15 Buildings Cited in City Crackdown on Illegal Hotels
By am NY
With the power of a new state law behind him, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is cracking down on the city's illegal hotels.
The Office of Special Enforcement has shuttered or given citations to 15 of the illegal inns, defined as any residence with a "transient occupant" whose stay is less than 30 days. Under the previous law, a majority of the building's occupants had to be transient for the building to be illegal.
"Owners of illegal hotels put profits above safety, allowing renters to stay in extremely dangerous conditions and it’s disgraceful," Bloomberg said.
All of the buildings busted so far under the new law, which went effect on May, are in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
"I am shocked and outraged by the conditions the city has unveiled in just the first few weeks of the law going into effect," said State Sen. Liz Krueger, one of the bills co-sponsors.
Of the 15 locations cited, eight were issued vacate orders. One of the buildings, at 484 Lafeyette Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, had 45 people living in a three-family home without a fire alarm system.
The Rent Guidelines Board and the mayor's office didn't return calls for comment.
