Former residents of an East Village building, which was tragically destroyed in a deadly gas explosion in 2015, are accusing the current property owner of withholding nearly $2 million in housing compensation, as detailed in a recent lawsuit.
In 2017, developer Yanic Cohen acquired the vacant lots, left desolate by the explosion, for $9.15 million. He proceeded to construct a 21-unit luxury condominium on the Second Avenue site. The original explosion, caused by an illegal gas line, had killed two individuals and demolished three structures over a decade ago.
However, Cohen, operating through his company Avenue Second Owner LLC, has reportedly failed to provide the $1.7 million legally owed to four rent-regulated tenants displaced by the disaster. This is according to a lawsuit they filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court, describing the amount as “pathetic.”
The devastating explosion occurred on March 26, 2015, reducing the building to rubble and taking the lives of 23-year-old Nicholas Figueroa and restaurant employee Moises Locon Yac.
In 2020, a landlord, a contractor, and an unlicensed plumber were convicted of manslaughter for their roles in the incident. They received sentences ranging from four to twelve years for illegally diverting gas from an adjacent building via a concealed basement operation.
Under state law, when a building housing rent-regulated tenants is destroyed, the owner is required to either provide alternative housing or compensate the tenants by buying out their leases.
Darryl Vernon, the tenants’ attorney, said his clients wanted to be re-housed, “but [they] built a multi-million dollar condominium, and refused to put [my clients] back in.”
“It’s a little pathetic relative to what you’re giving up,” Vernon said, noting that regular buyouts can reach into the millions.
The $1.7 million owed to the tenants was calculated by the state housing agency, and has already been affirmed in a state appellate court, according to the suit.
The owner also notched a major victory in 2023 when the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal ruled that he didn’t have to offer new apartments to the former tenants, but was still on the hook for stipend payments.
“So we didn’t get apartments, but we got these stipends — which aren’t a lot — and [they] won’t even pay those,” said Vernon.
That’s despite selling over $40 million worth of condos at the new corner building at 45 East 7th St., with one penthouse unit going for nearly $8 million, according to property records.
“The defendant has not paid the amounts due, or any amount at all,” the suit filed Friday alleges.
The owner has fought the stipends through years of agency appeals and their own lawsuit, but each effort failed, according to the tenants’ filing.
An attorney for Avenue Second Owner LLC did not respond to a request for comment.
The tenants say they are currently owed a total of $1,709,087, plus interest.
