Unraveling the Legal and Ethical Quandary of a Hotel's Construction
History of the Controversy
In 2016, members of Manhattan Community Board 4 noticed the illegal demolition of two century-old tenement buildings in a "preservation area" of the Garment District. Despite the DOB's disapproval of the demolition plans, Hu and her team met with various authorities over the next three years to create a plan for a hotel with 11 units of permanently affordable housing. However, in 2019, they went silent for two years. Then, in March 2021, the community discovered that the buildings' facade had been illegally demolished. The DOB promptly issued a stop work order and a $1,250 fine, but lifted it in November 2022 without notifying the community. Moreover, they approved a plan for a full hotel development without any affordable housing units.After THE CITY's investigation in the spring of this year revealed Hu's close ties to Mayor Eric Adams and his administration, the DOB issued a new stop work order and met with community members. The commissioner of the DOB apologized for the mistakes and admitted there was no communication between the DOB and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
The Illegal Storefront Operation
Despite the stop work orders, Hu rented a commercial storefront on W36th St to bring construction materials and workers into the W35th St building undetected. This illegal activity continued until October 3 of this year when the DOB issued another stop work order.Less than two weeks later, through newly-acquired attorneys, Hu presented a new plan including affordable housing. Attorney Alvin Schein accompanied by Eric Palatnik assured the community that they were there to make things right and that they were in the process of acquiring additional development rights from an adjacent building to convert the mechanical space into residential units.
Current Status and Future Plans
To "make it happen," the developer needs to rearrange the mechanical equipment between the second and fifth floors to make way for 10 affordable housing units. On November 27, the DOB partially rescinded the stop work order to allow for weatherization, but other work remains on hold until the new development plan is finalized.At an MCB4 meeting last week (December 5), board members were generally favorable but expressed concerns about the security of the elevator and fire stairs shared by affordable unit residents and hotel guests. Schein assured them that once the plans were approved, they would proceed as quickly as possible as it was in the developer's interest to open the hotel and start earning money.