CHINATOWN — Tenants of 83–85 Bowery battling eviction attempts from an alleged “slumlord” will get to remain in their homes after scoring a settlement Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court — though they will be temporarily relocated for repairs.
The settlement, tentatively reached Tuesday by Public Advocate Letitia James and a handful of assisting attorneys, would guarantee long-term leases to each of the 27 families facing eviction attempts from landlord Joseph Betesh of Milestone Equities.
James joined tenants and advocates for a rally on the courthouse steps before the their court appearance, strongly condemning the “repeated intimidation” employed by Betesh to force the families out of the two buildings in order to rehabilitate the run-down structures.
“Every New Yorker deserves to live in a safe home free from unwarranted threats of eviction,” said James. “We will never allow this type of treatment against any tenant.”
The tenants had previously protested dangerous conditions in the buildings due to lack of repairs, citing the sloping staircase at 85 Bowery that became slippery under a leaky ceiling and rats pouring out of holes in the wall.
A dozen active violations are currently pinned on the buildings, some citing “immediately hazardous” conditions that have not been addressed, city records show.
The Department of Buildings has issued a partial vacate order to the first floor of 85 Bowery, which is a commercial space unoccupied by tenants.
Tenant representatives claim the landlord has been carrying out minimal repairs that did nothing to address the safety issues present.
“The landlord has been doing very superficial repairs,” said Wendy Cheung of the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association. “What they’re subjecting the tenants to is ridiculous.”
At the same time, all but one of the tenants were reaching the end of their leases — Betesh began serving them with eviction notices last year, claiming the buildings had to be vacated in order to make the necessary repairs.
The public advocate, however, claimed an engineer had assessed the damages and stated the repairs could be made with the tenants occupying the building.
Betesh’s attorney claims his client was backed into a corner due to the tenants’ lack of cooperation, and never wanted to kick the families out of their homes.
“It was never the goal of the owner to evict anybody from either one of these buildings,” said Joe Goldsmith. “But they did have an issue that sort of thrusted upon them where they couldn’t do the work safely with the buildings occupied, but the tenants were refusing to vacate to do those repairs.”
If the settlement is hammered out, the tenants will in fact have to temporarily leave their homes for an unspecified amount of time. When the repairs are done, the tenants will be able to return to their apartments with new, long-term leases, according to the public advocate’s office.
Goldsmith said Betesh is pleased with the settlement, which both parties hope to have resolved completely by June 15, when they will be due back in court.
“We’re happy we reached a resolution with them so the buildings can be temporarily vacated,” he said. “We think we’re going to be able to work something out amicably that everyone finds acceptable.”
The new leases will be tied to an incremental rent increase that will keep the apartments below-market-rate, Goldsmith said.
