January 26, 2018

State Senator Brian Kavanagh Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou Council Member Margaret Chin
250 Broadway, Room 2011 250 Broadway, Room 2212 101 Lafayette Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10007 New York, NY 10007 New York, NY 10013

Congressmember Nydia Velazquez Comptroller Scott Stringer Borough President Gale Brewer
500 Pearl Street, Suite 973 1 Centre Street 1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007 New York, NY 10007 New York, NY 10007

Public Advocate Letitia James
1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
Commissioner Rick Chandler
NYC Department of Buildings
280 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer
NYC Department of Housing Preservation
and Development
100 Gold Street
New York, NY 10038

Dear Senator Kavanagh, Assemblymember Niou, Council Member Chin, Congressmember Velazquez,
Comptroller Stringer, Borough President Brewer, Public Advocate James and Commissioners
Chandler and Torres-Springer,

We are writing with regard to the developments at 85 Bowery and our ongoing work to repair building
infrastructure and make the property safe for habitation. Our team is committed to getting families
back safely into their homes as quickly as possible and we know it is crucial to keep all of your offices
updated on our construction progress on an ongoing basis. We would welcome any additional site
visits from your offices throughout this process in order to review our work and progress.

We understand this is an extremely difficult time for the families of 85 Bowery and we greatly
appreciate the work that all of your offices have done. Your swift action and close attention to this
situation have once again demonstrated your deep commitment to supporting the rights and well-being
of tenants in Chinatown, the Lower East Side and throughout New York City.

Ever since the City executed its vacate order for 85 Bowery, our team has worked diligently each day,
including weekends, to clear out debris, remove obstructions and prepare the site in compliance with
the DOB’s rigorous structural stability requirements. To date, we have removed approximately 120
yards of debris and 60 years’ worth of finishes from the 85 Bowery ground-floor retail space, the
presence of which would have made it impossible to perform work on the property’s stairwell.

We have hired an architect, general contractor and structural engineer whose expertise is needed to
safely and effectively perform work on the property’s stairwell. These individuals and their companies
are all in contact with the City with regard to documentation for their ongoing work and expert
recommendations.

Based on the reviews conducted by these experts and the structural safety requirements laid out by the
DOB, it has become clear that safely removing and replacing the stairwell will require additional time
beyond February 1. We have been advised that acting too hastily to remove and replace the stairwell
would be counterproductive and do additional damage to the structural stability of the building, thus
making it even more difficult to get families safely back into their homes. Our team is committed to
balancing the need to complete this work as quickly as possible with the need to ensure that it is being
done safely. We will continue to provide your offices with ongoing updates on the status of this work.

As we have previously noted, aside from the work required to remove and replace the property’s
stairwell, this situation has been compounded by the DOB’s discovery of other safety hazards at 85
Bowery as a result of many of the building’s apartments being illegally converted to single room
occupancy (SRO) units. This unauthorized renovation work was done without our knowledge or
consent. This unauthorized work put all the building’s occupants at greater risk by leading to
dangerous overcrowding, blocked fire escapes and other safety hazards. We are working in
coordination with DOB officials to comprehensively address this issue and ensure that all units in 85
Bowery are safe for habitation.

We thank you for your tireless work on this issue and will make ourselves available to your offices at
any time to further discuss our shared goal of getting families back safely into their homes as quickly
as possible.

Sincerely,

Bowery 8385 LLC