When real estate investor Joseph Chetrit bought Manhattan landmark of bohemia, the Chelsea Hotel, this summer, he pledged that the 100 or so remaining longtime residents wouldn’t face eviction. Seems that’s no longer the case. DNA Info reports that his company has filed motions to evict ten of the hotel’s tenants. “In my mind, this PR stance that they’re not going to evict anyone is nonsense,” Samuel Himmelstein, who represents several of the residents, said. Himmelstein said the motions rest on the claim that the tenants in question aren’t living in rent-stabilized apartments, which would give the ownership grounds for eviction. But he also added that he believes at least one of the residents is getting kicked out so the new owners can put an elevator shaft in that space. We imagine his closing arguments will be centered around the phrase “getting the shaft.”*
Sources
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