Should Rent Stabilization/Rent Control Be Abandoned?

Two sides of the same clause governing rent stabilization laws — specifically, that a tenant must use the property as his or her primary residence.

In one example, the landlord of a 15-apartment, 11,600 square-foot building on East 3rd Street seeks to evict all residents and turn it into his primary residence — on the face of it laughable but seemingly within the letter of the law:

Nearly two years ago, Alistair and Catherine Economakis became the owners of a six-story tenement building at 47-49 East Third Street, between First and Second Avenues, in the East Village. The building has 15 apartments, with tenants paying rents of $500 to $950 a month.

Within weeks, the Economakises began notifying tenants that their leases would not be renewed, even though the apartments were rent stabilized, because the couple planned to live in the building with their infant son and take over all 11,600 square feet.

The notices said the new owners planned to renovate the building, which has a total of 60 rooms, to create five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a den, a playroom, a gym, a library, a study area, a dining room, a kitchen and a living room.

Under the law, landlords have the right to terminate the leases of rent-stabilized tenants if they plan to use the space for themselves. They must notify the tenants at least four months before their leases expire.

Meanwhile, in today’s Daily News, a man is accused of not living in his $104-a-month studio in the Windmere Building on West 57th Street. The problem is he’s not living anywhere else — he’s allegedly homeless:

A Manhattan judge has evicted a “homeless man” who waged a legal battle to keep his $104-a-month apartment despite refusing to live there.

Michael Tsitsires was ordered to give up the studio flat in the dilapidated Windemere, a historic building on W. 57th St. at Ninth Ave., after a trial in which his own shrink said he was claustrophobic and “hated” his apartment.

“This court is not condemning [Tsitsires] to a life of homelessness,” said Civil Court Judge Gerald Lebovits, in a ruling published yesterday. “Whether by choice or circumstance, [he] is already homeless.”

Building owner, Toa Construction, first sued to evict Tsitsires in 2000 under laws that prohibit tenants from remaining in rent-stabilized apartments not used as their primary residence.

According to court papers, Tsitsires had “abandoned the apartment to live on the streets, in the park, on stoops and at his friends’ homes.” He also applied for public housing, claiming he was homeless.

But he claimed he was still occupying the apartment because he stored his belongings, received his mail and let his girlfriend shower there.

The judge said you have to actually sleep in the apartment.

You might be thinking, “I could live in any Manhattan hovel for $104 a month — what gives!?” In this case the Windmere perhaps isn’t worth the bother:

It’s not clear when Tsitsires originally moved into the Windemere, once a fashionable Manhattan address.

When it opened in 1881, it was only the second rental apartment building in the city and wealthy tenants occupied its spacious apartments.

Later, it evolved into an SRO and became notorious in the 1980s when its former managers were arrested for harassing tenants by moving in prostitutes, kicking in doors and ransacking rooms.

Neither Tsitsires nor his lawyer could be reached for comment yesterday. Tenants said just a half dozen residents remain in the eight-story building.

“After they terrorized us, Michael changed. He didn’t trust anybody and basically he became separated from all of the other tenants,” said Dennis Neville, 50, who has lived there for 31 years. [emphasis added]

Say what you want about the East Village landlords — their unlikely real estate gymnastics seem preferable to kicking in doors!