Latest Illegal Hotels Suit Signals Crackdown by Enforcers
A lawsuit filed Thursday in state court says four Manhattan apartment buildings that were supposed to be homes for New Yorkers were instead turned into illegal hotels catering to tourists. About 100 apartments were allegedly advertised on websites including Kayak and Expedia.
The complaint names at least 15 defendants for four apartment buildings: 15 West 55th St., 19 West 55th St., 336 West 46th St., and 334 W 46th St. One of the defendants, Ben Zion Suky, was named in a similar suit just two weeks ago.
Collectively, these buildings received 70 violation notices, and had more than 100 thousand dollars in unpaid penalties.
The city is seeking punitive damages and compensation.
It's the second such lawsuit in two weeks, and the fourth time the city has taken alleged illegal hotels to court.
Suky's attorney said the buildings are zoned for hotels and the lawsuit is baseless.
Also this week, Public Advocate Letitia James released a “Top Illegal Hotels in NYC List." Number six on the list is one of the named defendants.
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