After years of complaints, a ruling in tenants' favor on 9th Street

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.

On 9th Street, the former Central Bar is now an office space

Photos by Steven

Workers recently removed the plywood from the under-renovation space at 109 E. Ninth St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue... permits show that the former Central Bar was being converted to office space ...

The new ground-floor tenant is MGNY Consulting, which "provides filing and support services for property owners faced with property liability issues such outstanding tax charges and violations."

The Central Bar, the bi-level sports bar-lounge, closed in March 2021 after nearly 20 years in business. In a letter to patrons, the bar owners noted: "Our landlord has sold the building, and the new owners will not be keeping us as tenants."

The building changed hands for $3.35 million. No word on what happened to 109's 13 residential units.

The former Central Bar being converted to office use on 9th Street

Renovations continue in the retail space at 109 E. Ninth St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. 

According to the posted work permits, workers are converting the former Central Bar space to "office occupancy" ...

The Central Bar, the bi-level sports bar-lounge, closed this past March after nearly 20 years in business. In a letter to patrons, the bar owners noted: "Our landlord has sold the building, and the new owners will not be keeping us as tenants."

The building changed hands for $3.35 million. No word on what might be happening to 109's 13 residential units.

It seems to be a rarity for a bar/restaurant — or any previously licensed address — to be converted into an office or other business (though it does happen).  

Sale of 109 E. 9th St. made official

The five-story building at 109 E. Ninth St. that housed the now-closed Central Bar recently changed hands — as of June 28 — for $3.35 million, according to the @TradedNY account.

No. 109 between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue features 13 residential units and a retail space. 

The longtime owner was listed as a trust with a Los Angeles address. The name of the new owner has not hit public records just yet.

According to the New York Business Journal: "The property's current zoning allows for up to 15,000 buildable square feet and the possibility for future development or air rights sales."

The Central Bar, the bi-level sports bar-lounge, closed this past March. In a letter to patrons, the bar owners noted: "Our landlord has sold the building and the new owners will not be keeping us as tenants."

Some years back, the address was home to Pageant Book & Print Shop, and its storefront served as a location for Neil Simon's "Chapter Two" and Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters." 

You can now find Pageant Print Shop at 69 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.