ADM. REVIEW DOCKET NO.: FF 530143 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
APPEAL OF DOCKET NO.:
FF 530143 RO
: (Refile of FA 530061 RO)
DRO DOCKET NO.:
CB 530065 OR
DEBORAH JONES
PETITIONER :
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ORDER AND OPINION GRANTING PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW,
REVOKING ORDER DENYING RENT RESTORATION AND
GRANTING OWNER'S APPLICATION
FOR RENT RESTORATION
On June 5, 1991, the above named petitioner owner timely
refiled and perfected a Petition for Administrative Review (PAR)
against an order issued on December 27, 1990, by the Rent
Administrator at Gertz Plaza, Jamaica, New York, concerning the
housing accommodations known as 48-50 Pinehurst Avenue, New York,
NY, wherein the Administrator denied the owner's application to
restore rents previously reduced by $2.00 per month for rent
controlled tenants in D.R.O. Docket NO. CK 430061 B. Rent
reductions were granted on the ground that the exterior vestibule
door knob was missing. The rents for stabilized tenants were not
reduced, but the owner was directed to restore services.
The challenged order denied the owner's application for rent
restoration based on the results of an inspection conducted on
November 1, 1990 that showed that the exterior door knob was not
in place.
On appeal, the owner points out that, among other items, the
vestibule door knob was replaced shortly after the issuance of
the rent reduction order. In fact, in the rent restoration
proceedings herein under review, the owner had submitted a
contract, dated August 22, 1989, for the installation of a new
vestibule door, complete with inner and outer door knobs, and a
cancelled check, dated September 15, 1989, as proof of payment
for the installation. The owner surmises that the current, and
the prior occurrences, were due to vandalism, and requests that
the denial of the rent restoration application, as well as the
rent restoration order, be reversed. The owner also asserts that
the absence of the door knob does not deny entry or egress to any
ADM. REVIEW DOCKET NO.: FF 530143 RO
person with a key, and that no tenant denies the presence of door
knobs in the appeal or in the rent restoration proceedings.
The applicable law is Section 2202.16 of the Rent and
Eviction Regulations and Section 2520.6(r) and 2523.4 of the Rent
Stabilization Code.
After careful consideration, the Commissioner is of the
opinion that the petition should be granted.
The owner's submissions below, pertaining to the
installation of a new vestibule door, strongly suggested that the
owner had corrected the condition giving rise to the rent
reduction. A similar condition found on the November 1, 1990
inspection of new equipment constituted a separate unrelated
condition, presumably due to acts of vandalism, rather than the
owner's failure to make adequate repairs.
Based on the record, the Commissioner is of the opinion that
the owner's application for restoration of rent should have been
granted. The Administrator's order denying the rent restoration
application is, therefore, revoked. The maximum/legal regulated
rents are restored to the level in effect prior to the rent
reductions plus lawful increases.
For rent controlled tenants, the $2.00 rent restoration
shall be effective January 1, 1991, the first day of the month
following issuance of the Administrator's order.
The owner's further request, in this appeal of the denial of
the rent restoration application, that the underlying rent
reduction order be reversed constitutes an impermissible
collateral attack of a final determination wherein the issue was
addressed, and not challenged by a proper and timely
administrative appeal.
In further consequence of the doctrine of collateral
estoppel, the $2.00 per month rent controlled rent reductions
granted for Apartments Nos. 31 and 41, which were registered as
rent stabilized apartments on the date of the Administrator's
rent reduction order, may not be revoked but are terminated
effective April 1, 1990, the first day of the month following
service of the owner's rent restoration application on the rent
stabilized tenants.
Any arrears due the owner by the tenants as a result of the
order may be paid in equal monthly installments over the course
of the next two (2) months following issuance of this order.
The Commissioner does not take lightly the owner's claim of
vandalism. However, vandalism does not obviate the owner's
obligation to maintain the premises and to make prompt repairs.
The order is therefore issued without prejudice to the tenants'
right to file complaint for current service reductions.
THEREFORE, in accordance with the provisions of the Rent and
Eviction Regulations, the Rent Stabilization Code, Chapter 403,
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Laws of 1984, as amended by Chapter 102, Laws of 1984, it is
ORDERED, that the owner's petition be and the same hereby
is, granted; that the Administrator's order denying the owner's
application for rent restoration be and the same hereby is,
revoked, and that the owner's application for rent restoration be
and the same hereby is granted as provided above.
ISSUED:
JOSEPH A. D'AGOSTA
Acting Deputy Commissioner
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