HC230006RT ET AL.
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.:
HC230006RT HC230007RT
HC230008RT HC230009RT
HC230010RT HC230011RT
HC230012RT HC230013RT
HC230014RT HC230015RT
HC230016RT HC230017RT
HC230018RT HC230019RT
HC230020RT HC230021RT
HC230022RT HC230023RT
HC230024RT HC230025RT
HC230026RT HC230027RT
HC230028RT HC230029RT
HC230030RT HC230031RT
HC230032RT HC230033RT
HC230034RT HC230035RT
HC230036RT HC230037RT
HC230038RT HC230039RT
VARIOUS TENANTS OF RENT
287 LINDEN BLVD. ADMINISTRATOR'S DOCKET
NO.: GE230072B
PETITIONERS
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ORDER AND OPINION GRANTING PETITIONS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
IN PART AND MODIFYING RENT ADMINISTRATOR'S ORDER
The above referenced administrative appeals have been
consolidated as all contain common issues of law and fact.
The above named petitioner-tenants filed timely Petitions for
Administrative Review against an order of the Rent Administrator
issued February 8, 1993. The order concerned various housing
accommodations located at 287 Linden Blvd., Brooklyn, N.Y. The
Administrator directed restoration of services and ordered a
reduction of the stabilized legal rents.
The Commissioner has reviewed the record and carefully
considered that portion relevant to the issues raised by these
appeals.
This proceeding was commenced on May 27, 1992 when 42 tenants
HC230006RT ET AL.
of the subject building filed individual Statements of Complaint of
Decrease in Building-Wide Services wherein they alleged, in sum,
that the owner was not maintaining certain required building
services. Among the conditions cited by the tenants were broken
mailboxes and entrance doors that are open 24 hours a day.
The owner was served with a copy of the complaints and in
response stated, in pertinent part, that the mailboxes are all in
good working order but the installation of new mailboxes is being
investigated and that the entrance doors are closed by the super at
10:00 PM. The tenants filed a reply on October 21, 1992 and stated
that the conditions complained of still exist.
The Administrator ordered a physical inspection of the subject
building. The inspection was conducted on November 30, 1992 and
confirmed the existence of the following defective conditions:
1. Both side doors broken,
2. Filthy public areas with obstacles and debris under
staircases,
3. Courtyard area is filthy,
4. Lobby window has broken glass pane,
5. Courtyard fence broken and partially missing,
6. Eleven mailboxes have broken locks, one has a
missing door and the mailboxes near the entrance
door are banged up.
The inspector also reported that the entrance and vestibule doors
were open at the time of inspection.
A second inspection was conducted on January 15, 1993 for the
purpose of inspecting the mailbox of every complaining tenant. The
inspector reported that 15 mailboxes of the 45 inspected were
defective.
The Administrator issued the order here under review on
February 8, 1993 ordering a rent reduction of an amount equal to
the most recent guideline adjustment based on the conditions cited
in the November 30, 1992 inspection report, except for the open
entrance doors and defective mailboxes. The Administrator also
advised the tenants to file individual complaints regarding the
broken mailboxes.
Thirty-four tenants have filed identical appeals from the
above described order. Each tenant requests modification of the
order here under review to include certain enumerated conditions
that they claim were complained of and are not being maintained but
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were omitted from the order, including the open front door and the
broken and defective mailboxes. The petitions were served on the
owner.
The owner filed a response on June 15, 1993 and stated, in
relevant part, that a new front door was installed in February 1993
and there is also an outside gate that is locked by the super at
midnight. With regard to the mailboxes, the owner stated that the
only defective ones are those which are broken by the tenants who
lose their keys and that 62 new mailboxes were installed in April,
1993.
After careful review of the evidence in the record, the
Commissioner is of the opinion that the petitions should be granted
in part and the order here under review should be affirmed as
modified herein.
The Commissioner has reviewed the record and determines that,
with regard to all issues raised by the tenants in this
administrative appeal proceeding other than the open entrance and
vestibule doors and broken mailboxes, the Administrator's order
was correct. The DHCR inspector is neither a party to this
proceeding nor an adversary. The allegations of the tenants in the
instant complaint were duly investigated and the inspector's report
is entitled to more probative weight than the unsupported
allegations of the tenants. The Commissioner also notes that the
tenants stated in the petitions that the public areas are dirty and
the order here under review cited dirty public areas as a condition
warranting a rent reduction. All other items cited in the
complaint and again in the petitions were found on the inspection
to not require repair.
As for the open entrance and vestibule doors, the record
reveals that the tenants complained that the doors are left open,
compromising the security of the building. The inspector reported
that although the doors and locks were not defective they were open
at the time of inspection and the owner concedes in answer to both
the complaints and the petitions that the doors are not kept closed
24 hours a day. For this condition, a rent reduction is warranted
and the Administrator's order, appealed herein, is modified to add
the open entrance doors to the list of items which the owner is
directed to restore.
As for the mailboxes, this item was listed in every complaint
and on the second inspection, the inspector investigated the
condition of every complaining tenant's mailbox. Rather than
require the tenants to commence new proceedings regarding the
mailboxes, the order is amended to include a defective mailbox for
those petitioners whose mailbox was found in the January 15, 1993
inspection to require repairs. The order is modified accordingly
to add the following mailbox conditions:
HC230006RT ET AL.
APT CONDITION
A12 Box door is bent
B2 Defective door
B7 Defective door
B9 Missing lock/defective door
C15 Missing door
C7 Defective door
C8 Defective door
D7 Defective door
D8 Defective door
D9 Broken door and broken lock
THEREFORE, pursuant to the Rent Stabilization Law and Code it
is
ORDERED, that these petitions be, and the same hereby are,
granted in part, and that the Rent Administrator's order be, and
the same hereby is, affirmed as modified herein.
ISSUED:
JOSEPH A. D'AGOSTA
Deputy Commissioner
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