« While We Were Away... House of the Day: 591 Hicks Street »
July 26, 2006
Lefferts Hotel Cuts Deal with Tish James
More news on the status of the Lefferts Hotel, which was recently shuttered after an undercover operation exposed the rampant drug and prostitution trade being conducted on the premises. In recent days, Council Member Letitia James has brokered an arrangement with the hotel owners, we have learned, that will keep the hotel closed until October 1st at which point it will re-open "under different circumstances." The only details we have are that it will be a run as a long-term, residential hotel not a "short-stay" one. In addition, the owners have agreed to have the premises monitored by security cameras 24-hours a day with regular patrols by the precinct. We're not sure how this sounds. Seems like the owners are getting off too easy to us, but it can be quite hard to make these charges stick and it may be that this was the best that could be achieved from the community's point of view. The only concern we have is that without substantial capital improvements who is going to want to stay there? Not exactly the kind of clientele residents are hoping for, we'd guess. And what about the egregious buildings violations? Are they being addressed as part of this deal? Tish James can be contacted at 718-260-9191 for more information.
Drugs and Ho's Bring Down Lefferts Hotel [Brooklyn Record] GMAP
Comments
People should go after the Pleasant Stay Motel on Classon & Putnam next. Then check out the Washington Hotel and Apartments on Washington & Greene. Two more HO-TELS in the hood. Might be good to start working with Tish. Seems like she's on it, even if the solution is not the best...
Posted by: clinton hillbilly at July 26, 2006 11:46 AM
has anybody ever seen the interiors of the rooms? maybe it's not so bad? sounds like it's becoming an SRO type of place, not a favorite of visitors to this site, but a big step up from the notorious brothel that it was.
Posted by: Jimmy Legs at July 26, 2006 12:00 PM
On a related note. The Hotel Prince Group may be moving their special brand of hospitality down south. Check out the lead on PlanetPLG.
Dan
Posted by: DanInPLG at July 26, 2006 12:55 PM
The devil is in the details, I think. This could end up turning out either way when all is said and done. The second building that they bought and added onto the hotel illegally was already an SRO, so this may be partially a way to address that problem.
It could just turn into a regular SRO, which isn't what some neighbors want, but might not be so terrible. Then again, the prostitutes may just be forced to rent on a longer term basis, and things wouldn't change much.
Posted by: Shahn Andersen at July 26, 2006 1:18 PM
Below is a letter written and sent to Tish James, Charles Hynes, Marty Markowitz, Ed Towns, Velmanette Montgomery, Roger Green, Al Vann and Community Board 2. I think this accurately sums up community sentiment on the "arrangement".
________________________________________
To [Addressees],
It's great to hear that as a result of the Nuisance Abatement Law the Lefferts Hotel will be shut down until October 2006. After years of living in terror and being held hostage in our own community, it's indeed a breath of fresh air to see our family oriented block now free of prostitutes, dealers and addicts. I think I speak for all residents of Lefferts Place and Clinton Hill, Brooklyn when I say thank you for your hard work and efforts with respect to this very serious community issue. There has been a material improvement in our quality of life since this notorious "whorehouse" has shut its doors. The streets are quiet and petty crimes such as personal property theft and vehicle break-ins have dramatically declined.
With that being said, residents of Lefferts Place are very concerned about the stipulation agreement that was entered into last week by the City and the Prince Hotel Group as it permits the continued operation of the property as a hotel (albeit no longer short term/hourly). In essence, we do not trust that owners Moses Fried and the Prince Hotel Group will honor either the spirit or letter of the stipulation agreement and run this establishment as a legitimate business concern. Why?
First, there is no legitimate demand for a hotel in Clinton Hill. The hotel does not serve the honest, law abiding members of this community. To the contrary, patrons are exclusively restricted to pimps, prostitutes, dealers and addicts. For the past eight years, the hotel, under the ownership of Moses Fried, has provided an institutional face and safe haven for a large scale drug and prostitution enterprise in our residential brownstone community. The Lefferts Hotel is economically dependent on the exact illegal activities that is prohibited in the stipulation agreement. Without illegal drug trafficking and prostitution how will the hotel remain in business? It can't so it's only a matter of time before the hotel reverts back to its prior form as there is no economic justification for a legitimate hotel of this size and scope in this neighborhood. Moreover, Moses Fried has demonstrated repeatedly in the past that his only concern with respect to his investment properties is profit and not the law. Up until now, he has profited at the utter expense and sheer misery of this community.
