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East Village's Stage Restaurant Is Being Evicted Over Allegedly Illegal Gas Piping
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Apr 14, 2015
Modified Apr 14, 2015
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Via Yelp
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Apr 14, 2015
Modified Apr 14, 2015
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The Stage Restaurant has been served an eviction notice by its landlord, over allegations that the restaurant's owner illegally installed gas piping in the basement of its building.
The restaurant, located at 128 Second Avenue, has been shuttered since investigators found the shady piping last month and slapped the building with a stop work order. The building's landlord, Icon Realty, claims restaurant owner Roman Diakun had been siphoning gas from pipes meant to feed the residential units, an allegation Diakun denies.
And, as first reported by WNYC yesterday, Icon's attorneys have since given Diakun and the restaurant an eviction notice. "A notice was served today terminating the Stage’s tenancy at the building because of the unauthorized and dangerous alterations the Stage made," an attorney for Icon told us in a statement.
Tenants at 128 Second Avenue have been without gas since the end of March thanks to the stop work order, though they say they've been plagued with gas, heat and other quality-of-life issues since Icon took over the building in 2013. Diakun and Icon have been at odds over the gas piping installation, and a resident told EV Grieve that a recent Department of Buildings complaint about a Stage customer "reporting a restaurant hooking up gas pipes" was a "bogus claim."
The Stage has been located at 128 Second Avenue since 1980. Last week, Diakun's son circulated a petition aiming to keep the restaurant in business. As of this morning, that petition has 1,000 supporters, including one supporter claiming to be Dame Helen Mirren.
Here's the eviction notice in full:
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128 second avenue
east village
icon realty
stage deli
stage restaurant
Rebecca Fishbein
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