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McKibbin Loft Tenants Booted for Illegally Subdivided Apartments: Records

By Gwynne Hogan | August 2, 2017 6:21pm
 Five apartments were vacated in mid-July, city officials confirmed.
Five apartments were vacated in mid-July, city officials confirmed.
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DNAinfo/Gwynne Hogan

EAST WILLIAMSBURG — City inspectors cracking down on Airbnb renters in the McKibbin Lofts building, booted permanent tenants in five apartments over illegally subdivided units, officials said.

The Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement dropped in on the McKibbin Lofts, sometimes called the hipster dorms, at 255 McKibbin St., on July 17, records show, in response to a complaint that Airbnb renters were using the building as a hotel.

But inspectors couldn't find any evidence of transient use, according to spokesman Alexander Schnell, though they did witness five illegally subdivided apartments, which had partitions built in the apartments without permits and individual locks on bedroom doors.

Some rooms didn't have proper light and ventilation and one of the spaces was being illegally used as a music studio, inspectors said.

The building's owners at Zumck Realty Corp didn't return a request for comment immediately. 

The vacate orders will be discussed at a hearing before the city's Office for Administrative Trials and Hearings on Sept. 11.

The building, home to artists, musicians and photographers and raucous hipster parties, has been a frequent target for city illegal hotel enforcement.

Last year, five apartments were vacacted for illegal transient use