A Pane In The Glass

Many New Yorkers believe that an apartment overlooking Central Park is about as good as an apartment gets in New York City. How about one with wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling views of that scenic park below? Well, there are four elderly tenants in rent-controlled apartments at Lincoln Square who prefer to pass on the possibility. They filed suit against their landlord, the Church of Latter-Day Saints, to prevent installation of those wonderful windows. They’d be irreparably harmed by construction, so they claim. The landlord argued new windows were necessary to transform the property into a “premium building.” The judge agreed with the tenants saying the work wasn’t “necessary.” As of now, only the four tenants who sued will have old windows after renovations are completed. According to the landlord’s spokesperson, the tenants refused $25,000 each, but supposedly agreed to have the work done for $100,000 apiece. The tenants deny they were offered that amount, though it seems one or two might be interested in a higher offer. For that kind of money, they might even agree to live in glass houses!