DUBAI: Here’s one for the books, definitely!
A 67-year-old man is facing eviction for having one too many books in his rented room.
New York Daily News, in a report said Ben Hammer is being threatened with eviction from his rent-regulated place because, his landlord says, his vast collection of books and paper is a fire hazard.
Hammer lives is a one-bedroom apartment where he has been staying at since 1973. He obtained a rent freeze two years ago, he said.
Before he moved in, his great-aunt and uncle had lived in the second-floor flat since the Ocean Ave. building was opened for tenants in 1928, said the report.
“I think they are desperate to have me evicted on account of I got a rent freeze lawfully,” New York Daily News quoted Hammer, a former seaman who worked on intercontinental freighters and passenger ships, as saying.
The report said Hammer pays less than $700 per month rent. When he moved in, his rent was about $150 per month, he said. Hammer received an eviction notice in December 2017, just a few months after he got a SCRIE — Senior Citizen’s Rent Increase Exemption.
“You have been keeping your apartment in extremely unsanitary, unhealthy and unclean manner in violation of your lease agreement,” the notice reads. “There are boxes, bags, papers, debris, filing cabinets, wood crates and books piled from floor to ceiling throughout the apartment.”
The maintenance director for the building, Nelson Diaz, told The News in a statement, “This tenant has literally filled his apartment with paper and has created a significant fire hazard for him and the entire building.
“We repeatedly requested that he resolve the situation, without response. We have worked with the Housing Court to achieve a resolution for the hazard,” Diaz said.
