Brooklyn, Manhattan tenants sue landlords over alleged 421a abuse
A group of 20 Williamsburg artists whose trailers were evicted from the lot behind a vacant warehouse at 304 Meserole Street last month have dropped plans to relocate their mobile home community elsewhere. The artists, who had a five-year lease on the warehouse and had been shacking up in its backyard for more than a year, were ousted after building inspectors discovered illegal wiring and a woodworking shop in the basement of the warehouse, which is zoned for factory use. According to the New York Times, the founder of the artists’ collective, the Bushwick Project for the Arts, could not find a place to store the 25 vehicles and is now selling them for around $600 each on Craigslist. Around one-third have already been snapped up. As for their lease on the 6,500-square-foot building, the city’s Fire Department and Department of Buildings have issued a vacate and seal order due to “imminent life safety hazards,” according to Frank Dwyer, a spokesperson for the FDNY, and members of the collective have been given until 5 p.m. today to leave. They’re now working on signing a lease for a different communal space that’s zoned for residential use. [NYT]
