DC 430263-RO; DC 410535-RO; DC 430355-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 NOS.:
DC 430263-RO;
DC 410535-RO;
DC 430355-RO
McALPIN HOTEL
By GRENADIER REALTY, RENT ADMINISTRATOR'S
DOCKET NOS.:
CE 430058-B
PETITIONER CF 410001-B
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ORDER AND OPINION GRANTING OWNER'S PETITIONS
FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW, AND REVOKING ADMINISTRATOR'S
RENT REDUCTION ORDERS
The above named petitioner-owner filed timely petitions for admin-
istrative review of orders issued on February 15, 1989, per Docket
No. CE 430058-B and on March 3, 1989 per Docket No. CF 410001-B, by
the Rent Administrator, concerning the housing accommodation known
as 50 West 34th Street, New York, New York, also known as the
McAlpin Hotel, wherein the Administrator determined the tenants'
complaints of building-wide service decreases.
The proceedings have been consolidated for disposition as they
involve common issues of law and fact.
Among other items the tenants' complaints had alleged that the
elevators stopped on incorrect floors, that the elevators skipped
floors and that the doors were defective.
The challenged order under Docket No. CE 430058-B directed rent
reductions based on the results of an inspection conducted on
December 21, 1988 that found two (2) of six (6) elevators, which
served all floors, out of service due to renovation. No defects
were reported for the four (4) elevators in operation. A prior
inspection report dated November 17, 1988 indicated that new
elevators were being installed. Other complaints of decreased
service were not substantiated.
DC 430263-RO; DC 410535-RO; DC 430355-RO
The challenged order under Docket No. CF 410001-B also directed
rent reductions based on inspections conducted on November 23, 1988
and December 20, 1988 that also reflected that two (2) of the six
(6) elevators were out of service due to renovation.
The November 23, 1988 inspection report also cited torn wallpaper
due to vandalism and some minor loose hallway molding, but that
work was in progress to install new wall covering. The December
20, 1988 inspection report cited no wallpaper defects but was
silent as to the wall molding. Other complaints of decreased
services were found to have been addressed or were not
substantiated.
In the appeals, as below, the owner points out that the elevator
interruptions were due to a modernization project at a substantial
cost to the owner, albeit pursuant to an order of the Court inde-
pendent of these proceedings, and noted that the work was scheduled
in stages so as to maintain adequate elevator service at all times.
The record establishes that, when the inspectors visited the prem-
ises, the elevators that were operating were not defective. Also
adequate elevator service was being maintained by four (4) eleva-
tors while the two (2) other units that served the same areas were
being upgraded.
Service interruptions arising in the course of maintenance and
upgrading are not, absent other factors, sufficient grounds for
imposing rent reductions normally imposed when maintenance and
repairs are lacking. The owner undertook a major elevator project
to modernize the equipment and should not have been penalized
because two (2) units were inoperative due to the upgrading.
The December 20, 1988 inspection per Docket No. CF 410001-B was
silent concerning the minor loose hallway wall molding reported per
the November 23, 1988 inspection. However, as the hallway renova-
tions under way on November 23, 1988 had been completed by December
20, 1988, the record suggests the loose molding condition was also
corrected. Consequently, it is likewise revoked as a basis for
rent reductions. Moreover, there was no indication in the record
that any tenants were adversely affected.
A third petition for administrative review filed by the owner,
inadvertently assigned Docket No. DC 410535-RO, is hereby termi-
nated as duplicative of the owner's administrative appeal under
Docket No. DC 430263-RO.
DC 430263-RO; DC 410535-RO; DC 430355-RO
Any arrears owed the owner by the tenants as a result of this order
may be paid by rent stabilized tenants over the course of the next
twelve (12) months, and by rent controlled tenants over the course
of the next three (3) months.
THEREFORE, in accordance with the Rent and Evictions Regulations,
the City Rent Control Law, and the Rent Stabilization Law and Code,
it is,
ORDERED, that the owner's petitions per Docket Nos. DC 430263-RO
and DC 430355-RO be granted and that the Rent Administrator's
orders per Docket Nos. CE 430058-B and CF 410001-B be revoked. It
is further
ORDERED, that the owner's petition per Docket No. DC 410535-RO be
terminated as duplicative.
ISSUED:
JOSEPH A. D'AGOSTA
Acting Deputy Commissioner
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