Second, Moses Fried and the Prince Hotel Group have already reneged on a slew of promises to run this hotel as a legitimate/legal concern. The 88th Precinct has bought the prostitution and drug allegations to their attention repeatedly in the past eight years and they simply did nothing to curb the illegal practices at the hotel. In fact, according to court documents, the receptionist at the hotel was observed by undercover police officers personally arranging appointments and handing out towels and condoms at the hotel. How can we now trust Moses Fried and his group when we've been saddled with a stack full of empty/broken promises in the past? Please read yesterday's New York Daily News article about Moses Fried. According to press reports, he is a notorious slum lord and thus cannot be trusted to adhere to the provisions of the stipulation agreement. The City, for all intents and purposes, has made a deal with the devil. A deal that will ultimately be to the serious detriment of all residents of Lefferts Place and Clinton Hill. Under no uncertain terms, the continued operation of this property by Moses Fried as a hotel will adversely affect the quality of life of all in this neighborhood.
The community has spoken and we do not want a whorehouse on Lefferts Place or in Clinton Hill. As such, we are looking for further safeguards to protect the community and additional law enforcement efforts to prevent a repeat occurrence at this establishment. What provisions have been made to ensure the community that the hotel will cease to operate as a whorehouse/flophouse? How will activities at the hotel be monitored? By whom? What happens to Moses Fried if the hotel continues to operate as a prostitution flophouse? Does the stipulation agreement have any meaningful teeth that can truly deter ownership from misusing this property? What are the penalties for failure to comply with or breach of the agreement? Can you please delineate the terms of the stipulation agreement? Can you provide us with a copy of BOTH the (1) stipulation agreement and (2) the court restraining order pursuant to the Nuisance Abatement Law?
In sum, the residents of Lefferts Place and Clinton Hill are asking you and all elected officials in Brooklyn to assist us in removing this blight from our otherwise beautiful community. Please - we need your help!
Thank you so much for your time, patience and understanding.
Respectfully yours,
Clinton Hill Residents
NY Daily News article on Moses Fried.
http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/437528p-368687c.html
Other articles on Lefferts Hotel:
http://www.nysun.com/article/35689
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/434320p-365910c.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/431382p-363420c.html
____________________________________
Tish James, as usual, responded immediately to this letter and is working to schedule a townhall meeting with area residents to explain the details of the stipulation agreement. Tish has been outstanding with respect to the hotel crisis.
Posted by: BrownBomber at July 26, 2006 3:10 PM
Hello:
Will Tish's town hall meeting date be posted on this site, or somewhere else?
I am not a Clinton Hill resident but have been following this Lefferts Hotel story closely for the last few weeks. Are there other community meetings I should know about?
Thanks.
Posted by: Nosy at July 26, 2006 3:36 PM
Sounds like if they made a deal, there was a payoff or something. When a place like this and the other buildings mentioned that continue to do illicit business it becomes GLARINGLY obvious to me there are people on the take and a general resistance to make it stop by the powers that be. I have a friend that lived by a brothel and she and her neighbors threw eggs at the prostitutes every day until they left. Perhaps at the first sign of the return to illegal activity the neighbors could gather in front and protest with signs and make some noise...everyday...
Posted by: TomPLG at July 26, 2006 6:29 PM
I'm a Clinton Hill resident and I've been following this issue very closely as well. I'm appalled that in this day and age a brothel of this magnitude could operate so blatantly in Brooklyn, in the open, and for so many years. I'm astonished and embarrassed for this community, borough and city. I'm happy to see that something is finally being done to address and remedy the situation.
With that being said, I think that Moses Fried is an immoral and ruthless human being. According to the NY Sun article and his own words, he is a 76 year old "religious" Jew and holocaust survivor. IMHO, he is a disgrace to his faith and the great Jewish tradition of tolerance and understanding for the less fortunate. You would think that this man would know something about tyranny and oppression yet he survives the atrocities of the holocaust only to leave the indelible legacy of being a slumlord and brothel owner! He is an embarrassment to his people, family, faith and heritage! His chronic and habitual negligence in managing his properties and blood sucking approach to business has done irreparable damage to this community.
Clinton Hill residents should mount a massive PR campaign to bring his evil deeds to the light. In fact, they should invoke the following strategy:
(a) locate his home and business address and write countless letters to Mr. Fried, his colleagues and neighbors expressing community outrage over his ownership and operation of the hotel/whorehouse;
(b) protest and hand out leaflets in front of his home and make his community aware of his illegal business dealings and practices;
(c) locate his synagogue and contact the rabbi and solicit his assistance in the matter - perhaps he can exert some influence;
(d) area residents should contact an attorney and explore the possibility of filing a civil suit against him and the hotel;
(e) contact DOB and (i) file numerous complaints for building code violations until the charges stick and hefty penalties are imposed, (ii) if there is construction work on the site during building renovation process, make sure that every required permit is filed with DOB, and (iii) investigate the building CofO and make sure that the property usage is consistent with it and definitely protest to block any attempts to secure a variance from the city;
(f) contact the city housing dept and make certain that if Mr. Fried turns any portion of the hotel into an SRO that he and his company are not awarded any city contracts to house the homeless or displaced families - he's an absentee slumlord who provides unsafe living conditions and thus shouldn't be rewarded with city contracts; and
(g) contact the IRS and both NYC and NYS Dept of Finance and request that they investigate the hotel's finances -an extensive audit of Mr. Moses tax returns will surely uncover something.
