ADM. REVIEW DOCKET NO.: CB230358RO
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
APPEAL OF DOCKET NO.:
CB230358RO
:
RENT ADMINISTRATOR'S
DOCKET NO.:
AL230094B
PREMISES: 1829 East 14th
St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
LISA KWONG,
PETITIONER :
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ORDER AND OPINION GRANTING PETITION IN PART AND REMANDING
PROCEEDING ON APPEAL
The above-named owner filed a timely petition for
administrative review of an order issued on October 27, 1987
concerning the housing accommodations relating to the above-
described docket number.
The issue in this appeal is whether the Administrator's order
was warranted.
The Commissioner has reviewed all of the evidence in the
record and has carefully considered that portion of the record
relevant to the issues raised by the administrative appeal.
The proceeding was commenced on December 4, 1986 by various
tenants filing a complaint of a decrease in numerous building-wide
services.
ADM. REVIEW DOCKET NO.: CB230358RO
On January 27, 1987, a copy of the tenants' complaint was
transmitted to the owner who filed an answer on February 17, 1987,
stating among other things:
*incinerator services had been discontinued in 1976
because a garbage room provides the essential service of
trash storage removal;
*there is sufficient lighting in the hallways; and
*the small garden area in the building is well-kept.
On April 7, 1987, an on-site inspection of the building was
conducted by a Division staff member who reported, in pertinent
part, that incinerator services had been discontinued and tenants
take their own garbage out, and that the lobby has insufficient
lighting (2 lights missing).
On June 25, 1987, another inspection found that in the lobby,
one light is inoperative.
Based on these inspections, the Administrator directed the
restoration of services and ordered rent reductions for the rent-
stabilized and rent-control tenants. The rents for the rent-
control tenants were reduced by $5.00 ($4.00 incinerator services,
$1.00 lobby light.)
In the petition for administrative review, the owner contends
in substance that she never received a copy of the original
complaint; that incinerator services had been discontinued for more
than 10 years; that there is sufficient lobby lighting; and that
the inoperative light fixture is not used for lighting but only to
install an electric polisher and other appliances.
On May 13, 1988, the Division mailed a copy of the owner's
petition to the tenants.
After careful consideration, the Commissioner is of the
opinion that this proceeding should be remanded on appeal.
The owner's alleged non-receipt of the tenants' complaint is
belied by the record. The Division mailed a copy of the tenants'
complaint to the owner who answered, addressing allegedly all the
issues raised by the tenants.
Although a search of rent control records reveals that garbage
disposal or incinerator services was not a base date service, the
ADM. REVIEW DOCKET NO.: CB230358RO
fact is that the parties admit that incinerator services were once
provided and later discontinued. The owner has registered trash
disposal/removal as one of the building services.
The Commissioner notes that where the owner is required by law
to shut down incinerator services and to place garbage cans on the
street, in the basement or in the rear courtyard, the tenants were
entitled to a level of service equivalent to that provided on the
base date, which may be door-to-door or floor-by-floor garbage
pick-up.
The relevant inquiry in this case is whether the owner
provided an adequate substitution for incinerator services. The
inspector's report on April 7 1987 vaguely states that the tenants
take their own garbage out. It is not clear whether the tenants
put their garbage in a trash disposal/remover on the same floor or
down to a garbage room in the basement or out into the streets.
Accordingly, the issue of garbage disposal is remanded to the
Administrator for further processing.
As to the defective lobby light, the Administrator's
determination was based upon on-site inspections which confirmed
the existence of an inoperative lobby light. The owner's bare
assertion in the petition that this inoperative light fixture was
not used for lighting but as a plug-in for appliances was not
raised in the proceeding below prior to the issuance of the order.
Thus, this unsubstantiated allegation is beyond the scope of
review, which is limited to the issues and evidence before the
Administrator.
If the owner has already complied with the Administrator's
order and there are arrears due to the owner as a result of the
instant determination, the tenants may pay off the arrears in
twelve (12) equal monthly installments. Should the tenant vacate
subsequent to the issuance of this order, said arrears shall be
payable immediately.
THEREFORE, in accordance with the Rent Stabilization Law and
Code and the Rent and Eviction Regulations, it is
ADM. REVIEW DOCKET NO.: CB230358RO
ORDERED, that this petition be, and the same hereby is,
granted in part to the extent that the Administrator's finding as
to incinerator services is revoked, that the Administrator further
process (by a re-inspection if necessary) how the tenants disposed
of trash in their building, whether the garbage room is on every
floor or whether the tenants have to go down into the basement
garbage room or outside the building. It is further ordered, in
all other respects, that the petition is denied and the
Administrator's order is affirmed.
ISSUED:
JOSEPH A. D'AGOSTA
Deputy Commissioner
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