Top photo by EVG
All other photos courtesy of Jeff Rae
ICYMI: Tenants at 109 E. Ninth St. are claiming a rare win in their ongoing fight with their landlord.
According to city officials, landlord Michael Geylik has been found to have harassed tenants — prompting officials to revoke his Certificate of No Harassment (CONH), an unusual step typically reserved for more serious cases.
At a March 24 press conference outside the building between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue, City Council Member Harvey Epstein and Assemblymember Deborah Glick's office, as well as the Cooper Square Committee and Take Root Justice, joined tenants in calling attention to the decision and pushing for the restoration of essential services, including shared bathrooms, kitchen space and other basic building functions.
As first reported by Hell Gate, the remaining six tenants in the longtime single-room occupancy (SRO) building — some paying as little as $155 a month — have said the landlord removed communal bathrooms, showers and a kitchen after buying the property in 2021 with the promise of rebuilding them. Those amenities were never restored.
The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development ultimately determined there was sufficient evidence of harassment to revoke the CONH, a move that could help tenants remain in their homes and compel the landlord to make repairs.
Tenants and advocates are now calling for the return of all essential services, completion of repairs, and an end to eviction proceedings against current residents.
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