Opponents of the hotel should not give up. They must continue the pressure and use every available means to communicate to Mr. Moses that a hotel of this nature will never operate again in Clinton Hill. Good luck.
Posted by: BrooklynMosaic at July 27, 2006 6:28 AM
Don't be so quick to attribute this to a "pay-off", TomPLG. Who are you suggesting was paid off? Tish James? City lawyers negotiating the settlement? The judge? The reality is that most settlements are made to avoid the expense and uncertainty of a trial, in which the burden of proof would have been on the city. What a settlement like this does is change the rules of the game for the next match. If the owners fail to live up to the settlement (and I have no doubt that they will be watched like hawks), then further action can be taken. And in the meantimet the place is closed for the rest of the summer. Not bad, not bad at all.
I'd have to question whether or not the neighborhood needs a hotel or not. I suspect there is a lot of pent up demand for upscale hotel rooms (family, those who want a more authentic NY experience) on one hand, and quite frankly we will always need "flophouses" for the casually employed who don't have enough stability for permanent housing but don't want to enter the shelter system. NYC has lost a lot of the bottom rungs of the housing ladder. Poor does not equate drug user or prostitute.
Posted by: Putnam-denizen at July 27, 2006 8:13 AM
I didn't mean that the city was paid off. I was saying that if the Lefferts Hotel and the other places mentioned, "Pleasant Stay Motel on Classon & Putnam next. Then check out the Washington Hotel and Apartments on Washington & Greene. Two more HO-TELS in the hood" continue the illicit business. There must be some sort of "agreement" that enforcement looks the other way. Which means someone gets something.
Posted by: TomPLG at July 27, 2006 8:21 AM
Moses Fried might be a ruthless business man but he's definitely not a very smart business man. Even at 76.
According to Property Shark, the yellow Victorian at 70 Lefferts Place sold in May for $2.4 million and at least two other brownstones on this block have fetched close to $1.5 million in the past three months. The purchaser of the Victorian home is a developer who plans to knock down the building (a tragedy in and of itself) and erect condos. Similar plans are slated for 76-90 Lefferts Place and 96 Lefferts Place.
Why would an owner of two large prime properties in Clinton Hill choose to operate these buildings in such a deplorable and unacceptable manner? It doesn’t make any sense. The Lefferts Hotel and adjacent five story brownstone could easily fetch $3 million plus. One would imagine that even a reputed slumlord would eventually wake up and smell the coffee. Condo development is occurring all around the Lefferts Hotel but the owner would rather operate it as a whorehouse/flophouse or a rundown SRO. It's a shame. PLG residents better organize soon because 205 Parkside is going to be next.
http://www.pshark.com/mason/Reports/showsection.html?propkey=180319
Posted by: BrownBomber at July 27, 2006 8:59 AM
In a thread that ran a few weeks ago, there were some critics of the shuttering of Lefferts Hotel; apparently, they felt that the closing of this "den of iniquities" was a threat to the authenticity of the neighborhood. Have people expressed this view openly at any community meetings, or only anonymously on this blog?
Posted by: Nosy at July 27, 2006 1:38 PM
In a thread that ran a few weeks ago, there were some critics of the shuttering of Lefferts Hotel; apparently, they felt that the closing of this "den of iniquities" was a threat to the authenticity of the neighborhood. Have people expressed this view openly at any community meetings, or only anonymously on this blog?
Posted by: Nosy at July 27, 2006 1:39 PM
I went to Brooklyn for the first time this weekend and I never heard of this hotel we are talking about. I did however get a room at the Rivieira motor inn on Atlantic ave with my friends for the nite and when we went in to pay it was an hourly motel. $50 for 4 hours. We needed to shower and get ready so we got the room. It was disgusting and not only that the second we turned on the tv porn popped on. That is a HOtel and needs 2 be looked at. I was disgusted
Posted by: laura at August 20, 2006 8:27 AM
hardcore sex porn free anal hardcore porn
Posted by: Rdzpzbn at October 31, 2006 10:22 AM
asain blow job how to perform a blow job
Posted by: Olmnchsc at October 31, 2006 10:24 AM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.