Schleicher tenants still denied services; house being sold

From the Times Ledger:

City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) put himself into the center of a bitter College Point housing dispute last week, demanding the landlord and manager at Schleicher’s Court restore gas service to their tenants after more than a year.

Avella’s call is just the latest chapter in a seemingly endless squabble between the tenants and the landlord at the College Point home. The more than a dozen tenants of the 19th century mansion, at 11-41 123rd St., have been embroiled in an at times fiery fight with Eva Rohan, the owner, since July 2008. The contentious situation left tenants of the building homeless for nearly eight months and without basic services, such as gas for more than a year.

On Friday, Avella called on Rohan to adhere to a court order to give inspectors from the city Department of Housing access to the home so gas service can be restored to the building. Tenants said Housing inspectors arrived at the house July 15 after a June court-order mandated the repairs be made, but Robert Cuniffe, a licensed contractor who said he expects to purchase the house in the coming days, would not let them into the building.

“This guy should go to jail,” Avella said. “Who the hell is he to deny access?”