ADM. APPEAL DOCKET NO. DD-430022-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
------------------------------------X
IN THE MATTER OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE : ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL
APPEAL OF DOCKET NO.
DD-430022-RO
:
D.R.O. DOCKET NO.
CF - 430116 - B
S & M ENTERPRISES
PETITIONER :
------------------------------------X
ORDER AND OPINION GRANTING PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
IN PART AND MODIFYING RENT ADMINISTRATOR'S ORDER
On April 6, 1989, the above-named petitioner-owner filed an
Administrative Appeal against an order issued on March 17, 1989, by
the District Rent Administrator, 92-31 Union Hall Street, Jamaica,
New York, concerning the housing accommodations known as 207 East
85th Street, New York, N.Y., Various Apartments.
The issue herein is whether the District Rent Administrator
properly reduced the maximum legal rent of apartment 4-FW, and
properly directed restoration of services to the rent stabilized
tenants who signed the complaint.
The District Rent Administrator's order, appealed herein,
reduced the maximum legal rent of Apartment 4-FW by $30.00 per
month, effective on the first rent payment date following the issue
date of the order, pursuant to Section 2202.16 of the Rent and
Eviction Regulations. The order further specified that the owner
had not filed an answer and that:
ADM. APPEAL DOCKET NO. DD-430022-RO
(x) Based upon an inspection,
the rent is reduced as follows: AMOUNT(S) FOR
RENT CONTROLLED
SERVICE(S) APARTMENTS ONLY
1. The front entrance door is broken. $5.00
2. There is evidence of a foul odor in
in the vestibule area. 3.00
3. The lights are inoperative in the
public area of the vestibule. 5.00
4. The lights are inoperative in the rear
yard. 5.00
5. There is debris under the stairwell in
the east wing of the building. 3.00
6. The basement door lock is missing. 5.00
7. There are broken mailboxes in subject
premises. 4.00
The order also directed the owner pursuant to Section
2520.6(r) of the Rent Stabilization Code to restore services to the
required level by correcting the above conditions for rent
stabilized tenants but did not order a rent reduction because the
tenants did not request one.
On appeal, the petitioner-owner substantially alleges that the
District Rent Administrator's order of March 17, 1989, erroneously
found that it had failed to interpose an answer below when an
answer was actually submitted on September 23, 1988 and if the
answer had been considered, no rent reduction would have been
ordered.
After a careful consideration of the entire evidence of record
the Commissioner is of the opinion that the administrative appeal
should be granted in part.
On June 29, 1988, six tenants joined in the filing of a
statement of Complaint of Building-wide Services. The complaint
alleged inter alia that the main door is defective, the outer door
is defective, the vestibule is poorly illuminated allowing
prostitutes to enter and use this area, the rear yard is dark at
night inviting break-ins, there is garbage accumulation under the
staircase, there is no lock on the basement door, and many of the
mail boxes are broken.
An inspection of the subject building was conducted by a DHCR
inspector on February 22, 1989. The report of inspection revealed
the conditions cited in the Administrator's order.
A review of the file shows that the owner's answer was
received by the District Rent Administrator. In that answer, the
ADM. APPEAL DOCKET NO. DD-430022-RO
owner asserted that the main door has a new locking device that is
repaired when necessary, that the outer door is not defective but
the tenants just want a different door, that the lighting in the
vestibule is adequate, that there has never been lighting in the
rear yard, that there is no garbage accumulation and that the
mailboxes have been repaired.
Based on the fact that the owner's answer was received and
considered, the Commissioner finds that the owner did not default
below.
However, it is also apparent that the owner's claim on appeal
that no rent reduction is warranted is not supported by the record.
Section 2202.16 of the Rent and Eviction Regulations
authorizes a decrease in the maximum rent in an amount determined
by the Administrator where it is found that there has been a
decrease in essential services required to be provided.
The Commissioner finds that contrary to the owner's
allegations, all the conditions for which the rent was reduced were
included in the complaint and were found to be defective by the
inspector. The tenants' description of the activities going on in
the vestibule as a result of the poor lighting sufficiently puts
the owner on notice of the foul odor problem. Moreover, the
inspector clearly reported that the lights in the vestibule and the
rear yard were inoperative, not that they were nonexistent. For
these conditions as well as the defective front door lock, debris
in the stairwell, and missing basement door lock, a rent reduction
is clearly warranted. As for the broken mail box, however, there
is no evidence in the record, that the mailbox of the tenant whose
rent was reduced was broken, and in the absence of such a finding,
the $4.00 rent reduction for this item must be revoked.
Accordingly, the owner's claims in its answer below and on
appeal to the effect that essential services, which were the
subject of the original reduction order were fully restored are
without merit, insofar as they conflict with the findings of the
DHCR inspector.
The Commissioner notes that the tenant of apartment 4-FW
(Rostegui) is a Rent Controlled tenant and as such was not required
to request a reduction in rent as a precondition for receiving such
a reduction.
THEREFORE, in accordance with the provisions of the Rent and
Eviction Regulations for New York City, it is
ORDERED, that this petition be, and the same hereby is,
ADM. APPEAL DOCKET NO. DD-430022-RO
granted in part, and the Administrator's order be, and the same
hereby is, modified to delete the $4.00 rent reduction for the
broken mailbox.
ISSUED:
JOSEPH A. D'AGOSTA
Acting Deputy Commissioner
|
