Atelier suing strip club owner for allegedly running an escort service from his condo

The Atelier condominium board is suing a strip-club owner whose company has a unit at the Hell’s Kitchen tower, claiming he is running an escort service out of his apartment, the New York Post reported. Robert Gans, who owns the Penthouse Executive Club in Hell’s Kitchen, allegedly allowed his “girlfriend” to occupy his 41st-floor condo, where she invited “male guests to the unit at all hours of the night during the week and weekend,” according to tenants and other condo owners cited in the suit.

The condo board – whose president is Dan Neiditch, a resident at the building – has concluded that the girlfriend, Paula Echevri, “is operating an illegal escort service using her unit as her place of business,” said the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan state court.

Gans and his attorney have denied any knowledge of the illegal activities or the lawsuit. “That’s ridiculous. I can’t imagine anyone would say such a thing,” Neal Greenfield, Gans’ attorney, told the Post.

The 478-unit building, at 635 West 42nd Street, is no stranger to litigation. In August, the condo board sued the Moinian Group, which developed an adjacent West 42nd Street tower, for allegedly forcing the board to use its own funds to make repairs at the Atelier, as The Real Deal reported.

The Condo Board Has Asked The Court to ban Echevri from the condo and to issue a $5,000 fine against Swingtime LLC, the company that Gans used to purchase the unit in 2006. [NYP] —Christopher Cameron