By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — The owners of two Upper West Side single-room occupancy buildings are suing to stop a new law that could put them out of business, the New York Post reported.
The owners of the Hotel Alexander on West 94th Street and the Dexter Hotel on West 86th Street filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on Friday in an effort to stop a law that goes into effect on May 1, the Post reported.
The law makes it illegal for single-room occupancy — SRO — buildings to operate as hotels. Instead lawmakers want the buildings to serve as permanent, affordable housing for low-income residents.
In recent years SRO building owners have turned to renting rooms to tourists for overnight stays as a way to bring in more money. The building owners charge tourists around $100 a night, while long-term residents in SRO buildings typically pay a few hundred dollars a month in rent.
