544 W 27th Street. Image Credit: Google Maps

Tenants claimed a permanent residence in loft building. Loft tenants Maria Nazor and Peter Mickle have occupied units 4N and 4S of 544 West 27th Street in Chelsea since 1983 and 1995, respectively. In 2009, after two unsuccessful holdover proceedings, landlord Sydney Sol Group Ltd. (f/k/a Mushlam, Inc.) won a judgement of ejectment against Nazor and Mickle in New York County Supreme Court. In December 2010, the Supreme Court vacated the judgement of ejectment and granted the tenants leave to pursue their rights under the 2010 amendment to the Loft Law before the New York City Loft Board. The 2010 amendment protects tenants of buildings that were residentially occupied by two or more families between 2008 and 2009. (more…)

146 Wilson Street, Brooklyn. Image Credit: Google Maps

HPD performed an emergency excavation without giving owner time to comply. The Trustee of a family Trust hired three workers to excavate soil on the Trust’s Brooklyn property to fix an emergency condition at 146 Wilson Street, Brooklyn. The three workers were trapped when the excavation collapsed. The City Department of Buildings issued a full stop order to the Trustee for excavations without a permit. The Housing Preservation & Development Department then advised the Trustee that unless the Trust immediately obtained approval from the Buildings Department to do the work, HPD would correct the condition at the Trust’s expense. HPD gave the Trustee three days to request that Buildings approve. The Trust contacted Buildings the same day. HPD, however, commenced to correct the condition without waiting the three days. New York City subsequently billed the Trust for the remedial work in the amount of $338,592.56. (more…)

155 – 157 Meserole Street. Image Credit: Google Maps.

Neighbor alleged installation of windows in adjacent property interfered with use and enjoyment of his property. A disgruntled property owner claimed that his property was adversely affected when a neighboring building owner, 155 Meserole, LLC, installed new windows on its building. Leonard Sloninski, who owned the property adjacent to the 155 Meserole, LLC, complained to The Department of Buildings that the new windows lowered the value of his own building and prevented him from enjoying his property. Buildings issued a violation to 155 Meserole, LLC, charging that 155 Meserole, LLC had failed to obtain a permit to install the new windows. The Environmental Control Board dismissed the summons. Buildings appealed the decision, but the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings affirmed the dismissal of the violation. (more…)

200 Amsterdam Avenue Rendering Image Credit: SJP Properties

Advocates applaud decision while developers find decision deeply flawed. On February 15, 2020, the Committee for Environmentally Sound Development and the Municipal Art Society of New York,  won an Article 78 case regarding the construction of a 668 foot, 52-story condominium building located at 200 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. New York County Supreme Court Justice W. Franc Perry’s ruling requires the Department of Buildings to revoke the building permit and compel the developers, SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan America, to remove the floors that exceed what is permitted under the Zoning Resolution.

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Screen Shot of Department of State’s Rent Law Memorandum. Click the image to view the full memorandum.

Real estate community in state of confusion over 2019 Rent laws. On February 10, 2020, the Real Estate Board of New York Inc. (“REBNY’”), the New York State Associations of Realtors (“NYSAR”) and a host of residential real estate brokerages were granted a temporary restraining order, blocking the New York State Department of State’s guidance on broker commissions. The TRO comes in conjunction with their Article 78 filing seeking to invalidate the memorandum’s entire section prohibiting landlord’s brokers from collecting commissions from prospective tenants.

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