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Chef
Seeks Eviction of Fellow Tenants
by Carl Glassman
Hoping to create a luxury hotel above his restaurant City Hall, Henry Meer
is seeking to oust the building's tenants, most of whom are artists who
have lived there for more than 25 years.
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Meer, who lives in 131-135 Duane Street and operates the restaurant
on the ground floor, is a well-known chef who is a part owner of
the building. According to court documents Meer has applied to the
New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR)
for permission to evict his rent-stabilized tenants and gut renovate
the five-story structure.
The ownership, under the name Duane Street Realty, argues that it
can remove the tenants, whose rents are between $500 and $900 a
month, because of a provision in the law that allows the landlord
to remove his tenants if he intends to demolish the building.
Though there are no plans to raze the structure-the restaurant,
façade and load-bearing walls would remain-the owner argues
that it is demolition all the same.
There can be no dispute that such work constitutes a demolition
of the Building as defined by DHCR," the developer states in
its application to the agency.
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According to DHCR rules, an
owner can evict his rent stabilized tenants if he plans to "demolish
all of the apartments located in the…building."
John Petrucci, the lawyer representing tenants in six of the building's
eight lofts, said that the demolition provision in the law was meant
to allow for new construction to replace dilapidated or underutilized
space, creating more and better housing in the city.
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This project, he said, "is not replacing it with more
housing. It will eliminate housing because the people who
will replace them are not Tribeca neighborhood people. They'll
be transient."
Meer declined the Trib's request to discuss the project, saying
that he was too busy and would be traveling in the coming
days. In a brief telephone conversation, he played down his
role in developing the building, saying that, as a tenant
there, he was "stuck" like his neighbors.
"We're all sort of in the same boat," the chef said.
"I live upstairs, too, and I'm fully responsible for
everything that happens in City Hall, but a small part of
what happens in the building. I have a wife and child and
we'll have to relocate also."
Meer, who manages the building, has represented the owners
in papers filed with DHCR, and in an appearance last year
before the Landmarks Preservation Commission for an alteration
to the building.
Duane Street Realty's lawyer, Kara Rakowski, of Belkin Burden
Wenig & Goldman, turned down a request to discuss the
case.
Tenants in 131-135 Duane Street are mostly Tribeca pioneers,
over 60 years old or close to it. Among them are a ceramist,
two sculptors, two painters, a photographer, a knitwear designer,
and a community activist. Three of the tenants teach art in
local city or state colleges and most say that their careers
and livelihoods depend on remaining in their lofts.
"If I had to leave it would have a profound effect on
my personal life and my career," said Donna Dennis, 61,
a sculptor and the designer of the fanciful fence around P.S.
234. "I don't know quite what I'd do."
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"If we lose the court case I'll just have to leave the city,"
said Bruce Porter, 60, a tenant in the building since 1975 who teaches
printmaking at Hunter College. "I'd have to leave my job."
"This is where my memories are," said Ellen Pearson, whose
husband Cory Pearson suffered a heart attack in front of the building
less that two years ago and died the same day.
In September 2002, Meer signed a $25,000 agreement with the Sunshine
Group, marketers of high-end residential condominiums and condominium
hotels, to prepare a "preliminary market feasibility and project
program" for a "luxury extended stay property."
If the hotel goes through, it will be the second one on the block.
Just across the street, at the corner of Duane and Church streets,
work is underway for a 45-room hotel that has been fiercely opposed
by nearby residents.
Asked for details on the project, James Lansill, who handles the account
for the Sunshine Group, said he would have to check with his client.
He did not call back.
This is the developer's second try at getting the state's permission
to evict the long-time tenants and gut the building.
An earlier application, submitted to DHCR in August 2001, was turned
down because a deadline for submitting required documentation was
missed.
In court papers, Meer blamed the failure on the events of Sept. 11
and the personal problems of his architect. In an interview at the
time with the Trib, he denied knowing about the project.
If the developer is successful this time around, tenant advocates
fear that it will set a precedent for more evictions of loft tenants.
"Every landlord would love to gut rehab and eliminate rent-regulated
tenants," said Petrucci. "It's a new scam you're going too
see a lot more of."
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