Wednesday, October 3, 2012

In six-year eviction fight, 'sushi defense' keeps East Sixth Street resident in apartment

A so-called "sushi defense" has saved a longtime East Sixth Street resident from eviction. The Daily News reports today that State Appellate Division judges ruled 3-to-2 that Masako Mogi could stay in her $992-a-month studio at 409 E. Sixth St., where she has lived since 1980.

The landlord, not named in the article, had been trying to evict her for six years. The landlord's attorney offered records showing that Mogi used a below-average amount of electricity — evidence she spent most of her time in a second home in Vermont.

But! For her part, "Mogi testified that she often eats out, orders takeout or makes sushi, which doesn’t require much juice."

I looked at Streeteasy, and found that the average price for an apartment here runs $2,715.

The most recent "gut renovated" apartment went for $3,000 this past summer. The listing included one of those stalky YouTube videos of the unit...

6 comments:

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

My landlord pulled the same shit on our downstairs neighbor who had to go to court to prove he wasn't married to his mom who owns a house in Queens.

glamma said...

Congratulations to the tenant and i hope she can emjoy some peace in her home now.

Anonymous said...

Rent control is such a weird practice. Don't know about this particular woman but people definitely abuse it, I seen it firsthand. It's hard to blame them for abusing this weird law. Who wouldn't love a dirt cheap pied a terre. Note to rent control abusers: use more electricity.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

I'll tell you what's a weird practice: forking over $2,715/month for a studio apt on E 6th St with few, if any, rent protections.

Uncle Waltie said...

"Rent control is such a weird practice."

Not really. It was a covenant between landlords and tenants in the early to mid 70s to gentrify neighborhoods that hitherto had been considered "uninhabitable" by desirable (read white)tenants. Thus, leases were offered to prospective tenants that basically rewarded them for being in the vanguard of gentrification. I was a recipient of such largesse. When I moved into my building between 2nd & 3rd Avenues, now considered one of the prettiest blocks in the EV, I daily (nightly) had to contend with junkies, criminals and people living on the fringe who saw nothing wrong with crapping in my building's foyer, sleeping on the stoop or breaking the front windows etc. My tools of the trade at that time were a bucket, a mop, a broom and a baseball bat. I realized this was the price I had to pay living in this neighborhood. 10 years later I got to reap the benefits of my "investment". I'm aware of the fact that there are other agreements between City Administration and landlords involving rent control/stabilization, but this is not the forum to discuss those issues. This post should not be construed as an endorsement of any position, it should only serve as an example of my personal experience.

Anonymous said...

This was reversed on appeal.