They may not believe in laws, but they’ll take small court victories just the same.
A group of eccentric anarchist artists can move back into their ground-floor space at Joseph Brunner’s 13-15 Thames Street in East Williamsburg, but they’ll have to get past the biker gang who’s currently occupying it first.
The city’s Loft Board approved protected tenant status for Vlad Teichberg, Jason Beckford and Nico Haupt, who were evicted from the space by police at gunpoint in 2012 after the former landlord accused Teichberg of assault.
That allegation had prompted officials to enforce an existing vacate order on the property, which was handed down after inspectors discovered a blocked exit there, DNAinfo reported.
The former tenants, who held music and art events at the space and took in stray animals, will have to contend with members of the Forbidden Ones biker gang, who took over the space after the eviction.
The space, along with others occupied by the Forbidden Ones, was raided by the FBI later in 2012. Officials discovered a functioning cannon pointing at the front door, among other weapons. Nonetheless, DNAinfo reported members of the gang remain in the space to this day.
Brunner, who owns a number of properties in the area, bought the building in 2013 for $475,000. The tenants’ lawyers told DNAinfo the landlord has refused to take their phone calls after rebuffing their initial approach years ago. [DNAinfo] — Ariel Stulberg