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April 16, 2010
Weinstein prevails, if only temporarily, after a bitter (and delayed) eviction on Pacific Street
Atlantic Yards Report
After nearly seven months of delay, Prospect Heights property owner Henry Weinstein finally saw his tenants and subtenants evicted yesterday from 752 Pacific Street, an industrial building turned office building in the Atlantic Yards footprint.
"It's a hollow victory, because I'm probably going to lose my property in a month or two," acknowledged Weinstein.
He nevertheless expressed satisfaction that he had prevailed in a process by which his tenant, developer Shaya Boymelgreen, allied with Forest City Ratner (FCR) to suggest that an acre of the 22-acre Atlantic Yards side was "controlled" by FCR, thus minimizing the need for eminent domain.
"They thought they were going to run me over," he said. Weinstein sees that process as an attempt to devalue his property and thus save FCR tens of millions of dollars. And he says his tenants owe him hundreds of thousands of dollars in back rent.
...Need to break in
While an eviction notice was posted on the door at 752 Pacific on Wednesday, it was not visible to me when I walked by Wednesday night--though a similar notice was visible at the adjacent parking lot. Weinstein said the notice on the door had been ripped down.
Weinstein said the tenants had been uncooperative, unwilling to open the building on Tuesday, when he was denied access when he tried to visit with a representative of Forest City Ratner and the Cornerstone Group, a real estate firm acting as the ESDC's consultant. On Thursday, Weinstein had to have the locks broken with a crowbar and a drill.
Posted by eric at April 16, 2010 10:14 AM