The William Vale Owner Says the Hotel Has a Squatter

The William Vale hotel apparently has a squatter who was also a co-developer on the luxury lodging, according to a new lawsuit.
Photo: Alamy

The William Vale apparently has a squatter. And in an interesting twist, the alleged squatter is Zelig Weiss, who co-developed the luxury hotel but lost it last year following a bankruptcy case. Per a complaint filed Monday in Brooklyn State Supreme Court (and featured in Crain’s, which first reported on the suit), Weiss has refused to leave a suite in the Williamsburg hotel despite several requests to vacate from the new owner, Eos Hospitality. Eos is hoping a judge will evict Weiss and make him pay his bill — which could be more than $200,000 according to current pricing.

The William Vale, which opened on North 12th Street in 2016, has quite a messy record. Eos’ purchase of the hotel in June 2024, for a sum of around $177 million, followed years of legal battles between Weiss and his former partner and Vale co-developer, Yoel Goldman. Shortly after the hotel first opened, Goldman sued Weiss for allegedly trying to muscle him out of a number of their investments. The pair settled but would eventually return to court over allegations of financial mismanagement at the William Vale. In 2021, Goldman’s company, All Year Holdings, filed for bankruptcy, per Crain’s. Weiss made several attempts to purchase the William Vale beyond his 50 percent ownership stake but eventually called it quits in late 2023. The following spring, a bankruptcy judge green-lit the sale to Eos. (If you would like to read more about the truly labyrinthine legal saga and layers of ownership drama, you can do so here.)

But Weiss allegedly stuck around after the hotel sold. In August 2024, after a previous attempt to get him out, Eos gave Weiss a notice to leave the property by September 2024, which came and went. We don’t know which suite Weiss has allegedly made his home, but in early July, the cheapest one, a 325-square-foot room that looks like a minimalist crash pad with a private balcony, was going for $341 a night. The most expensive available, which is currently $579 a night, is a 550-square-foot one-bedroom and comes with a king bed and a private balcony, but also a “spa-like master bathroom” complete with a Kohler soaking tub, per the hotel’s website.

According to court documents, Weiss isn’t staying there out of necessity. He apparently has an apartment on Skillman Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Maybe he just likes the pool?