BY EILEEN STUKANE | Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen residents have been alerted by the Community & Residents Protection Working Group (CRP) that across the city, landlords — using false information about the occupancy of their buildings — are applying to the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) for construction permits.
Owners falsely state that their occupied buildings are “unoccupied” so that the required Tenant Protection Plan is not instated during construction — that is, unless the application is brought to the DOB’s attention.
In Hell’s Kitchen, at the 14-story Metro Apartments building (440 W. 41st St. btw. 9th & 10th Aves.), tenants of this occupied-cited-as-unoccupied building transformed into activists when they noticed that their building had a permit posted for construction that would fulfill the hotel wishes of their landlord. Their vigilance changed the course of those wishes.
When residents of Metro Apartments saw apartments in their building advertised on Priceline, Orbitz, and other hotel booking services, they became alarmed. Tenants contacted Councilmember Corey Johnson’s office to report that tourists were coming and going in their building.
As a result, the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement investigated, and in Jan. 2015 the city sued the owner, Ben Zion Suky, for operating an illegal hotel in what was considered a building of 96 residential micro-apartments. The DOB also issued numerous violations for fire and building code violations.
This story at this address comes right out of the files of the CRP, because in February 2015, Suky, the building owner sued by the city, filed a DOB application for a permit to convert the building into a legal hotel of 117 units, and in his application stated that this building, which was still occupied by 10 rent-regulated tenants, was unoccupied. Many tenants had already accepted buyouts from the owner and moved, but the remaining 10 reached out to Housing Conservation Coordinators (HCC) and Johnson’s office. The DOB permit was approved because the application noted a vacant building that already had floors designated for commercial use.
It took the work of HCC, which notified the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which along with Johnson’s office, alerted the DOB. Responding to this outside pressure, the DOB sent inspectors to audit the building and the result was a Stop Work Order — which is still in place. However, the approved permit also remains in place.
ISSUED PERMITS CAN REMAIN ACTIVE
As Alex Schnell, DOB press secretary explains, “It is not automatic to have a permit rescinded when there is a Stop Work Order. To have a permit rescinded we have to issue an intent to revoke, which is essentially a letter that gives the respondent fifteen days to come into compliance with whatever the issue is we have at the site. With a Stop Work Order, the permit is still in place, but you [the owner] cannot work on the building until the violation is addressed.”
The initial plan may have been to convert Metro Apartments into a hotel, but the building now has violations related to egress, emergency light, and occupancy contrary to its Certificate of Occupancy.
The permit to convert 440 W. 41st St. into a 117-room hotel is therefore active and an underlying concern, but one resident notes that the physical permit has been removed from display at the scaffolded building. Perhaps that is because zoning in the Special Clinton District does not allow a hotel to exist on or above floors in a building with residents. At this address residents live on the third floor, which means that hotel rooms could only legally exist on floors one and two. Also, the building was sold to a new owner, Sholom Jacobs of Jacobs Real Estate Advisors, who did not return phone calls for comment. Speculation also exists as to whether ties to Suky have been completely severed.
Currently, there is no construction going on at 440 W. 41st St., but the building is being utilized as an extended stay hotel. It is legal to rent to people staying 30 or more days in a residence, and that is what is happening.
The building is no longer advertised on hotel websites, but somehow word is spreading that it is available for long-term visitors. Here is a case where the city says “no” and even sues, and a determined landlord still finds a legal way to have a functioning hotel, albeit an extended-stay one.
The permanent residents of 440 W. 41st St. are taking a wait-and-see approach to their new landlord — but why do residents who only want to live peacefully in their homes have to be so actively vigilant in New York City?
As Councilmember Johnson stated in an email to Chelsea Now: “For too long, the operator of Metro Apartments has flagrantly violated the law, endangering the health and safety of building residents and visitors alike. Illegal hotel rooms are eroding our affordable housing stock. The owner is currently seeking a permit to convert this building to a legal hotel. I have notified the DOB that there are rent regulated tenants in this building. I am angered by the fact that the DOB permit states that the building is unoccupied and the permit application falsely claims no tenants are in place. There is no protection plan filed, placing these tenants and the affordable housing units at risk.”
The CRP has sounded the important alarm about falsified permits in order to correct a situation that should not exist. It is a sad commentary that residents have to become activists, and community groups and elected officials have to step forward to force landlords to do the right thing.
In addition, CRP told Chelsea Now that with the attention being given to permit applications, owners are coming forward to request that their applications be amended. In other words, owners have the opportunity to correct falsified information with impunity.
DOB’s Alex Schnell says the department is aware of these requests. “We’ve been working with our borough offices for times when these amendment requests come in front of plan examiners, to refer cases to the Tenant Harassment Task Force,” he says. “The code does not provide a mechanism by which to discipline individuals, because essentially all they’re doing is amending an existing form. If we catch them doing construction in an occupied building without the Tenant Protection Plan in place, then it becomes a relatively clear falsified filing. The act of amending, in and of itself, is not illegal, which is why we’re referring to the Tenant Harassment Task Force for follow-up as necessary.”
As the DOB improves both its electronic review system and its ability to cross-check data with other agencies, “There will be a lot more transparency and accountability,” says Schnell. Meanwhile, tenants are remaining vigilant.
