The Cooper Square Committee helped establish
a GoFundMe campaign for the tenants displaced from 642 E. 14th St. by a vacate order.
On Nov. 28,
as we first reported, the residents — most of them in rent-stabilized units — were abruptly vacated after ongoing excavation on a Madison Reality Capital-owned 24-story development next door on the SW corner of Avenue C destabilized the five-story building.
The city gave tenants a short time on Nov. 28 to leave the premises. The Red Cross put up the residents in a Chinatown hotel through Dec. 3. During a rally on
Dec. 14, several residents discussed their makeshift living situations, from the apartments of friends to shelters.
The residents, local advocates, and elected officials have called on Madison Realty Capital to provide accommodations for the displaced residents from the firm's extensive LES portfolio.
So far, according to the GoFundMe campaign: "Madison Realty Capital has offered up to 10 apartments, all one-bedrooms, but at rents that most of these modest income tenants cannot afford. Several households are families that need 2 bedroom apartments, which MRC says it can't accommodate."
Cooper Square Committee, local elected officials, and legal service organizations are assisting the tenants in their efforts to find affordable relocation housing as soon as possible and to get Madison Realty Capital and their landlord, Jack Lebewohl, to make repairs to their building so that they can return to their apartments at some point in 2024.
With your help, the tenants can access housing they can afford while they temporarily relocate. We estimate it will cost about $95,000 to help the tenants cover the difference in rent at new apartments in NYC and to cover the cost of food since they can't cook in the shelter, and they have had to buy new clothes since they can't access their apartments. They will need to buy furniture for their relocation apartments as well.
And from residents...
"This last month has been met with the most traumatic uncertainty for my neighbors and me, and while we should be celebrating the holidays or looking forward to the new year, we're instead couch hopping or living in shelters. We are exhausted and broken, and after almost 4 weeks, we're still left in the dark about what comes next." — Lindsey, Apt. 7
"I have four young children who miss their neighborhood, who miss their school, who miss our friends. I wish nobody would go through this, what we experienced in the last couple of weeks." — Mohamed, Apt. 13
"We got kicked out of our home in the cold winter. We are homeless, and we are in pain. We need justice! Major Eric Adams and fellow New Yorkers, Please, Please stand with us. Josh Zegen of Madison Realty Capital and our landlord Jack Lebewohl are NOT getting away with this. " — Lin. Apt. 17
"Please help us — we are homeless, in shelters, or staying on friends' couches. Neither our landlord nor Madison Realty Capital have yet to offer affordable long-term housing." — Susan, Apt 6
You can find the campaign
here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
I stopped by and talked with managing librarian Brandon Korosh (below in the middle) ...
Korosh said that the $19-million gut renovation will include a new open concept with floor-to-ceiling windows for better lighting... workers will also strip the back wall to allow light through the (currently painted) panes.
The library was previously closed for two-plus years due to an "aging HVAC system," which will be replaced during this renovation. 
