Village tenants’ rent win
A group of West Village tenants have won the right to stay in their rent-stabilized homes — more than 10 years after they first filed papers to fight hikes.
The tenants live in the West Village Houses, a historic group of 42 walk-up buildings for blue-collar workers co-created around 1970 by Jane Jacobs, the renowned urbanist.
“It’s a monumental decision,” said lawyer Adam Leitman Bailey, who got involved representing the approximately 100 tenants two years ago — and discovered that a declaratory judgement against a company that owned the complex at the time had been filed in 2007.
Bailey received the ruling Tuesday, just as the rent stabilization had been slated to expire next month. Rents would have increased from around $1,500 a month to between $8,000 to $12,000 a month, the lawyer said.
The ruling also puts a wrench in the plans of Madison Equities, which hopes to demolish the complex and create luxury condos.
But Robert Gladstone, CEO of Madison Equities, told The Post his plans to demolish the complex are still on track, along with a plan to buy out the remaining rent-stabilized tenants.