March 25, 2026 NEW YOIRK, NY For the six remaining tenants at 109 East 9th Street, home is no longer a sanctuary—it’s a combat zone.

Between 3rd and 4th Avenues sits a five-story pre-war SRO (single-room-occupancy) building that has become the center of a vitriolic legal and personal feud. On one side: long-term residents who claim their lives are being dismantled brick by brick. On the other: a landlord who insists he’s the victim of a high-stakes shakedown.

“A Living Hell”: The Tenants’ Case

Since MGNY Consulting took over in June 2021, residents say the building has been intentionally steered toward ruin. Of the 14 original units, only six remain occupied. The rest? Padlocked.

Peterson Beckwith, a resident since 1991, paints a grim picture of "systematic abuse." He alleges the landlord has gutted communal infrastructure to make the building uninhabitable.

• The Bathrooms: With the main facilities torn out, Beckwith says he must trek to different floors just to find a working toilet.

• The Kitchen: The communal cooking area is gone, forcing low-income tenants to rely on expensive takeout.

• The "Cold Floor" Effect: Tenants claim interior demolition in vacant units has left the remaining homes freezing and structurally suspect.

“We have all experienced anxiety, fear, and stress,” Beckwith says. The Department of Buildings (DOB) database supports the chaos, showing 30 complaints since 2021 and a partial vacate order issued last November after inspectors found exposed wooden joists and broken floors.

“They’re Targeting Me for Money”: The Landlord’s Defense

Michael Geylik, the man behind MGNY, doesn't just deny the claims—he fires back with accusations of his own. Operating his office right on the ground floor, Geylik characterizes the dispute as a coordinated attempt at extortion.

Geylik claims he inherited a building riddled with decades-old violations and "illegal" plumbing. According to him, his attempts to modernize the building were thwarted by:

1. Structural Instability: Geylik cites the April 2024 earthquake as the reason for a massive crack that halted construction. "The engineer told me, 'Michael, you have to be crazy... the building might collapse,'" he claims.

2. The "Buyout" Hustle: Geylik alleges tenants are refusing to leave solely because they want a larger payday.

3. Illegal Alterations: He claims tenants have performed their own unpermitted work inside their rooms and even questioned if the building is Beckwith’s primary residence.

The Boiling Point

The tension reached a fever pitch this Tuesday during a site visit. In a scene resembling a courtroom drama, Geylik and tenant Thomas Dukleth engaged in a heated hallway standoff. Geylik demanded the press be allowed into tenant rooms to see "hidden" illegal work; tenants, backed by the Cooper Square Committee, refused, citing legal counsel.

As the HPD recently rescinded Geylik’s "Certificate of No Harassment," the landlord is now legally compelled to fix the bathrooms. Whether that brings peace or just more fuel to the fire remains to be seen.

In the East Village, the bricks are crumbling, the lawyers are billing, and for six New Yorkers, "home" is a word that currently comes with a heavy dose of trauma.