required an owner to convert an interim multiple dwelling building into legal residential premises and obtain a certificate of occupancy. The owners of 59 Crosby in 1984 purchased the rights and improvements to the fifth-floor interim multiple dwelling unit from the then-current tenant. In 1992 the owners purchased the rights and improvements to the second-floor interim multiple dwelling unit, also from the then-current tenants.   (more…)