Landlord Drops Suit Against Tenant With Confederate Flags

EAST VILLAGE, NY — An East Village landlord who sued one of his tenants to try and force him to remove Confederate flags from his windows has dropped the suit days after filing it.

On Saturday, Yassky Properties, from the developer Charles Yassky, filed a lawsuit seeking to force one of his tenants in an East Village building to remove two Confederate flags prominently displayed in the tenant's window. The tenant, William Green, had displayed the flags for months in his fifth floor windows, and even illuminated them at night. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Green's flags have long frustrated community members but drew additional outrage last week in the wake of violent rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white supremacy and neo-Nazi groups protested the planned removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

Just days after filing the suit, Yassky withdrew it Monday afternoon. It was not immediately clear why Yassky chose to drop the lawsuit so abruptly,

"At this point, he feels it would be better to work it out with the tenant, Yassky's lawyer Robert Gumenick told the New York Post.

The building, near Avenue D and East Eighth Street, has been the source of intense frustration for community members over the last week.

Read Patch's previous coverage of this case here:

• VIDEO: Man Hurls Rocks At Confederate Flags In East Village Window
• Confederate Flags In East Village Apartment Covered By Tarps
• Confederate Flags In East Village Window Gets Tenant Sued

Lead image via Ciara McCarthy / Patch.