$ 16.3K RENT AND I LIVED IN SLUM
Suit: Rats, falling ceiling in ‘posh’ pad
A wealthy artist thought paying $16,300 per month in rent would get her a swanky apartment in Tribeca — but all she got was an illegal slum pad, according to court papers.
Sheryl Aufrichtig has filed suit against the owner of her former home at 11 Hubert St., claiming the high-end digs were really a dangerous flophouse with a rodent problem, a front door that never locked properly and a ceiling that collapsed into one of her bedrooms.
The tenant eventually learned that her apartment was actually illegal, as its certificate of occupancy does not permit residential use in the three-story former motor-freight terminal, according to the suit against landlord Adam Zoia, broker Andrew Azoulay and real-estate firm Douglas Elliman.
The suit says she left the apartment last September after 16 months because of the bad conditions and because the building did not have the proper permits.
She is seeking all her rent back plus unspecified damages.
It’s an amazing development, especially since shortly after Aufrichtig left, the owners tried to sell the building as a single $35 million renovated mansion designed by Maya Lin — who designed the renowned Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.
“We don’t usually see illegal conversions like this in Manhattan,” said a spokesperson for the city Department of Buildings.
In the suit, filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court, Aufrichtig alleges that she lived with “numerous leaks through the ceilings and walls of the premises, falling plaster, excessive accumulation of garbage, rat and mice infestation throughout.”
She also noted a “malfunctioning elevator, broken and malfunc- tioning door handle and lock mechanism on the front door accessing the building, dirt and debris in the building and defective and insufficient lighting in the public hallways.”
The suit said she complained but nothing was fixed.
When the building was promoted as a $35 million mega-mansion in sales material a year ago, the owners laid out an ambitious plan to update the early 20th century commercial structure with a four-car garage, 82-foot-long swimming pool, a high-speed elevator and even a squash court.
None of those super-high-end renovations happened, the suit says.
Zoia bought the edifice, classified as an “office building,” for $15.3 million in 2014, according to city records.
In 2015, Zoia tried to convert the motor-freight terminal to singlefamily-residence status, but the request was denied.
The DOB spokesperson said the agency doesn’t evict people from illegal apartments unless they are living in life-threatening conditions.
Jeffrey Zukerman, the lawyer for the landlord, said that when Zoia bought the building in 2014, it already housed two rental units, adding, “The district is zoned mixed-use, and it is permissible for there to be both residences and commercial space in the building.”
The DOB, however, maintains that the residential units in the building are illegal.
Zukerman noted, “The plaintiff enjoyed the use of this posh, fourbedroom apartment with private parking in the building in the heart of Tribeca for a couple of years, owes our client money and is trying to get something for free with this frivolous lawsuit.”
Azoulay declined to comment. Aufrichtig’s lawyer, Mark Chapman, did not return calls.