You can’t claim your $8.3 million Greenwich Village penthouse apartment is “uninhabitable” when you have a half-dozen models and club promoters staying there and throwing parties.
That’s the lesson being learned by developer David Blumenfeld, who sued the board of 49-51 Downing St. for $1 million over the apartment — formerly owned by Yoko Ono — even though he was letting it be used by high-flying guests who annoyed the neighbors.
“The constant stream of guests stayed in the apartment for approximately seven months, creating all manner of disturbances to occupants in the building, but never once complained that the apartment was ‘uninhabitable’ for any reason,” wrote board secretary Kim Youngberg in court papers.
Two of the guests, Matteo Garzia and Alessandro Brioschi, are “club kids from abroad who organize and promote the craziest parties in the best clubs in Milan, Paris, London, Cannes, St. Tropez and Ibiza,” Youngberg fumed in a filing.
Judge Kathryn Freed not only tossed Blumenfeld’s suit — she also approved a counterclaim over the rowdy visitors by the board of the 10-unit building.
Blumenfeld acknowledged that his visitors got out of hand.
“The young lady who had too much to drink and proceeded to ring every buzzer in the building when she was locked out has been informed that she is never to come near the building again,” the developer wrote in a mea culpa letter to Youngberg.
But he is still appealing the ruling.
“All New York City tenants should be very concerned that a landlord/co-op board could successfully duck their legal responsibility to continue to avoid to make major structural repairs to a building that is posing an immediate threat to the life and safety of all its tenants [with] meritless claims,” Blumenfeld attorney Ronald Rosenberg said.
The board’s lawyer did not return a call for comment.