City sues Lloyd Goldman to repair 100-plus-year-old buildings with one tenant in 18 units
By Adam Pincus
The City of New York is alleging that Lloyd Goldman and his BLDG Management, “have allowed building conditions to dangerously deteriorate” at a 100-plus-year-old pair of buildings that have just one rent-regulated tenant in occupancy among the 18 rent-regulated apartments that exist. The landlord has been “warehousing” the other units, the city alleges.
BLDG filed plans in 2009 to demolish the five-story buildings at 579-581 Third Avenue in Murray Hill and construct a new 11-story building with 37 units, but those plans were not permitted.
The city alleges in the lawsuit (452058/2020) filed last month that the two neighboring properties are in a dangerous condition. There is a full vacate on one property and a partial vacate on another.
The city claims BLDG and Goldman have “allowed the premises to deteriorate and have not complied with [the Department of Building]’s efforts to administratively enforce its orders to correct conditions, necessitating this litigation.”
BLDG did not respond to a request for comment, and has not yet responded to the city’s lawsuit.
This lawsuit represents the conflict between private landlords who wish to manage and develop their properties to their maximum value and tenants and government who wish to maintain affordable housing in the city. If the tenant were to vacate, the law allows BLDG the right to redevelop the property.
“Defendants have warehoused rent-regulated apartments and been engaged in a years-long effort to evict its last-remaining rent-regulated tenant in order to demolish the Premises and build a new building not subject to rent regulation on the lot,“ the suit alleges.
“Defendants seek to circumvent the constraints of rent regulation through neglect and misfeasance, and gain a windfall by letting the Premises pose a risk of collapse and creating the necessity of issuance of DOB vacate orders, and perhaps even orders to demolish the premises,” the complaint said.