FF 110422-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.:
FF 110422-RO
GRENADIER REALTY CORP.,
RENT ADMINISTRATOR'S
DOCKET NO.:
PETITIONER FD 110184-S
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ORDER AND OPINION DENYING PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
On June 25, 1991 the above-named petitioner-owner filed a Peti-
tion for Administrative review against an order issued on June
17, 1991 by a Rent Administrator concerning the housing accommo-
dations known as 247-13 76th Avenue, Bellerose, New York,
Apartment 2, wherein the Administrator determined that the owner
had not maintained services and accordingly reduced the rents.
The Commissioner has reviewed all of evidence in the record and
has carefully considered that portion relevant to the issues
raised by the petition.
The tenant originally commenced the proceedings on April 9, 1991
by filing a complaint of a decrease n apartment services com-
plaining that the owner had failed to maintain adequate heat and
that there is a gas leakage from the tenant's kitchen stove.
The owner's answer requested additional time to make the neces-
sary repairs. It acknowledged that the tenant needed a new
stove. The answer also stated that a new one had already been
ordered, and that the owner would install it as soon as it
arrived. It concluded that the Administrator would be apprised
of the situation.
The record below contained no other communication from the owner.
An inspection of the subject apartment was conducted on May 30,
1991 by a Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR)
inspector who confirmed that the kitchen stove had a gas leak.
The inspection report had no heat reading because it was not
during the heating system.
In Docket Number FD 110184-S issued June 17, 1991, the District
Rent Administrator determined that the owner had failed to
maintain services based on the inspector's report, and directed
FF 110422-RO
the owner to reduce the rents of the subject apartment to the
former level in effect, prior to the most recent guidelines
increase, effective May 1, 1991, and to refund to the tenant the
amount of such increase since the effective date of the order.
The owner's petition states that, although the owner had already
ordered a new stove - which the DHCR had been informed of in the
owner's answer - the tenant agreed on May 6, 1991 to have its
stove repaired, after having refused two reconditioned ones. It
also states that a letter was sent to the tenant on May 20th, a
copy of which is enclosed with the petition, requesting that the
tenant call the office to arrange a time for the repair work,
but that the tenant did not do so. Also enclosed is a letter to
the DHCR dated May 21, 1991, summarizing the events as of that
date. Finally, the owner encloses a letter to the DHCR dated
June 12, 1991, and a postal receipt stamped with a delivery date
of June 17, 1991, the date of issuance of the order, stating that
all repairs had been made.
In answer to the petition, the tenant states that she filed the
complaint after a new stove she received in early 1991 proved to
be defective in that it emitted a gas odor. She asserts that the
maintenance men came to her apartment and agreed that there was a
smell of gas. She concedes that she refused delivery of t o re-
conditioned stoves because they were filthy. She says that two
repairmen came in May 1991 and made some adjustments but they
were not effective and the gas odor persists. She denies that
she ever refused access.
The owner replied that the tenant refused a reconditioned stove
and refused to permit the repairmen to enter until June 12, 1991
when no evidence of a gas leak was found.
After careful consideration of the evidence of recor , the Com-
missioner is of the opinion that the petition should be denied.
Section 2523.4 of the Rent Stabilization Code authorizes a rent
reduction based on a finding that the owner has failed to
maintain required services. Section 2520.6(r) defines required
services as that space and those services which the owner was
maintaining or was required to maintain on the applicable base
date plus any additional space or services provided or required
to be provided thereafter by applicable law.
In the instant case the tenant's allegation of gas leakage from
the stove was confirmed by the Division's physical inspection of
the apartment on May 30, 1991. The owner's allegations regarding
a denial of access were not submitted to the Administrator and
are therefore beyond the scope of review of this administrative
appeal. Moreover, the owner's claim of denial of access is
disputed by the tenant and is not supported by any evidence such
as appointment letters sent by regular and certified mail and/or
affidavits of repairmen stating that access was refused.
FF 110422-RO
The owner is advised to file for restoration of the rent when the
gas leakage problem has been repaired, which the tenant stated in
her answer of August 6, 1991 was not yet done.
THEREFORE, in accordance with the Rent Stabilization Law and
Code, it is,
ORDERED, that the owner's 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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