urbanSTL

KMOV interviews residents at Ely Walker. There is no mention of Alston and Chakraverty. 
https://www.kmov.com/2022/04/27/dozens- ... ck-safety/

I have gotten communication from Smith Management saying that they have been trying to make repairs to the building, but are being blocked by the board controlled by Sid Chakraverty and Lux Living.  The current state of the building lies squarely with Lux Living.  Ely Walker has been labeled a problem property by "city leaders", and the problem property unit of the city is supposed to meet with building management to make "recommendations on how to improve the safety of the property".  I doubt that one meeting is enough.  The problems at Ely Walker require commitment and continuous attention, as do the problems with downtown St. Louis in general.

https://www.kmov.com/2022/04/26/city-le ... d-parties/

OriginalElyWalkerOwner wrote: ↑

Apr 30, 2022

I have gotten communication from Smith Management saying that they have been trying to make repairs to the building, but are being blocked by the board controlled by Sid Chakraverty and Lux Living.  The current state of the building lies squarely with Lux Living.  Ely Walker has been labeled a problem property by "city leaders", and the problem property unit of the city is supposed to meet with building management to make "recommendations on how to improve the safety of the property".  I doubt that one meeting is enough.  The problems at Ely Walker require commitment and continuous attention, as do the problems with downtown St. Louis in general.

https://www.kmov.com/2022/04/26/city-le ... d-parties/

It honestly might be worth publicizing your communications with Smith Management. Sid & Co. deserve all the bad press they can get, and this is low even by their standards.

And some more updates on the new scrutiny on short term rental issues, specifically Lux Living & Ely Walker:

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... 4ff6b.html

But now the brothers’ downtown holdings, particularly Ely Walker Lofts, are drawing new scrutiny from city officials and downtown residents. Tenants and other property owners downtown have complained about parties — some, they say, rented through websites such as Airbnb — getting out of control and damaging property in the 184-unit building at 1520 Washington Avenue. A party at the building last May spilled out into the street and led to an infamous incident when partiers danced on a police patrol car.

And even more annoying, is Lux's owner's response claiming they're not responsible, when Chakraverty owns another LLC that is promoting on Airbnb:

Though there are short-term rentals through Airbnb throughout the city, the city’s focus on improving quality of life downtown has for the moment focused the spotlight on the Ely Walker building and Alston and Chakraverty.
Ira Berkowitz, a lawyer for many of the brothers’ companies, denied that his clients do any short-term rentals at Ely Walker.
“There’s absolutely no short-term leasing,” Berkowitz said. “There’s no short-term Airbnbs or anything else through my client at Ely Walker. Zero.”
“We will not tolerate short-term leasing at Ely Walker,” he said.
But a company called “TheSTAY” had a unit advertised this week on Airbnb at a location that appears to match the Ely Walker building’s address, according to the website’s map. Chakraverty is the registered agent for “TheStay LLC,” Missouri business filings say.

Really looks like Lux Living's owners are simply trying to play the shell LLC game and spin some false narratives to make it harder for them to be held accountable.

Laife Fulk wrote: ↑

May 05, 2022

And some more updates on the new scrutiny on short term rental issues, specifically Lux Living & Ely Walker:

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... 4ff6b.html

But now the brothers’ downtown holdings, particularly Ely Walker Lofts, are drawing new scrutiny from city officials and downtown residents. Tenants and other property owners downtown have complained about parties — some, they say, rented through websites such as Airbnb — getting out of control and damaging property in the 184-unit building at 1520 Washington Avenue. A party at the building last May spilled out into the street and led to an infamous incident when partiers danced on a police patrol car.

And even more annoying, is Lux's owner's response claiming they're not responsible, when Chakraverty owns another LLC that is promoting on Airbnb:

Though there are short-term rentals through Airbnb throughout the city, the city’s focus on improving quality of life downtown has for the moment focused the spotlight on the Ely Walker building and Alston and Chakraverty.
Ira Berkowitz, a lawyer for many of the brothers’ companies, denied that his clients do any short-term rentals at Ely Walker.
“There’s absolutely no short-term leasing,” Berkowitz said. “There’s no short-term Airbnbs or anything else through my client at Ely Walker. Zero.”
“We will not tolerate short-term leasing at Ely Walker,” he said.
But a company called “TheSTAY” had a unit advertised this week on Airbnb at a location that appears to match the Ely Walker building’s address, according to the website’s map. Chakraverty is the registered agent for “TheStay LLC,” Missouri business filings say.

Really looks like Lux Living's owners are simply trying to play the shell LLC game and spin some false narratives to make it harder for them to be held accountable.

Airbnb really needs tougher (or any?) rules against operators like this, the website was started as a way for people to rent out their own homes not for these types of quasi-hoteliers to skirt hospitality laws. This would probably be a quicker and more efficient way of cracking down on these problem operators, but I doubt the company will do anything unless it affects their bottom line.

dweebe wrote:

_nomad_ wrote: ↑

May 05, 2022

Laife Fulk wrote: ↑

May 05, 2022

And some more updates on the new scrutiny on short term rental issues, specifically Lux Living & Ely Walker:

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... 4ff6b.html
And even more annoying, is Lux's owner's response claiming they're not responsible, when Chakraverty owns another LLC that is promoting on Airbnb:
Really looks like Lux Living's owners are simply trying to play the shell LLC game and spin some false narratives to make it harder for them to be held accountable.

