Trial date set for Neir’s Tavern neighbors facing eviction
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Teresa Cruz Arcos (left) and her daughter Rene Arcos are fighting eviction proceedings in Queens Housing Court. They live in an apartment above neir’s tavern. Eagle photo by David Brand.
By David Brand
A Queens Housing Court judge has set a March 6 trial date for the family of four facing eviction from their apartment above Neir's Tavern, three weeks after the city stepped in to save the legendary Woodhaven watering hole.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and local elected officials helped the owner of Neir’s Tavern work out a lease agreement with the building landlord at 87-48 78th St. just days before the 190-year-old bar was set to close. But the tenants living above the bar since 2013 have yet to receive the same support.
Tenant Teresa Cruz Arcos and her family say they have not had a lease since 2015, but they have paid their rent each month and have continued to make payments during their eviction proceedings.
Read More: The family living above Neir’s Tavern is still facing eviction
Nevertheless, because the building features two residential apartments, the family could be evicted without cause under state law affecting buildings with fewer than six units.
Until recently, however, tenants occupied six different units in the building, including office and commercial spaces converted for residential use, said the family’s attorney Aura Zuniga of Make the Road New York. If a judge agrees, then the apartment building would fall under rent stabilization law, which prevents tenants from eviction or rent spikes in most cases.
“What we’re looking for is a finding of stabilization,” Zuniga said Tuesday in the hallway of Housing Court “There were six units in the building, which would qualify it for those protections.”
The Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants has contacted Zuniga to say they are monitoring the case, but it is unclear what support they will offer.
“I will be working with these tenants to see if there is any way the city can help them remain in their homes,” Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants Director Jackie Bray told the Eagle in a statement earlier this month.
The property owner, 353 Rockaway Realty LLC, began eviction proceedings against the Cruz Arcos family in April 2019, five months after purchasing the building in December 2018 for $1.35 million. The LLC is owned by Qing Shi and Henry Shi, according to property records. Their attorney did not respond to phone calls for this story, which will be updated to include their response.
Cruz Arcos said she is happy that the city worked with Neir’s and the landlords to negotiate a deal, but she said she hopes they will do the same thing for her and her family.
“We feel good that they’re helping the bar, but we want the same opportunity and the same help,” Cruz Arcos said earlier this month.
