BI 210243-RO
STATE OF NEW YORK
DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL
OFFICE OF RENT ADMINISTRATION
GERTZ PLAZA
92-31 UNION HALL STREET
JAMAICA, NEW YORK 11433
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IN THE MATTER OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
APPEALS OF DOCKET NO.:
BI 210243-RO
JANOFF & OLSHAN, INC.,
RENT ADMINISTRATOR'S
DOCKET NO.:
PETITIONER AL 210505-S
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ORDER AND OPINION DENYING PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW,
On September 11, 1987, the above-named petitioner-owner filed a
Petition for Administrative Review (PAR) against an order issued on
August 7, 1987, by the Rent Administrator at Gertz Plaza, Jamaica,
New York, concerning the housing accommodations know as Apartment
7-M, 52 Clark Street, Brooklyn, New York, wherein the Administrator
determined the tenant's complaint of a reduction of services filed
on December 23, 1986.
The challenged order reduced the tenant's rent based on the results
of an inspection conducted on June 4, 1987, that confirmed the
tenant's complaint of illegal wiring, in that the living room and
bedroom had loose wires in ceiling light fixtures. Other complaints
were not substantiated, or had been corrected in a timely manner.
The owner had advised the Administrator on February 5, 1987 that
the tenant had withdrawn the complaint in exchange for $200.00
compensation. No documentation in support of this allegation was
submitted.
On appeal, the owner requests that the rent reduction be revoked.
The owner reiterates the assertion below that the tenant had
effectively withdrawn the complaint. An unexecuted copy of the
agreement, submitted for the first time on appeal, provided that,
in exchange for certain enumerated repairs and two hundred dollars
($200.00), the tenant would withdraw the services complaint, as
well as an harassment complaint. The defective wiring was not
listed as a condition requiring repairs. As additional evidence
the owner submits the letter of June 30, 1987 from the Division's
Enforcement Bureau that the harassment complaint had been resolved,
and the cancelled check from the owner to the tenant, date stamped
January 27, 1987.
The owner also asserts that the defective wires condition is the
result of the tenant running extension cords from available outlets
for her convenience.
After careful consideration, the Commissioner is of the opinion
that the petition should be denied.
The evidence is not sufficiently probative to establish that the
parties executed the agreement alleged, withdrawing the services
complaint, in addition to resolving the harassment proceedings.
The owner's failure to provide an executed copy of the agreement,
although given the opportunity to do so in a request dated July 10,
1992, the fact that the check appears to have been drawn two months
prior to the draft of the agreement, the fact that a handwritten
endorsement on the reverse side of the check for "full settlement
of the Court Agreement" appears to be in a different handwriting
than that of the tenant's signature, all compel that the owner's
petition be denied. Moreover the agreement does not refer to the
defective wiring condition among the items that the owner agreed to
repair. The owner's contention that the wiring problem is caused
by the tenant's extension cords is preposterous since the condition
concerned loose wires in the ceiling fixtures.
Additionally, while it does not appear that the tenant responded to
the owner's petition, in compliance proceedings subsequent to the
order, the tenant indicated that the condition had not been
corrected. This statement is inconsistent with the tenant's pur-
ported but unsubstantiated allegation by the owner that the
complaint was withdrawn.
Division records further reveal that the complaining tenant vacated
in 1989. The owner has failed to apply for rent restoration. The
owner is advised to apply for rent restoration predicated on a
restoration of service, as the facts may warrant. A copy of the
instant order is being sent to the present occupant of the accommo-
dations.
THEREFORE, in accordance with the provisions of the Rent Stabiliza-
tion Law and Code, it is
ORDERED, that this petition be, and the same hereby is, denied and
that the Administrator's order be, and the same hereby is,
affirmed.
ISSUED:
JOSEPH A. D'AGOSTA
Acting Deputy Commissioner
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