Airbnb really needs tougher (or any?) rules against operators like this, the website was started as a way for people to rent out their own homes not for these types of quasi-hoteliers to skirt hospitality laws. This would probably be a quicker and more efficient way of cracking down on these problem operators, but I doubt the company will do anything unless it affects their bottom line.

'Like a ghost town': how short-term rentals dim New Orleans’ legacy
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... rm-rentals

New Orleans Bans Airbnb-Style Rentals From Garden District, Most of French Quarter
https://www.afar.com/magazine/new-orlea ... ch-quarter

Honolulu Now Requires 90-Day Rentals Outside of Resort Areas
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/h ... rm-rentals

You Can No Longer Rent Airbnbs For 1 Night In Chicago As City Cracks Down On Partying
https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/09/09 ... -partying/

Thousands of online listings are violating L.A.’s new short-term rental law
https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... violations

Talk about taking a good thing and making it into something bad. Shouldn't have to come to this

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Thanks for the posts.  I want to take a moment to say that Terrion Smith's murder is still unsolved, and that there have been no updates about who shot and killed him.  He worked at Ballpark Village, and one of my neighbors at Ely worked with him.  He was someone's son.

The mayhem occurring at Ely Walker is a city-wide problem, and requires the attention of city leadership.  These kinds of crimes have been occurring in North City for decades, and now have more coverage since it has moved to downtown.  Fixing it requires addressing root causes of crime (poverty and disinvestment), while at the same time providing immediate and effective responses to crime when it occurs (law enforcement).  We need to demand urgent action from City Hall and from each other.

It is not okay that a 16-year old boy is dead because he wanted to party.  It is not okay that a bystander in the building lobby was shot.  It is not okay that there are no leads.  It is not okay that residents at Ely spend their days and nights behind locked doors, unable to leave their apartments without first calculating whether they might get shot when they ride the elevator.  It is not okay that Lux Living has continuously ignored the concerns of their tenants and the people they own the building with.  It is not okay that the city has done nothing except plead with people to stop settling scores with guns.  It is not okay that Lux Living seems untouchable.

St. Louis, like the Ely Walker building, is beautiful, historic and full of promise.  If we only had the will to take care of it, and make it better day after day after day.

Downtown money machine rolls on and they don't take prisoners. Just my opining. 

Alston and Chakraverty fail as landlords across their portfolio.  As developers, they probably get a passing grade.  With the city demanding developers who receive incentives own their properties for x amount of time, it's not surprising to see this thing manifest.  Wouldn't we just be better off to allow a developer to build and sell to a buyer who has building management experience and track record?  If the incentives sweeten the deal for the developer, so what.  More and better managed buildings sounds like a win.  In lieu of that scenario, the City must vet developer building management capabilities before handing over the dough.  The info on these two brothers has been out there for awhile.  No way there wasn't awareness.  

A simple fix is to ban one night stays and start charging more. $99 for an entire loft is just affordable enough for some teenagers.

^ Certainly a start!

Looks like a resident of the Ely Walker posted in the comments of the Lux Living article that the fire suppression system in the building hasn't worked in months and is under fire watch. Is there not a limit on how long a building can remain without a working fire suppression system without losing occupancy permits?

It's one thing when elevators break in one apartment building since that becomes an ADA/mobility issue, but how hard is it to fix the fire suppression system in another? Sure, it takes some work and money but on a building as large as Ely Walker, you certainly do not want it accidentally turning into the next 3949.

What is 3949?

3949 Lindell

viewtopic.php?p=6350#p6350

I don't know what's worse and/or more embarrassing. The Ely Walker lofts situation, Raphael apartments maintenance issues, or the Kingshighway/Oakland debacle. All three could/will have negative consequences and they have to know that. 

The criticism and negative press won't stop by sending a lawyer after each person who dares to raise their concerns and/or voice their opinions. Intimidation should never work in a situation like this, yet it apparently does. Remember: They subpoenaed that resident at the Hudson who spoke out on the issues there and demanded to see his text messages to other residents and the developer of the Expo to see if they were colluding (https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... fb7dd.html). If that's not an intimidation tactic into silencing people who might raise concerns, then I don't know what is. But intimidation is always common.

It makes you wonder what other issues are out there in the older properties that we're not aware of.

doellingd wrote: ↑

Aug 05, 2022

“Ely Walker's hearing is set for 10 a.m. Sept. 7 before the city condominium board. The city's public safety director will then ask a judge to grant an "order of abatement," which could result in the building being closed for up to a year.”

168 families could lose their homes because of the Lux Living / CityWide board's irresponsibility and negligence.

City issues nuisance notice, condemnations for controversial Ely Walker Lofts / POST DISPATCH  

This right here is terrifying. Negligence and incompetence that can seem harmless at first can now result in 168 families being pushed out for an extended period of time, some are unlikely to easily find temporary housing. 

Are there other measures the city could take? I seem to recall the reporter mentioning condemnation of the nuisance units being a possibility. If their units are condemned could they then lose their voting privileges and thus control of the condominium board? A simple change in condominium rules and management would seem the best solution here. Allow the people that actually live there to run the place, as was originally intended. They've invested in it, after all. I suspect they want to see their investment succeed.