NY AG To Investigate Esplanade Senior Residence's Plan To Kick Seniors Out, Create Luxury Apartments

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — The New York Attorney General's Office is launching an investigation into a White Plains senior living complex amid a plan to push seniors out so the building can be converted into luxury apartments.

Seniors living at the Esplanade Senior Residence on South Broadway voiced outrage after they were sent a letter in November informing all 150 residents that they will have to move out by mid-2016 so the 15-story building can be redeveloped.

"We are looking into the matter," AG spokesman Doug Cohen told The Journal News. Though Cohen wouldn't elaborate, he described the action as "an inquiry," The Journal News reported.

President of the Esplanade Residents Association, Harold Gillet, told CBS2 last month that he and other residents wouldn't be moving out without a fight.

"There are a lot of sick people here who came here figuring this is the last stop for them for their lives and it's destroying them and their families," the 90-year-old said.

A spokesperson for the Esplanade said the building complex was offering to assist residents in finding new homes and that anyone who has trouble finding a new place can move to temporary rooms in another building right across the street.

But Gillet said he's not buying into the vague promises.

The city of White Plains still has to review and approve the plan before anything can happen.