Shame on Dr. Jay’s Owner Joseph Betesh!

Slumlord Millionaire Fakes Settlement, Pushes for Evictions!

PRESS CONFERENCE AND RALLY AT DR. JAY’S

479 Fulton Street, Downtown Brooklyn

Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at 10am

We, tenants of 83 & 85 Bowery, Coalition to Protect Chinatown & the Lower East Side and supporters, are calling on slumlord millionaire Joseph Betesh, owner of Dr. Jay’s, to right his wrongdoings.

Over a year ago, Betesh tried to evict one of the tenants in attempt to push all of the long-time residents out. The tenants came together, vowing not to give up until they win. The tenants sued Betesh for nearly 200 housing repair violations, and the landlord has been ordered to complete them by June 20th or face contempt and possible arrest. The landlord has since dismissed the housing court eviction case against the tenant, and was told by the judge to cover the tenant’s lawyer’s fee. Still Betesh is delaying repairs, using the “deteriorating housing condition” as an excuse to sue all the tenants and kick them out of their homes, even though everyone knows he is losing the case.

Last month, at a court hearing, Betesh’s lawyer misled the public to believe they reached a settlement with tenants to give them 99-year-long rent-stabilized leases and not evict them. In actuality, Betesh disregarded the tenants’ engineer’s proof that the necessary court-ordered repairs can be done with them remaining in their homes, and insists on them moving out in order to complete the repairs. This is just another excuse to push for eviction.

We demand slumlord Betesh immediately:

• Complete the court-ordered repairs with the tenants’ engineer’s supervision
• Stop the dirty tactics to evict the families from 83 & 85 Bowery
• Register the two buildings as rent-stabilized

Join us!

By Kavitha Surana: More than 100 Chinatown residents and their supporters crowded onto the sidewalk in front of 83 and 85 Bowery yesterday afternoon, marching around the block and gumming up traffic. The rally was part of the Coalition to Protect Chinatown’s ongoing effort to draw attention to tenant harassment cases and push for height limits and rent stabilization in the neighborhood.

Read the whole article >>

MEDIA ADVISORY

What: Tenants Call for Prosecution of Slumlord for Refusing to Make Repairs; Community Rallies to Protect the Neighborhood from Luxury High-Rises

When: April 12, 2016 at 4pm

Where: 83-85 Bowery, between Canal and Hester Streets

Details: Hundreds are expected to rally in support of residents of 83-85 Bowery to demand the City bring criminal charges against millionaire landlord Joseph Betesh, real estate mogul and owner of retail chain Dr. Jays.

Tenants and community members will be joined by the New York City Public Advocate, Letitia James.

In April 2015, Betesh sued one of the tenants, in hopes of evicting all residents of the two buildings. Recently, the tenant’s legal case has progressed favorably. The landlord dismissed the housing court eviction case and was told by the judge to pay the tenant’s lawyer’s fee. However, the landlord has refused to fix the building, instead using the disrepair as an excuse to harass and evict all of the tenants. The tenants have come together, vowing not to give in until they win.

83-85 Bowery tenants are in a similar situation as most residents in Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Due to recent discriminatory zoning policies, the neighborhood has become ground zero for displacement. Even many residents with rent-stabilized units are being forcibly displaced by landlords who use various underhanded tactics to evict tenants. That is why supporters are calling on the City to adopt the Chinatown Working Group rezoning plan. This plan would introduce protections such as contextual height limits to stop slumlords like Betesh and corrupt companies like Extell Development Corp. from building high-rises in the community. It would stabilize rents and real estate taxes, and enable the tenants of 83-85 Bowery and other low-income tenants in the community to stay.

The Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side has invited all of the presidential candidates, along with  Mayor Bill de Blasio, to attend.

email peoplefirstnyc@gmail.com for more info!

From Bowery Boogie:

Finally some action.

Confirming the months-running fears of neighbors, Extell Development Corp. was taken to task over its construction of the eighty-story One Manhattan Square down on South Street. The Department of Buildings issued stop-work orders due to cracking in the adjacent building at 82 Rutgers Street. Thus the “immediately hazardous” language attached to the edict.

These types of fissures have also been a common sight throughout Two Bridges Tower at 82 Rutgers Street since ground-break. In the early days of the deafening excavation work, walls and ceilings separated and crumbled, infrastructure shook, and doors were no longer closing properly. All along, residents voiced concerns, but were shot down by Extell and construction manager LendLease, who said that the building was structurally sound. For its part, however, Barnett and company are actively “touring” the affected apartments to assess damage, and will repair problems at their own cost.

So, why now?..

Read the whole article >>