See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.<\/p>\n
By Caroline Spivack<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Daily<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Prince’s fate is in the hands of the court.<\/p>\n
A judge will decide this month whether the city may auction off the infamous Prince Hotel. Mayor DeBlasio promised swift action against the long-maligned flophouse during a February town hall, but the inn remains open while the city builds a pre-kindergarten a few doors down — a prospect that frightens local parents, one said.<\/p>\n
“It’s insane to me that this school could be up and running before the hotel is shut down, that it’s even a possibility,” said Melanie Roselli, who recently moved to the area with her 1-year-old daughter. “No way would I enroll my kid there.”<\/p>\n
Neighbors say the hotel attracts drugs, prostitution, and fights, and Fried owes the city more than $400,000 in fines for unsafe building conditions.<\/p>\n
DeBlasio assembled a task force to investigate the hotel after outraged Ridgites ripped into his plan to build the pre-kindergarten in 2015 and then promised action earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Department of Finance sheriffs raided the hotel a day later to collect fines, and officials later announced they planned on auctioning off the building to recoup what Fried owes.<\/p>\n
But he got a judge to halt the sale and promised to bring the building up to code. If Fried makes good — and pays off the fines — the hotel will continue operating, but local leaders remain skeptical he’ll succeed.<\/p>\n
“It appears they’re now trying to address the outstanding violations,” said Community Board 10 district manager Josephine Beckmann. “But his track record hasn’t been good to date.”<\/p>\n
To emphasize the neighborhood’s disgust with the hotel, Councilman Vincent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge) is organizing written testimony and a petition. The councilman hopes to submit the petition and complaints to the court before the September ruling is made.<\/p>\n
Fried did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Reach reporter Caroline Spivack at cspivack@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260–2517. Follow her on Twitter @carolinespivack.<\/p>\n
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