A man who refuses to leave his New York City apartment after the building was sold last year suspects his new landlords are trying to evict him with unnecessary construction and a noisy air filter.
51-year-old Ahmet Nejat Ozsu has lived in the Eagle Court building on the city’s Upper West Side for 16 years. He pays $3,350 a month for a 700-square-foot one-bedroom apartment with a private deck on the top floor, though he owes more than $13,000 in back rent.
In June, the Naftali Group bought the building for $70 million and told all tenants to move out.
Lawyers and real estate experts believe the building will likely be torn down, with all 128 units replaced with a luxury tower that would house no more than 11 mega-units worth a staggering $40 million.
Only 16 of the building’s apartments are still occupied, but Ozsu is on a “crusade” to stay, his lawyer told DailyMail.com.
The software developer – who was out of work from October 2021 to March – says he will need at least another year at his new job to save and move elsewhere, but some speculate he could sustain a million-dollar payout.
With this, Naftali Group filed a $25 million suit against Adam Leitman Bailey and his firm over publicity tactics used to represent Ahmet Nejat Ozsu, the only resident of 215 W. 84th St. to decline their recent buyout offer, the suit shows.
They even offered him $30,000 just to leave. The developer has begun construction across from Ozsu and has placed a surveillance camera and noisy air filter outside his unit, which he claims is “actually for his health and safety.”
Ozsu and his landlord are now mired in a stalemate after Ozsu filed a pandemic-era housing benefit claim. If approved, it could delay its eviction for years.
Ozsu’s attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, told DailyMail.com that Naftali is “bullying” his client, who needs time to find a new home.
“He now believes he is standing up for all New Yorkers who couldn’t afford an expensive lawyer,” Bailey said. “And he’ll stay there for as long as he’s legally allowed there, number one.”
Ozsu says he was harassed with a loud air filter.
“It sounds like a jet,” Ozsu told the Times. “It feels like it’s always in the back of your mind.”
Bailey thinks it’s nothing but an act of pressure.
According to AWM, Ozsu now demands a one million payout in order for him to leave his current home and find another place to live.
Watch the video report below for more details: