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A 20-Year Eviction Struggle at 106 Rivington Street

Posted on: December 7th, 2012 by

A purported “restaurant” isn’t the only drama currently transpiring at 106 Rivington Street. There is an eviction battle here and it’s been going on since the late 1980s. This is legalese heavy, so we did our best to layman it out for you.

Tenant Tyler Kim first moved here in the early 80s.

By 1987, he deemed himself a rent regulated tenant (for various reasons) and while the building owners, 106 Rivington Street Corporation, objected, the housing court agreed:

Faced with eviction that same year, Kim decided to alter his story in court saying that he was not a rent-regulated tenant. The strategy here being that he’d be offered a one year lease and the owners would drop the eviction case:When 106 Rivington Street Corporation went into foreclosure they stipulated that their mortgagee give Kim his one year lease:

Following the sale of building to K.Y.W. Enterprise Corp in 1988,  it appears that that agreement was never relayed to the new owners and Kim went on to live, in his mind, rent-stabilized:

Now here we are at the end of 2012 and K.Y.W. wants Tyler Kim out.

Motions, cross motions, hearings, more motions: the attorney for the K.Y.W. is an absolute mess.

The court transcripts read as him fumbling, saying “I don’t know” more than once. Not to mention this fine bit:

 As for Mr. Kim:

There have been ten agency proceedings against him in recent history and we want to know why?

K.Y.W is the “petitioner” in the following; the point of view is of Mr. Kim:

That is excessive.

Why does K.Y.W. want him out so badly?

We’ve pored through a zip file of case documents. Our eyes hurt. Our brains hurt. And now you have a decision to make, readers.

Team Kim or Team K.Y.W.?

*(The man has been there since the 80s, were it me I might cut him a break because talk about wasting tax payer dollars…just sayin’.)

Oh, hey, before you go, one more thing to make you go hmm; take a look at this and see if something is glaringly strange to you:

To be continued…

  • Spike

    Multiple personality disorder? Has he been suing himself the past 20 years?

  • The Real L.E.S.

    So Tyler Kim lied under oath in a court of law twice? Isn’t that perjury and isn’t perjury a federal offense? I believe that Tyler Kim’s credibility is suspect and my opinion is that the Bowery Boogie does itself a disservice by siding with him.

    • Really, really real L.E.S.

      Both sides were reported and the record stated he admitted to lying once, not twice, to avoid eviction. The opinion to leave the guy alone is because he’s been there since the 80s. Let it be! It is a total waste of time and taxes trying to get him out. what for? And on that note, LES in the 80s? Well you should know since you’re “the real les”! cut the guy a break! unless of course you support the condo they’re prbly trying to build.

    • tyler kim

      just for everyone’s info. it doesn’t matter what i said in court ’bout my rent control status. the only one that can determine anyone’s rent status is the state agency, DHCR. which has always said its decision that i am a rent control tenant is final, binding, and not to be disturbed

      • The Real L.E.S.

        Tyler Kim, it’s unfortunate that you believe that what you say in court under oath doesn’t matter. That undermines our whole system of justice.

        • tyler kim

          you misunderstood what i said. the court or any other legal body will not recognize what i say as being the law. as i said dhcr is the only people that can legally say if i’m rent control.

          • john q

            “DHCR does not have exclusive jurisdiction over the questions raised in this action. On the contrary, it is well settled that courts are
            empowered to determine the rent-controlled status of a dwelling unit.” (see Matter of Christy v Lynch, 259 AD2d 324, 326 [1st Dept 1999], citing Swift v 130 W.57th Corp., 26 NY2d 714, 716, rearg denied 26 NY2d 883 [1970])

          • LOVELYLES

            Its only 2 apt. there last i heard there’s no rent control in a building with 5 apt. or less

  • Tryst

    I believe the Bowery Boogie is a bias site and never reports the truth…

    • http://www.boweryboogie.com/ Dave Gustav

      “Never” seems extreme. Sometimes we report that it’s raining. Surely we don’t lie about that?

    • Dearest Tryst

      I believe if you feel that way one might wonder why you read Bowery Boogie.

