An affiliate of Laurence Gluck’s Stellar Management accused byteLair Inc., a tenant in its Midtown office property, of illegally using the space to host transgender sex parties that would sometimes spill into the lobby and common areas.
In its lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday, Hole in One Associates said that its sixth-floor tenant at 12 East 32nd Street rented a traditional office space with desks and computers, but then hung up sheets and room dividers and advertised the space online as a place for “sexual activity by and between ‘transsexual’ and/or ‘transgender’ individuals and/or groups.”
The parties led to sexual activity in the lobby common areas, and there would frequently be groups of people wandering around looking for “the party,” according to the suit.
Vanessa Vance, byteLair’s owner, called the allegations “ridiculous” and “laughable” and said that she would be filing a discrimination suit, the New York Daily News reported. Vance identified herself as a transgender software engineer.
Last month, a rent-stabilized tenant in Stellar’s 666 West End Avenue sued the landlord for $5 billion. In August, Stellar was accused of harassing tenants at 70 West 93rd Street. [NYDN] — Tess Hofmann