DOCKET NO.: FB230323RO
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. FB230323RO
: DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR'S
ABDURRAB KHAN, DOCKET NO. DL220006BO
: (BL224154BR)
PETITIONER
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ORDER AND OPINION DENYING PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
The above-named owner filed a timely petition for administrative review of
an order issued concerning the housing accommodations known as 236
Montgomery Street, Apts. 3C - F, Brooklyn, NY.
The Commissioner has reviewed all the evidence in the record and has
carefully considered that portion of the record relevant to the issues
raised by the petition.
The issue before the Commissioner is whether the Administrator's order was
correct.
The Administrator's order being appealed, DL220006BO was issued on January
25, 1991. In that order, the Administrator affirmed the finding of
BL224154BR, issued November 10, 1989, that the owner be denied eligibility
for a 1988/89 Maximum Base Rent (MBR) increase, due to the owner's failure
to meet the violation certification requirement necessary to the owner's
being granted an MBR increase, specifically the owner's failure to clear
all rent impairing violations of record at the subject premises.
On appeal the owner contends that the violations have been repaired. In
support of this contention the owner submits with the appeal copies of
cancelled checks allegedly representing payment to repairmen. The owner
also submits on appeal letters from the occupants of various apartments,
testifying to repair of specific violations within their apartments.
The Commissioner is of the opinion that this petition should be denied.
Section 2202.3(h) states that, in order for an owner to gain eligibility
to raise MBRs at a certain premises that owner must certify to the DHCR
that all rent impairing violations at that premises of record as of one
year before the effective date of the order of eligibility have been
cleared as of six months before the effective date. In the instant case,
the owner had to certify that all rent impairing violations of record as
of January 1, 1987 had been cleared as of July 1, 1987.
DOCKET NO.: FB230323RO
An inspection, conducted by the New York City Department of Housing
Preservation and Development (HPD) on October 10, 1990 disclosed that a
rent impairing violation first reported on January 7, 1986 (HPD# 499, Apt.
4B) had not yet been repaired. The owner included with his appeal a
letter from the occupants of Apt. 4B stating that violation# 449 had been
repaired. The undated letter was stamped as received by the DHCR on
February 28, 1991, with the rest of the owner's appeal.
The Commissioner is of the opinion that the interpretation of this letter
that would be most favorable to the owner would merely confirm that rent
impairing violation #449 had been repaired sometime between October 10,
1990 and February 28, 1991 - approximately three years after the January
1, 1988 effective date of the order of eligibility. The Commissioner is
therefore of the opinion that the Administrator was correct in finding
that the owner had not cleared all rent impairing violations from the
subject premises, and that the owner should thus be denied eligibility to
raise MBRs at the subject premises.
THEREFORE, in accordance with the provisions of the Rent and Eviction
Regulations, it is
ORDERED, that this petition for administrative review be, and the same
hereby is, denied, and that the order of the Rent Administrator be, and
the same hereby is, affirmed.
ISSUED:
JOSEPH A. D'AGOSTA
Deputy Commissioner
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