UPDATED, July 21, 2:07 p.m.: It’s not just chimpanzee well-wishers that are mad at Howard Milstein.
The landlord’s partners in three Battery Park City apartment buildings are suing to remove him from the partnership, alleging he refuses to sell the building’s remaining rental apartments.
The partners, Michael Nelsen and Ivan Goodstein, co-own 200 Rector Place, 377 Rector Place and 380 Rector Place with Milstein. The buildings hold a mix of rental and condo units, BatteryPark.TV reported. While Nelsen and Goodstein want to sell the rental units now to take advantage of this high point in the market, Milstein has refused to honor their wishes, according to the suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court.
Nelsen and Goldstein together own 60 percent of the partnership, while Milstein owns the remaining 40 percent.
The lawsuit also claims that Milstein’s management company, Milford Management, has been charging exorbitant fees to manage the rental apartments. Their suit seeks to remove Milford and replace it with Douglas Elliman Property Management.
Milford Management was already voted out by the board of 377 Rector Place, but still manages the other two buildings.
Milstein is currently being targeted by animal rights activists, who are protesting the New York Blood Center chair’s role in the organization’s treatment of research chimpanzees in Africa. [BatteryPark.TV] — Tess Hofmann
Correction: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect spelling of Ivan Goodstein’s name.