28 SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
REAL ESTATE
Ridgewood building named in suit against illegal hotels
Ridgewood Times Sales Guide
Listings selected at random. Courtesy MLS
RIDGEWOOD
Under $600,000
67-20 65th Place
$599,000
Colonial
3 bedrooms, 1 ½ bathrooms
Gabriel Kashi
Keystone Realty Group
$600,000-$1,000,000
60-61 67th Avenue
$948,000
2 Story, 2 family
5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
Paola Maria Alvarez
Century Homes Realty Group
Over $1,000,000
64-04 Bleecker Street
$1,499,999
2 Family
6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Geniene Sciacca
Crifasi Real Estate
GLENDALE
Under $600,000
90-50 Union Turnpike
$385,000
Co-Op
3 bedrooms, 1 ½ bathrooms
Michael Marek
Keller Williams Landmark II
$600,000-$1,000,000
67-08 65th Street
$800,000
Townhouse
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Nancy Soliman
Voro LLC
Over $1,000,000
65-06 Central Avenue
$1,600,000
Single Family
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Michael Schulte
CH Queens
MASPETH
Under $600,000
62-15 63rd Avenue
$319,000
Co-Op
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Ariel Delgobbo
RE/MAX
$600,000-$1,000,000
60-64 60th Street
$689,000
Colonial
4 bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms
Robert Vargas
JAP Realty
Over $1,000,000
60-27 56th Drive
$1,080,000
Contemporary, 3 families
8 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
Patti Luo
Happy 8 Realty
MIDDLE VILLAGE
Under $600,000
66-83 70th Street
$589,000
Condo
2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Florin Spariosu
Sparrow Realtors
$600,000-$1,000,000
62-60 83rd Street
$825,000
Tudor
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 2 ½ bath rooms
Donna Russo DiCesare
Russo Realty Properties
Over $1,000,000
63-01 71st Street
$1,088,000
Contemporary, 2 family
3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
Louis Pastorini
Coldwell Banker Phillips
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
In a citywide crackdown against
illegal hotel operations, the mayor’s
offi ce announced on Sept. 12 that it
has fi led a lawsuit against three defendants
with seven buildings in question,
one of which is in Ridgewood.
According to a press release from
the mayor’s offi ce, 1712 Menahan St.
is one of seven buildings used by the
defendants to off er “illegal and unsafe
short-term rental accommodations” to
potential guests.
The defendants listed in the suit
— Alexandra Pavlenok, Ekaterina
Plotnikova and Stepan Solovyev —
allegedly used multiple host accounts
with false identities on websites such
as Airbnb to illegally advertise at
least 15 housing units across three
boroughs.
On many occasions, the defendants
even misled guests about
the legality of the listings by using
fake addresses and explanations
for guests’ interactions with city
inspectors.
“Illegal hotel operators pose a threat
to our housing stock and our neighborhoods,”
said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We
will use any tools necessary to shut
them down and keep New Yorkers
safe.”
Department of Buildings (DOB) records
show that the Menahan Street
building was issued a partial vacate
order in April after an inspector
determined the owner had “illegally
converted the cellar level into transient
use without required egress, fi re
and sprinklers.”
The building was also issued fi ve
Environmental Control Board (ECB) violations
as a result of that inspection,
and a 2017 inspection also resulted in
three ECB violations related to transient
use.
In total, the Mayor’s Offi ce of Special
Enforcement (OSE) has issued 80 violations
from DOB inspectors, nine fi re
violation orders, fi ve sire summonses
and one fi re criminal summons to the
three defendants controlling the buildings,
according to the press release.
In addition, the OSE has identifi ed
10 bookings for future dates at the
buildings in question.
“This is highly commercialized
activity where operators are misleading
visitors and taking housing units
away from New Yorkers—and they’re
making a fortune in the process,” said
Christian Klossner, executive director
of the OSE. “We’re taking action to
preserve the city’s housing stock and
to defend visitors’ rights to safe and
legal accommodations.”
The release also notes that Queens
has experienced a signifi cant amount
of growth in short-term rental listings
in recent years. In August, the
mayor signed into law a provision
that would require online short-term
rental platforms that provide booking
services for a fee to provide information
about those transactions
to the OSE.
“Illegal hotel operators like the
ones in this suit exacerbate the City’s
housing affordability crisis,” said
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
“Shady profiteers like these that use
our badly needed housing stock to
turn a quick buck are shameful,
and this is a perfect example of why
we need to maintain enforcement
efforts against this harmful behavior.
I am thankful that the Office of
Special Enforcement is continuing
its work to combat this pressing
problem. The Council will continue
to address this crisis in any way it
can as well.”
65th Place 65th Street 60th Street 71st Street
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