Tenants Take On Yeshiva

Jonathan Twersky, Legal Services NYC Brooklyn Branch, is representing a group of Manhattan Beach residents who have been served with eviction notices. The group includes eight elderly residents with Section 8 subsidized units. 

Read the Article in The Jewish Week

The conflict stems from the 2007 purchase of the building by the nearby
Mesivta and Yeshiva Gedolah, represented by principal and trustee Rabbi
Joshua Zelikovitz. In an article in The Jewish Week, Jonathan notes
that the New York State Rent Stabilization Code allows not-for-profit
agencies to take over residential properties and refuse to renew the
leases of existing tenants if they use the building for educational or
charitable purposes, but not if such properties are subsequently used
for residential purposes. “We are filing a motion [for] discovery in
Brooklyn Housing Court because we believe [Zelikovitz] has an ulterior
motive in his plans for the building…He promised to turn 59 West End
Ave. into classroom space but appears to be using it primarily as a
dormitory [for some of the yeshiva’s students].” 59 West End Ave. is a
building purchased 5 years ago by the same yeshiva. State Assemblyman
Steven Cymbrowitz recently introduced a measure that would eliminate
the policy allowing not-for-profits to take over residential buildings
and expel their tenants, but acknowledged that even if the measure is
adopted it would not be possible to apply it retroactively to protect
the residents in this case.