The owners of an illegally converted Bushwick building are looking for protection under the 2010 Loft Law even as they market the ground floor for commercial use.
The four-story property at 449 Troutman Street, between Cypress and Scott avenues, was once a factory, but sometime before 2001 was illegally converted to residential units. Now it holds 24 apartments from the second to fourth floors.
Tenants often turn to the Loft Law to be protected from eviction; the state law aims to protect tenants in the city who have lived in illegally converted factory or commercial buildings for some time. But in this case the owners are seeking protection — likely because the building is for sale for an undisclosed price with outer boroughs-specialist Pinnacle Realty, according to a report from blog WyckoffHeights.org.
The owner is listed as a “Pencil 2k LLC,” in city records.
The building was hit with several Environmental Control Board violations and a Partial Vacate Order after a fire during last summer, according to Curbed. [WyckoffHeights] and [Curbed] — Mark Maurer