LOWER EAST SIDE — A landlord accused of harassing rent-stabilized tenants in the Lower East Side has filed applications to build a 10-story residential building on East Houston Street, according to a report.
Samy Mahfar of SMA Equities has filed paperwork to build 53 apartments across 47,020 square feet of residential space at 255 E. Houston St., according to the Department of Buildings website and New York YIMBY, which first reported the filing.
No permits have been issued for the project, according to the DOB’s website.
The planned first floor includes a 4,603-square-foot community facility, as well as indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, documents show. The filing also includes a bike room in the cellar.
The L-shaped property is currently an aging four-story commercial building that was destabilized by the demolition of an adjacent building five years ago, New York YIMBY wrote.
Mahfar currently owns other residential buildings in the city. Earlier this year, rent-stabilized tenants from four of his Lower East Side buildings took him to court, claiming that he refused to renew their leases and used “hazardous” construction practices to force them out of their homes.
Mahfar did not immediately return a request for comment.
