East Village damaged apartment building faces possible demolition, leaving tenants in limbo

EAST VILLAGE - An apartment building in the East Village is facing possible demolition, which would leave several tenants in limbo.

The owner of the 5-story walkup is Jeremy Lebewohl. He also owns the Second Avenue Deli. 

He told FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt that the apartment building is so badly damaged that it has to be demolished and that tenants will not be allowed to move back home. 

Mohamad Dawod says he is desperate to get back into his apartment with his wife and four children ages 5, 7, 9, and 11. 

He and his family have been living in a shelter since the city ordered them and all of the tenants in this 5-story apartment building on East 14th Street in the East Village to vacate in late November.

The Buildings Department says construction on a neighboring lot compromised the building’s stability. There are cracks throughout the building.   

Varghese Paul is a displaced tenant.   

Susan Ingraham is a displaced tenant. 

A nonprofit group is working with the tenants, many of whom are low-income, to try and find them permanent affordable housing.   

The building owner's lawyer told FOX 5 NY that they contacted all the tenants about two weeks ago to see the status of their belongings. 

As for the demolition of the building, the city buildings department issued this statement:

"DOB hasn’t made a determination that the building needs to be demolished. We ordered the property owners to make repairs at the building shortly after the Vacate Order was issued. However, the landlords failed to follow those orders."

So, there are still questions about what happens next.