A ‘HOMEWRECKING’ HIGH-RISE
Residents of an East Village apartment building say the city abruptly kicked them out of their homes without notice due to structural issues caused by the construction of a luxury high-rise next door — leaving families living in homeless shelters in the heart of the holiday season.
“Please help us,” wept Susan Ingram, 59, a yoga instructor who has lived at 642 E. 14th St. for 32 years and was among those forced to move out last month.
“I am traumatized since the vacate order, sleeping on couches, and some of us have no other place to go but to live in shelters.”
Ingram was one of four residents who spoke outside the five-story, 120year-old brick building Thursday, imploring the city, their landlord and the developers behind the glass high-rise next door — Madison Realty Capital — to make their old home habitable or provide them with dependable housing.
She and her neighbors say they were given just hours to pack up and leave Nov. 28 after the Department of Buildings issued a “full vacate order,” citing “structural stability of building compromised due to construction operations.”
Only hours’ notice
The residents were given emergency housing by the American Red Cross, but the temporary accommodations have expired and left them scrambling for places to stay.
“The past two-plus weeks have been pretty harrowing,” said Michael Hawley, 60, a resident of 30 years. “When we got the vacate order . . . and I was told I had just a few hours to get my things together and leave, it was the kind of terrifying moment you don’t soon forget.”
Mohamed Dawod, 50, a father supporting four kids as a doorman, was left living in a shelter on 129th Street. His kids, ages 5 to 11, haven’t attend class at their East Village public schools since being kicked out.
“I have four young children who miss their neighborhood, who miss their school, who miss our friends,” he said.
Elderly people with health problems were also displaced, tenants said.
Problems with the construction of the 24-story, 197-unit building at 644 E. 14th St. were reported as far back as 2017 — when residents at 642 told the DOB that their building was shaking when piledrivers were operated at the site.
The complaint was dismissed, records show, after an inspector found no shaking because piledriving wasn’t taking place at the time of their visit.
In 2019, 642 owner Jeremy Lebewohl sued then-owner of the neighboring property Opal Holdings, alleging they caused damage while doing foundation work, according to local blog EV Grieve, which first reported on the residents’ plight.
The following year, Madison Realty Capital bought the property from Opal for $31.3 million.
In February, another DOB complaint was made voicing concerns about cracks in the walls and stability. But that, too, was dismissed, records show. Digging resumed in July, residents say.
Lebewohl said he warned the city: “A month ago they said it was fine. Three weeks ago they said it was fine.”
A stop work order has been put in effect at the construction site, the DOB said, adding that work was being done to stabilize the building and that the department would continue to monitor both properties.
A rep for Madison Realty Capital said it had “provided structural safety solutions” for the neighboring building.
“This issue was avoidable,” the rep said in a statement, claiming the owners of 642 “have long neglected the property and have stonewalled our efforts to provide assistance to tenants” and the building’s problems “long predate the current construction.”