Court of Appeals Allows Historic Clock to be Closed to the Public and Converted

Landmarks acted within its authority when it approved the LLC’s certificate of appropriateness. On March 28, 2019, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the Certificate of Appropriateness granted the Landmarks Preservation Commission for 346 Broadway in 2014 was proper, reversing two lower courts’ decision. In 1987, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 346 Broadway as an interior landmark. The designation included the building’s banking hall and the 13th floor clock tower, which houses … <Read More>


Landlord Fined $53,100 for Residential Tenants’ Illegal Transient Use

The Appellate Division affirmed fines for illegal conversion of residential units as hotel rooms. 360 West 43rd Street is a 28-story, 264 rent-stabilized unit building in Midtown, Manhattan. On June 5, 2015, the owner sent three tenants a letter advising them that their leases would be terminated and they would be evicted if they continued illegally renting out the apartments for hotel use.



UES Tenement Development To Keep Landmark Status Despite Owner’s Lawsuit

Building owners claimed landmark status caused financial hardship. Stahl York Avenue Co., LLC, tenement development owner of 429 East 64th Street and 430 East 65th Street in the Upper East Side, sued the City and the Landmark Preservation Commission in January 2016, asking the court to release the property landmark status in order to permit demolition and construct new high-rises for larger profits. Stahl York Avenue sought to demolish the two buildings, which are part … <Read More>


City Mandatory Rental Terms Violated State Law

Rental Assistance program sought to establish lease renewal and limit rent increases based on rent stabilization regulations. In 2015, prospective tenants Regina Alston and Sandra Vaughn-Cooke inquired about apartment vacancies at Spring Creek Towers. Starrett City, Inc. owns Spring Creek Towers, located in the East New York neighborhood in Brooklyn. Spring Creek Towers is an apartment complex with 5,881 apartments. Alston and Vaughn-Cooke both had Living in Communities (LINC) rental vouchers. Starrett City, Inc. … <Read More>


Court of Appeals Rules Tenant’s West Village Apartment Is No Longer Rent-Stabilized

Post-vacancy increases included in calculation for rent stabilization deregulation. On April 26, 2018, the New York Court of Appeals held that vacancy increases are included in determining if the rent amount triggers deregulation of a rent-stabilized apartment. Richard Altman sued 285 West Fourth LLC, its landlord, asking the court to declare that his apartment is subject to rent stabilization and requiring the landlord to offer Altman a rent-stabilized lease. Rent stabilization provides tenants with rates … <Read More>