ILLEGAL HOTELS EXPOSED

By Kari Milchman

The tenant-advocacy group Housing Conservation Coordinators has amassed a list of 94 hotels throughout the city that are believed to be illegal. State and city laws do not permit units in buildings meant for permanent residence to be used short-term, but apparently there is some confusion as to what qualifies as short-term. Signatures Properties LLC owns four of these alleged illegal hotels, the most notorious of which is The Atrium Suites at 160 Bleecker St., where they purport to require a 30-day minimum stay. But as far back as 2004, the Buildings Department has received complaints that rooms were being rented on a nightly basis. In Soho, Donald Trump’s planned condo-hotel is ruffling a few feathers as some claim it will violate zoning laws and destroy the neighborhood’s character. One hundred locals gathered with community activists and politicians on Monday, to demand the city block the development. If Trump’s project proceeds, it won’t help those seeking a brief hotel stay, but it will be perfect for those merely too lazy to furnish their own homes.

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