Landlord accused of gutting Harlem building while family still lived there

Ephraim Vashovsky faces charges including reckless endangerment

<em>From left to right: Exterior and interior of 21 East 115 Street (credit: Courtesy of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office)</em>
From left to right: Exterior and interior of 21 East 115 Street (credit: Courtesy of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office)

An East Harlem landlord was arrested Tuesday on charges that he began taking apart a 10-unit building while a family of seven still lived there.

Ephraim Vashovsky faces charges including reckless endangerment, child endangerment and coercion for allegedly turning his apartment building at 21 East 115 Street into a “death trap,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said.

Vashovsky allegedly began gut renovating the building to try to force tenants out of the rent-stabilized building, but with nowhere else to go, an immigrant family from Mexico remained in their $2,400-a-month apartment, the New York Daily News reported. The family has five young children.

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The landlord is also accused of removing the fire escapes and turning off the heat, hot water and electricity.

A contractor and the building’s property manager have also been charged.

The city’s rent-stabilization law allows landlords to deny tenants’ renewal on leases if they can show that they have approved plans for a building, money to complete them and agree to pay for tenant relocation. It doesn’t appear that Vashovsky followed this protocol. [NYD] — Kathryn Brenzel