The owner of a nine-unit Upper West Side building was forcibly removed from the property after losing a foreclosure case which began in 2019, Commercial Observer reports.
60 West 91st Street, via Google Street View
Kim Mortimer is now the former owner of 60 West 91st Street, where she was also a tenant. After defaulting on her loan, she reportedly allowed the building to fall into disrepair.
She borrowed $1.7 million from her lender in 2016. After late fees, penalties and interest, she ended up owing $3.4 million.
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In February 2020, Mortimer filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, but in August 2020 the court found that she had “interfered with the Chapter 11 trustee’s administration of the estate; threatened, harassed, and intimidated certain tenants; and was in contempt of several orders.”
The trustee, a court-appointed lawyer, advised the judge overseeing the case that a vacant building would be more attractive to potential buyers, so she proceeded to attempt to remove Mortimer.
Mortimer then filed two actions to prevent her removal, based on the eviction moratorium created during the pandemic.
The case ended up back in court, and the judge again ruled to have Mortimer removed. As Mortimer refused, the judge had US Marshalls forcibly remove her.
After a recent bankruptcy sale of the building, Mortimer was able to pay back $2.1 out of the $3.4 million she owed to her lender.
Don’t let the door fall off its hinges on your way out, Kim! I could *almost* have cut you a little slack on all this, times being tough, except for that part about threatening, harassing, and intimidating certain tenants.
Work a life time to put everything you have into an investment, just to have everything taken away because people stop paying rent and refuse to move, thus allowing someone who can pay rent take their place. I am sure she had this same discussion with these tenants and they didn’t care, they were going to take full advantage of “living for free” for as long as they could get away with it. Her asking, became a panic to her and then anger set in because these tenants obviously didn’t care. I personally would be mad as hell if people were legally allowed to just ignore me, while I see my life’s work taken away! How do you think she should of handled it? Just say, oh well and walk away gracefully? Please reply by telling us how you would of handle this situation
First, Rebecca, please explain how you are “sure” the scenario you describe — that Mortimer?s plight was “because people stop paying rent and refuse to move”, that “she had this same discussion with these tenants and they didn’t care, they were going to take full advantage of ‘living for free’ for as long as they could get away with it”, that “these tenants obviously didn’t care” — corresponds with reality when neither the story above nor the one that it references (https://commercialobserver.com/2021/03/owner-removed-from-uws-multifamily-following-default-bankruptcy-sale/) mention any such details. Maybe you have insider information? Sorry, but all I have to go on are these two reports, and I?d prefer to tell you how I?d deal with an actual situation rather than a hypothetical one. Facts, please. I?ll give you a hint, though: if you?re arguing that what you speculate was Mortimer?s anger & panic *excuse* her behavior (that she “threatened, harassed, and intimidated certain tenants”, per court finding), we?ll have to agree to disagree! I prefer my landlords law-abiding.
Finally, have you considered the possibility that her *hypothetical* uncaring, parasitic, deadbeat tenants might have been too broke to pay their bills as well? Perhaps they should have threatened, harassed, and intimidated Mortimer to work out their anger, panic, etc.?
Wondering if her tenants were paying Their rent or expecting “kim” to pay the building mortgage, maintenance and ect. out of her own pocket?
I wonder if the judge took into consideration that she wasn’t able to pay a mortgage, if her tenants refuse to pay their rent!
I can totally understand her panic and what her tenants called “harassment” was probably more like “begging” them to please, please pay your rent or I will lose this place! We’re her tenants kicked out also? Probably not and they are sitting in their cozy couches, watching TV and laughing at this poor women!
Sorry but I don’t see the justice in this !!
Thanks for sticking up for me mom.
I feel for her. How is she supposed to pay taxes and cover all other costs during a never ending eviction moratorium?
“In February 2020, Mortimer filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy”
I don’t know the story and the eviction moratorium has its own issues but the date of the Chapter 11 is *before* Covid.
She was the one who tried to use the Covid eviction moratorium to stop her own eviction when they wanted to sell the vacation building. Some of these comments are either trolls or just have no reading comprehension.
She went bankrupt before Covid. Don’t blame the moratorium for this.
I’m a landlord AND have been a tenant of another landlord so I have been on both sides of the issue.
Being a landlord does not give you license to harass others illegally. If you’re going to get into the business of providing housing, you then need to play by the rules. If you have problems with tenants, there are legal remedies — making it up as you go along is asking for enforcement actions. She made her own bed.
That said, the government response has ignored the landlords. Mortgages, maintenance, utilities, and taxes were not abated — they (and myself) have been caught in the middle.
If they’re going to cancel the rent, then they need to provide relief to the providers too.
Many NYC landlords are sitting on a lot of cash as the city is a sellers market — if landlords got into the market at the wrong time and over-leveraged themselves without a safety net, that’s on them.
I’ve had to forgive rent and allow tenants to temporarily pend down their security deposits to get buy until they could resume normal payments. It’s give and take if you have good tenants, you will do anything to keep them.
The article states that foreclosure proceedings started in 2019. That means that she defaulted on her loan BEFORE the COVID moratorium on rent.
I lived in Kim’s apartment for a year which felt like hell. She doesn’t allow any visitors to the apartment I pay $2000 a month for. My apartment doesn’t even have heaters and she gave me a small electronic heater. I remember how cold the apartment would get during the winter. Things kept getting worse later on, I would get letter from con Edison saying the landlord has not paid them for a long time now and the electricity in common areas would be shut down. She also threatened me during my last months of staying. I remember coming home after a long day of working feeling stressed out all the time. I wish there was an app where tenant can expose bad landlords. I’m so glad I moved out and I’m so so glad this article is published. Karma.
Sister
Kym needs medical help.. since early childhood she has exhibited serious mental issues:which unfortunately were left untreated. As an adult Kym behaviour turned into a yiolent delusional monster. Who I blame for the sudden death of our mother, coincidentally, during the same moment of her court trial. The property was never Kim’s, she forged documents, then duped the Supreme Court.
THANKS MOM??? Ur response to someone’s text????
MISSY(aka kym) IN CASE U HAVE FORGOTTEN MOM DIED 2019!