  • D. Huong

    Team Kim! He not only deserves it–living through the LES of the 80s and dealing with 20+ years of harassment from his landlord, but as the court documents state, is a rent controlled tenant. He was under duress and feared eviction– his “lie” was merely a brokered deal between his then landlord’s lawyer & the mortgagee. From what I gather, Mr. Kim did not have his own counsel, and under questionable advisement, said what he needed to so he wouldn’t loose the roof over his head. And for all of you who purport to be the Real LES, you would know what was really going on down here during the 80s with slumlords, abandoned buildings in tax default, and abysmal housing conditions ie no hot water, heat, etc,– but yet there were people who with their own hands and sweat made homes and took risks to live here. What this is really about is development and gentrification, and a greedy landlord who wants Kim out so he can cash in– the band/rehearsal space that was an iconic symbol of the LES was forced out of this very space after 25 years to make way for a 2 floor, 200 occupancy Latin “restaurant” and they want Kim out so they can jack up the rent. And what about the 2nd floor immigrant tenants who had lived there since the late 60s and raised a family there? This very same landlord (K.W.Y) harassed and employed intimidation tactics (no hot water, heat, ceiling that caved in on them resulting in hospitalization) until he metaphorically killed them, broke them down till they were just too tired and too old to fight back anymore. The couple eventually died (one after the other) in their 2nd floor apartment which was beyond unlivable and dangerous. Dig deeper Bowery Boogie and you will learn there is more to this story than a zip file of court documents. Stop wasting our tax dollars and stop wasting Mr. Kim’s time!

    • Lovelyles

      What “mr. kim” is, he’s a plain Liar,”D.huong” why don’t you try paying the property taxes that the “slumlord”pays on a tenant paying you $750 a month.Since he’s been living there since the 80s he had more than enough time to get himself another apt,May( k.y.w) win the battle an get that (crackhead) out of there!!!!

      • tyler kim

        i don’t know if crackhead is the appropriate term within this context. i have never tried nor have any desire to smoke crack. though i know alot ’bout crack. i was the property master on a film ’bout a crack dealer directed and starring robbie benson, danny aiello, sally kirkland, judy tenuta entitled “white hot”(out of print). it was the first movie in the u.s. to employ the high definition video package(sony), which is widely used today in film and television.

        maybe you meant to use stupid, jerk, idiot, etc. or did you want to say something cruder like a**hole,m*****f***er, etc.?

        and are you calling my landlord, sam wu, a ‘slumlord’? that is not very nice, even if that is true.

        and you think i should move because i should be sympathetic with my well off landlord? that is very 1% of you.

        • LOVELYLES

          Im glad your over your addiction that they even made a movie about, Im wondering since you lied under oath back then, what else have you lied about now?And yes i called him slumlord for 1 reason, cause you guys are putting him like one. There’s a say an it goes like this “ONCE A CRACKHEAD ALWAYS A CRACKHEAD”unless you got some good rehab,but from your looks it’s not much you can hide!!!:} Look at it this way, you got away with cheap or no rent for 20 years you should be the one sympathetic of your landlord an get the hell out!!! P.S. don’t let the door hit ya where the “LORD” split ya!!!

          • Harry

            Tyler Kim is neither a crackhead nor a sufferer of MPD. He is a New Yorker, through and through. I am an honored member of Team Kim who lived with him at 106 Rivington Street in the early-mid 80s, and the epic saga of landlord hell was in full swing then. Go Tyler.

          • Harry

            Oh, and my recollection was that the roof leaked like a sieve, there was no heat in the winter, and we had buy and install our own hot water heater. The landlord at that time, did nothing but make our lives miserable. But Tyler, the embodiment of tenacity, was not going to cave in…and he hasn’t.

          • LOVELYLES

            @c9a7d441e4b90ecb3371457ec4124e7b:disqus Plain and simple he lied under oath and he should get evicted or pay the market value rent for that apt. or you think is fair to the landlord who must pay a ton of taxes for that building and have no sort of income? Do the math buddy it speaks for itself…

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