logo CityLand
      • Home
      • About CityLand
      • CityLand Sponsors
      • Filings & Decisions
      • Commentary
      • Archive
      • Resources
      • CityLaw
      • Current Issue

    Owner personally liable for corporate violations


    Loft Board  •  Order  •  Chelsea, Manhattan
    03/15/2007   •    Leave a Comment

    Confusion existed in the closely held Limited Liability Corporation. In 2005, two tenants from 13 E. 17th Street filed a complaint with the Loft Board, claiming the building’s owner failed to install sprinklers as required and requesting fines. The tenants named Nathan Silverstein as the owner.

    In Silverstein’s first letter to the Loft Board, he listed the correct owner as “13 E. 17 LLC,” but all remaining documents, including his formal response to the tenants’ charges, contained only Silverstein’s name. Silverstein then personally appeared at the OATH hearing.

    OATH ALJ John B. Spooner recommended $7,000 in personal penalties against Silverstein, and the Loft Board agreed.

    Silverstein applied for reconsideration, arguing that the LLC was the correct building owner and due process required that the penalties be overturned. The Loft Board’s Executive Director Dianne E. Dixon disagreed and recommended denial. Recognizing that Silverstein transferred the property to the LLC in 1999, Dixon claimed that Silverstein personally qualified as an owner under the City’s Multiple Dwelling Law since he was directly or indirectly in control of the dwelling. Dixon’s recommendation pointed to Silverstein’s direct negotiations with the tenants, his name on permit applications, and the fact that he personally appeared at the earlier OATH hearing.

    The Loft Board upheld the personal penalties against Silverstein, ruling that allowing him to hide behind the LLC would thwart the Multiple Dwelling Law and the legalization process.

    Nathan Silverstein, Loft Bd. Order No. 3100 (Jan. 24, 2007). CITYADMIN

    Share this:

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email
    Tags : 13 E. 17th Street, Multiple Dwelling Law, Nathan Silverstein
    Category : Loft Board

    Comment on this article

    Click here to cancel reply.

    Subscribe To Free Alerts


    Follow Us on Social Media

    twitterfacebook

    Search

    Search by Category

      City Council
      CityLaw
      City Planning Commission
      Board of Standards & Appeals
      Landmarks Preservation Commission
      Economic Development Corporation
      Housing Preservation & Development
      Administrative Decisions
      Court Decisions
      Filings and Decisions
      CityLand Profiles

    Search by Date

    © 1997-2010 New York Law School | 185 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013 | 212.431.2100 | Privacy | Terms | Code of Conduct | DMCA | Policies