Nolita renters rebel against Hotel Toshi

Nolita tenants at Hotel Toshi at 280 Mulberry Street say that they’re now putting their rent in escrow, according to a press release, Curbed reported. Illegal hotel concerns have been brewing at the building for a few months. Tenants have reportedly posted angry signs, issued forceful press releases and withheld rents in protest. The tenants have been sharing their building with guests of the Hotel Toshi short-term apartment rental network. Toshi guests have been “overcrowding the units and destroying property while harassing tenants,” the release said. Those tenants say they’re getting no help from landlord 55 Delancey Realty, who initially denied any knowledge of Hotel Toshi’s occupancy, but later admitted to creating a separate, more lucrative lease agreement with Hotel Toshi for several units in the building. Future plans were made to provide Hotel Toshi with more units in the building as current tenants are being forced out due to safety concerns or highly increased rents. But the tenants, who say they are “uniting against unwanted businesses,” noted that they won’t be forced out. [Curbed]