Some EVG Grieve readers shared the following about longtime resident Bobby Gorman's housing situation …. information via GoFundMe…
I have lived in the same East Village apartment in New York City since 1971. As I am the only surviving original tenant, the co-op board now wants me out so they can realize a high profit from my low income apartment. For over 10 years they have used every trick in the book to get me to leave …
In April 2014, the co-op filed the case in New York Supreme Court to force me out. I am a cater-waiter by profession with a very modest income. All I could afford was a low-priced attorney who failed to file the correct documents, then coerced me into signing an affidavit that saved him and condemned me. As a result, on September 15th I got a Sheriff’s Vacate Order. I’ve since had three appearances before Judge Barbara Jaffe who decided on January 9th to terminate my tenancy. In addition I will lose all of my shares in the coop and be libel for a whopping $60,000+ for the coop’s legal fees.
What I desperately need now is to raise $80,000 to cover the costs of an appeal and trial.
I have a good lawyer on board this time who feels strongly about a successful appeal, and trial.
To date, Gorman, a 67-year-old Vietnam veteran, has raised nearly $6,500. Find more details at GoFundMe.
14 comments:
This is so vague. No address. No co-op name. Messing with mail is a federal offense. Malpractice suit against the original lawyer.
Shares in a co-op are for owners, not renters. Any "rental" shares are retained by what's known as a sponsor.
So: how did a renter get shares in a co-op? Can someone explain this? And by what legal sleight of hand does one become liable to pay the co-op's legal fees?
I hate to see anyone forced out like this. But like most good stories on evgrieve, this one raises important questions.
There is something confusing about this story. Is Mr. Gorman a tenant in the co-op (who was once offered the opportunity to buy his apartment and declined) or is he a co-op owner? When stories like this stream on for the length of time described, it is usually a sign that two obdurate forces are clashing and that the clashes are feeding egos. There has not been a deluge of posts about this story probably because of the less than forthright information.
Court decision here.
I am confused. Could he share more information about this situation?
11:42am,
Thank you for linking to the Housing Court decision.
It is the 151 1st Ave Building (I think two buildings to the left of the Theater for the New City).
Given his potential (previous) attorney situation, it is difficult to get a clear picture of what is actually going on. But the decision is not promising for Gorman.
I just glanced at the Decision and Order.
One reason Gorman's getting evicted is that he refused to allow the landlord into his apt for almost 2 years to perform emergency plumbing repairs. Under state rent regulations, that is a big no-no and is one reason for eviction.
However, it would appear that rent regulations may not be involved here at all. The order also notes that he was delinquent in "maintenance payments" to the tune of some $24,000. That means this is not a rent regulated unit. RS tenants don't pay "maintenance fees." They pay rent. Period. The co-op corp pays the maintenance fees on all RS units. Something is fishy here.
Unless you have personal knowledge of these situations, you have to be wary about donating to any of these online pleas. You're only hearing one side of the story. The other people who live in the building might tell a very different story.
Just read the court decision. Seems like he didn't pay his maintenance and that he is NOT a renter. He appears to have gotten into some dispute with the board and stopped paying. That is one way to lose your apt for sure. He needs to move on and not waste anymore money. if he is actually a vet the VA can assist him with housing. There are too many pleas for money online.
Usually a glaring omission of relevant details in a case where someone is publicly soliciting donations is a really bad sign.
Reading that Decision and Order isn't making it look any better.
Yep. Need more facts. From my experience in dealing with coops -- you need to comply with the boards requests if u are a share holder. Period.
I just don't understand how people can give money to these online fund raisers. I'm sorry for this man but from little apparent facts that have surfaced it seems he may have some blame for this eviction.
Describing his accommodations as low income as they are described in the plea is misleading. I wish I owned a "low income" apartment in a co-op!
So after reading the decision it seems that this guy is an original shareholder in the co-op.
The co-op is terminating the proprietary lease for non-payment of maintenance and what appears to be willful continuous breach of co-op bylaws by not maintaining the plumbing and leaving his crap on the fire escape and in common areas, both fire code violations.
His coop board was very patient with him. They didn't vote to terminate his proprietary lease until he had not been paying maintenance for 2 years.
Screw this guy. I'm on the co-op board of my building and we encountered an almost identical issue a couple years ago with a long term shareholder. It's a nightmare for the entire building.
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