John Deutzman over at My Fox NY is on the warpath over illegal hotels in the city, specifically the Marrakech, the Broadway Hotel and the Royal Park Hotel, which rent rooms to tourists but refuse to accept guests from New York. Why? Because these Upper West Side buildings, all owned by one Hank Freid, are actually zoned as permanent occupancy residential buildings, and Freid doesn't want any locals moving in and demanding a lease. After all, he already has to put up with guys like Franco Medina, a resident of the Royal Park for the past 32 years, who sheepishly admits to paying just $252 a month, while tourists pay as much as $260 a night.
In 2007, Mayor Bloomberg cracked down on a few illegal hotels, going so far as to get a court injunction to shut them down. But operators like Freid continue to flout the law and stay in business, despite numerous fire, building and health violations at each of his properties.
When confronted by Deutzman—who loves that Freid misspells "chic hotel experince"—on his website, Freid tells him, "Get off my property, you're harassing me."
