The woebegone Williamsburg hostel, Zip112, has reopened.
The hotel, which is carved out of a duplex loft on N. Sixth Street, was briefly shuttered after a city raid on March 26, only to reopen after inspectors found a second emergency exit.
But the hostel’s landlord, Soonbin Kim, ordered Zip112 owner Young Yang to close, fearing city fines against his building at Berry Street.
This week, though, Kim relented, allowing Yang to remain while the building is brought up to code.
“We are still issuing violations to the building owner for occupancy contrary to the building’s records and for lacking secondary means of egress [elsewhere in the building],” said a Department of Buildings spokeswoman.
The good news for Yang is that he can now tell guests that their reservations will be honored. Zip112’s room reservation system returned online last Thursday, though the site has been removed from www.hostelworld.com. Yang estimates that more than one-third of his guests have canceled.
“It’s like chaos,” said Yang. “The city said OK, but the owner had said I have to move out. There’s so little time that I have to deal with these hassles while preparing for my guests.”
