Residents fear alleged apartment dividing

Some Prospect Heights residents are worried that their landlord's new construction plans could put their rent-stabilized apartments in jeopardy. Tenants from the Martha Washington building say their

News 12 Staff

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Dec 30, 2015, 8:18 AM

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Updated 3,214 days ago

Some Prospect Heights residents are worried that their landlord's new construction plans could put their rent-stabilized apartments in jeopardy.

Tenants from the Martha Washington building say their landlord wants to divide seven apartments into 14 smaller units.

"This is apparently going on with other apartments in the building, and we fear that this is an attempt to eliminate rent stabilization both here and in other buildings," says tenant Jim Purvis.

The tenants also claim that if all of the apartments are subdivided, they could potentially be missing a secondary exit, which is illegal.

A spokesperson from the Department of Buildings says the construction plans were approved and permits were issued, but a stop-work order was put in place because the permits weren't properly displayed.

The building's landlord, Mordechai Nagel, says that he can't evict anyone without a legal basis and that he applied for the permits even for apartments that were occupied because it was practical.