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Moments before Imperial Court owner Michael Edelstein was brought to court for operating an illegal hotel, officials, housing advocates and tenants gathered to condemn the building’s ownership, and Michael in particular.
Council member Helen Rosenthal reminded the crowd that Michael not only operated the SRO, rent-regulated building like a hotel, but expressed multiple times to the press that he’d “rather see the building vacant than filled with rent-regulated tenants.”
Assembly member Linda Rosenthal demanded Michael’s punishment be a warning sign for other illegal hotel operators. She even booked a two-night stay at the Imperial Court to prove the hotel’s existence.
The case started in May, when the city issued the Imperial Court with a $65k fine for building violations including these short-term stays, which violate the Multiple Dwelling Law.
In June, Justice Kathryn Freed issued a restraining order against Michael accepting new reservations, but, according to tenants, he has ignored it.
The case took a turn when the office of special enforcements announced that it would be intervening on the side of tenants. An initial investigation found 57 rooms being rented to tourists, but the count was bumped to 99 upon second inspection.
Imperial Court tenant Richard Amelius described not only how these short-term tenants disrespect the space—holding parties, leaving trash in hallways, using drugs, soliciting prostitutes, among other things—but how the landlord has harassed and disrespected tenants, openly telling them that they have no rights.
Michael has insisted the case has been “hijacked and turned into a political show” and is “no longer about the law.”
The defense, however, asked Justice Freed if they could honor the 598 existing (and illegal) reservations in the second half of the year. Michael’s lawyers have said running the building isn’t “financially possible” with only rent-stabilized SRO units.
Justice Freed will have to decide if an injunction will be issued. She didn’t rule the Imperial Court must cancel short-term rentals, but gave the building’s owners a week to prove the cancellations would be a breach of contract.
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