
Addendum to Anyone Bidding on the 640 and 644 Riverside Drive Lotteries and Asking the Manhattan District Attorney or the New York State Attorney General to Investigate
Dear Redditor who read the 640 Riverside Drive Story asking folks bidding for the 640 Riverside Drive lottery to get a report from the Manhattan DA by emailing danyhousing@dany.nyc.gov.
You can find the original post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/nychousinglottery/comments/1vmto9j/anyone_bidding_for_640_riverside_drive_in/
The website to play the lottery is: https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/details/7484
This is a series of Q&A circulated by the Tenant Association board to the tenants.
Question 1) The ad invites people to buy shares in the co-op. Does this mean we are definitely going to convert to a co-op?
Answer: NO. Whether we go co-op or remain a rental depends on how many of us buy in. If a large majority of us don't buy in, we will not be allowed to convert to a co-op.
Question 2) If we fail to reach the necessary majority, what will happen to the outside people who paid to buy shares, and moved into the vacant apartments?
Answer: They will get their deposits back. If they have already moved into the apartment, they will have the option to sign a lease and remain here as rent-stabilized tenants.
Question 3) If some of us -- current residents -- pay our $2500 to buy a share, but not enough of us do so to reach the co-op threshhold, will we get our money back?
Answer: Yes
Although my hope is that nobody participates in the lottery so the AG and the DA are obligated to look into this non-profit because of its inability to unload the building to unsuspecting first-time buyers, I doubt Reddit has this power in a city of 8 million people dying for a roof. But I am posting the story here as proof that I have tried to whistleblow.
I have posted the story about our sister building, and some Redditors have won the lottery to buy in but are not sharing their stories yet: https://www.reddit.com/r/nychousinglottery/comments/1t6y4n6/anyone_bidding_for_park_towers_hdfc_or_644
Regards,
Theo Chino
I posted on https://640rsd.new-york.ny.us/agcomplain/Form%2008-17-2026T09-59-04.pdf the whole complaint.