Landlord sued to evict tenants from six-unit building in order to provide apartment for son. Shlomo Karpen owns a six-unit, rent-stabilized building in Brooklyn comprised of two rented units on the first, second and third floors. In June 2018, Karpen notified the tenants in the rented apartments that he would not renew their leases and intended to take over the apartments to make a four-bedroom apartment for his son. In October 2018, Karpen commenced an eviction proceeding against the tenants. Before the case could be completed, the State Legislature passed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, which amended Rent Stabilization Law Section 26-511(c)(9) to provide that a landlord can recover only one apartment in a building for owner occupancy and must show compelling necessity. (read more…)

James E. Johnson, Corporation Counsel, speaks at the 170th CityLaw Breakfast.

On December 3, 2020 James E. Johnson, Corporation Counsel, spoke at the 170th CityLaw Breakfast. Mr. Johnson spoke on “The Common Good and the Municipal Lawyer: Managing Risk and Building Trust.” Professor Ross Sandler, Director of the Center for New York City Law provided opening remarks and Dean Anthony W. Crowell provided closing remarks. This Breakfast was sponsored by ConEdison, Greenberg Traurig, and Verizon. This was the fourth virtual CityLaw Breakfast as in-person events are not feasible at this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (read more…)

Even though the Supreme Court struck down race-based land use controls over a hundred years ago in Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 (1917) it has long been known that zoning continues to create or increase racial and economic segregation. Today communities across the U.S. are reexamining their zoning regulations to create more equal, equitable, inclusive, and resilient communities by removing requirements, limitations, or prohibitions that disproportionately and negatively impact individuals based on race or class. (read more…)

DEP required Jett Industries to clean channels at the Wards Island Wastewater Treatment Plant; Jett claimed that cleaning was extra work and sought an additional payment. Jett Industries, Inc. entered into an $116,969,000 contract with the Department of Environmental Protection to rehabilitate the settling system at the Wards Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. During the bidding process DEP, in response to bidders’ questions regarding the cleaning of tanks and channels, notified bidders that contractors were advised that “they are responsible for cleaning the tanks to a level that will allow for safe entry of their workers and for the performance of the work.” Jett thereafter submitted a bid and won the contract. (read more…)

Willis Avenue Bridge. Image Credit: Google Maps.

Construction work on the Willis Avenue Bridge caused flooding on adjacent property. In March 2007, the City acquired by condemnation property adjacent to the property owned by 82 Willis, LLC. The condemnation was in connection with the City’s reconstruction of the Willis Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River. (read more…)