(DNAINFO) Gwynne Hogan — The landlord who let five tenements deteriorate into total disrepair over nearly 20 years, removed some of the building’s back walls without a permit, clearing the way for the the city to order their demolition, according to housing advocates and Department of Building records.

The five apartment buildings are on Ninth Avenue, between 37^th and 38^th Streets, a small area that was protected from any kind of demolition by the Hudson Yards rezoning.

That protected strip runs on either side of Ninth Ave. between 35^th and 41^st Streets, according to the text and maps of the 2009 rezoning, and was meant to preserve affordable housing and the character of the neighborhood, according to community members who helped draft it.

Source: Landlord of Derelict Ninth Ave Buildings Exploits a Loophole: Advocates – Hell’s Kitchen & Clinton – DNAinfo.com New York