Brooklyn tenants want owner to sell building to them instead of highest bidder
COBBLE HILL, Brooklyn (WABC) -- The tenants of an apartment building in Brooklyn are worried about being forced out of their homes when it goes up for sale - and instead of selling to the highest bidder, they want the owner to sell it to them.
Joy Foster has been living at 63 Tiffany Place in Cobble Hill for 27 years - it's where she raised three children - and if her home is sold, there is no plan B.
"If I have to leave, I will have to go where things are more affordable. And that is not New York City," Foster said.
She joined other tenants and city leaders on Thursday to call on the building owner to sell the building to its tenants.
"So we really feel like we are simply, you know, pieces on a chessboard and not human beings to these people," Foster said.
Once purchased for $5.3 million, the 85-unit property is home to mostly low-income families and the rent has been affordable through a federal 30-year tax agreement that is set to expire next year.
That means rents could soon go up significantly or the owner could sell the building -- which could lead to hundreds of people being displaced.
"He's already tripled his money. But just how much and are you going to destroy 70 families in the process?" said tenant John Leyva.
The people living at 63 Tiffany Place say they love the building and don't want to go.
They believe the owner sees the building only as a moneymaker, though they claim he isn't putting any money back into the building. They say the carpets haven't been replaced in years, the walls are stained and the floors creak with every step.
"The money is not being put back into the building, so money is going into somebody's pocket," Foster said.
The two sides have had initial talks about a purchase, but those conversations have since ended.
City leaders are calling on the passing of the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, or TOPA, which would allow the tenants to purchase a building when it goes up for sale.
"There are spaces where we're saying not that you shouldn't make money, but you shouldn't make as much money as humanly possible, particularly when people have to suffer," said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Tenants hope rallies like the one held Thursday will bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.
Building owner CHT Place, LLC released the following statement:
"We are disheartened by the false narrative that ownership has not worked with the tenants. Nothing could be further from the truth, as we have worked with tenants in good faith for over a year to find a solution that creates long-term affordability. Saying anything otherwise is simply untrue, and benefits nobody."
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