Last year, a New York City building was sold. Unfortunately, people were still living in the building, which complicated the deal. Now, one tenant refuses to move out of the building because he does not want to leave his stunning rental. Now the tenant believes that his new landlords are trying to force him out of the building by using sly tactics like conducting unnecessary construction and installing extremely loud fans near his door to make it hard for the tenant to relax or unwind after a busy, bustling day in New York City.
For the last sixteen years of his life, Ahmet Nejat Ozsu (below), 51, has resided at the Eagle Court building on the city’s Upper West Side. Although he only has a 700-square foot apartment, he pays upwards of $3,350 per month. The rental includes a private deck on the top floor. However, Ozsu has not been keeping up with rent payments and allegedly owes as much as $13,000 in back rent.
The building was sold to the Naftali Group in June 2021 for a shocking total of $70 million. At the time, the new landlords told all existing tenants that they had to leave the building and find another place to live.
Real estate gurus believe that the new owners want to tear down the building and erect a new luxury tower that would house just about eleven units – all worth about $40 million. The current building has 128 units that are all much more modest than the real estate developer’s plans.
Ozsu lives in one of sixteen units that are currently still occupied despite the new landlord’s request that everyone move out and find a new place to live. However, Ozsu believes he is on a personal “crusade” to stay in his rental, according to his attorney.
Ozsu now demands a one million payout in order for him to leave his current home and find another place to live. To add insult to injury, he was unemployed from October 2021 to March 2022 and needed time to build up a savings account, so he would have enough cash to find another place to live on the expensive island of Manhattan.
Meanwhile, Naftali filed a lawsuit against Ozsu, listing $25,000,000 in damages. They even offered the stubborn renter $30,000 to move out and find another place to stay.
Ozsu’s lawyer, Adam Leitman Bailey, claims that the developer is “bullying” his client to rush the moving process.
“His view is now that he’s standing up for all New Yorkers who couldn’t afford a high-priced lawyer,” Bailey said. ‘And he’s going to stay there for as long as he’s legally allowed to be there, number one.”
Nevertheless, the new landlords have been doing whatever they can to bother Ozsu to get him to move out. Their latest ploy is a loud air filter outside of his door.
“It sounds like a jet,” Ozsu told the Times. “It feels like it’s at the back of your head all the time.”