Loft tenant filed a petition to annul a New York City Loft Board’s amended final determination that the fourth floor consisted of two separate and distinct apartment units, claiming he was the occupant of the entire floor. SMC Associates, the owner of a loft at 329 Greenwich Street, filed plans to legalize two units on the fourth floor of the building. Longtime tenant Stephen Grant challenged the legalization plan, claiming that the space on the … <Read More>
Search Results for: Article 78
Trump Village Loses Utility Claim
Residents of Trump Village challenged size of rent reduction when Trump Village switched to individual electric metering. Trump Village, located at 2940 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, has 433 rent-regulated apartments. In January 2006, Trump Village applied to the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal to convert Trump Village to individual electric metering and to separate the cost of electricity from rent payments of tenants. In June 2006, the Division approved Trump Village’s application, including … <Read More>
Eric Garner’s death: No Justice, No Peace
Three years have passed since Eric Garner’s choking death at the hands of police officer Daniel Pantaleo, and the episode remains unresolved. The grand jury’s secrecy and its decision not to indict anyone, along with Comptroller Scott Stringer’s unusually swift civil settlement with the Garner Family, have left the public with insufficient answers and a sense that justice has been denied. Civil rights organizations and governmental investigators have made additional attempts to obtain information, but … <Read More>
Council Member’s Lawsuit Against Mayor Survives Dismissal
Council Member’s lawsuit over non-profit park alliance’s structure and funding continues after the City attempted to squash the claim. On February 16, 2017, the New York Supreme Court denied the City’s motion to dismiss a suit against the Mayor regarding the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Alliance.
In July 2016, Council Member Rory Lancman brought a suit against both the Mayor and the Alliance in New York State Supreme Court. In the complaint, Lancman alleged that … <Read More>
Basement apartment ruled legal; Condo’s “peace” sign ruled illegal
Buildings charged that owner unlawfully converted basement into additional rental apartment. In 2013 the Department of Buildings charged the owner of 345 W 70th Street, a multiple dwelling, with creating an illegal apartment in the basement. At the administrative hearing, Buildings submitted three I-cards for the building from 1916, 1938 and 1945. Before 1938, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development used I-cards to record the occupancy and arrangement of the buildings HPD had inspected. … <Read More>
Sign Use Lost Following Demolition
Property owner relied on permit improperly issued by Buildings to claim that advertising sign was a legal grandfathered use. Perlbinder Holdings, LLC owned a building located at 663-669 Second Avenue in Manhattan. Perlbinder for many years maintained a large, single-sided, illuminated advertising sign on the side of the building and had received a permit from the Department of Buildings to operate the sign in 1980. Subsequently, the Council amended the New York City Zoning … <Read More>