While awaiting repairs, tenants in two Harlem buildings discovered their landlord received approvals from New York City to make drastic modifications, including reducing the square footage and the number of bedrooms.
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023.Tenants in two Harlem buildings are joining a lawsuit to stop what they, along withA dozen families were forced to temporarily move out of their apartments last year because the city deemed the buildings unsafe after they racked up nearly 200 violations. But in the months since, the families are learning that their homes are being transformed — a growing practice that threatens to displace long-time tenants, their lawyers say.
Gale Lee, 62, is among them. She found out her home of the last four decades may be cut up to create two separate units if the lawsuit to halt the landlord from moving forward with the changes is unsuccessful. Her apartment, which rents for more than $700 a month, took up an entire floor of the four-story building.Lee's family moved into the building in 1982. She initially shared the eight-room apartment with her mother and three siblings, who each had their own bedroom.
The Legal Aid Society, which is representing Lee and other families across Manhattan and Brooklyn, says the apartment alternations are part of a growing trend known as “,” a gray area in rent stabilization laws that lets landlords dramatically change or combine units in an effort to drive out longtime tenants and potentially raise rents in apartments that are typically well below the market rate.
Andrew Rudansky, a spokesperson for the Department of Buildings, said the department is obligated to issue construction permits when all requirements are met. “HPD has a long and ongoing history with these buildings working across many fronts to improve conditions, provide emergency housing to tenants, preserve their affordability, and ultimately put them on a path to physical and financial stability,” said spokesperson William Fowler.
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