SOUTH : Landlords Accused of Safety Violations
The owners of the St. Regis Hotel have been charged with allowing the building to fall into disrepair, according to the city attorney’s office.
Donna F. Boorstin, 60, and her husband, Henry M. Boorstin, 66, were charged June 24 with 26 violations of fire, health and building and safety codes at the three-story, 60-room residential hotel, said Deputy City Atty. Michael R. Wilkinson.
In 1991, Donna Boorstin pleaded no contest to 10 code violations and was ordered to pay $14,024 in fines, penalties and costs. When she failed to complete repairs by the court-ordered deadline, she was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 200 hours of community service.
At the time, violations at the hotel, at 230 W. 23rd St., included exposed wiring, plumbing problems, missing fire detectors, broken fire doors, cockroach infestation and trash accumulation, according to city documents. Boorstin brought the hotel back into compliance with the codes, but investigators uncovered new problems this year and issued repair orders in March. An inspection in April found that those repairs had not been made, Wilkinson said.
James LeTourneau, an attorney representing the Boorstins, said the couple have been “doing everything they can to fix it up” but are in poor health.
The Boorstins are to be arraigned Aug. 5 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.
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