Charas Faces Eviction--Again

After celebrating a recent court victory, Charas got word on March 26 that an appeals court had overturned a prior court ruling that had given the Lower East Side community-arts center the right to a jury trial. Confused? Charas supporters certainly are. In February, a jury found that Gregg Singer, the landlord for the building at 605 East 9th St., could not evict the Charas/El Bohio Cultural and Community Center because he did not plan to comply with the deed’s requirement that the building be used for community purposes.

While the trial was taking place, however, Singer, who bought the building from New York City in 1998, was appealing a March 2000 decision by Judge Lucy Billings, in which she ruled that he could not evict Charas unless he proved that he intended to use the building as a community facility. Only six weeks after the jury trial ended with a unanimous verdict in favor of Charas, a three-judge appeals panel overturned Judge Billings’ decision, which had granted Charas the right to that very trial. Now, Charas faces eviction once again. Lawyers for the center insist that the jury verdict renders moot the action of the appeals panel, and said they would move to reargue in court.

--Noel Prince