Allegations in Nonrenewal Notice Must Be Read Together

(Decision submitted by Susan Baumel-Cornicello of the Manhattan law firm of Cornicello & Tendler, LLP, attorneys for the landlord.) Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. Tenant asked the court to dismiss the case. He claimed that landlord's nonrenewal notice didn't sufficiently state the facts upon which landlord based its claim. The court ruled against tenant. Landlord's notice was sufficient. It claimed that tenant maintained a primary residence outside the apartment, that landlord believed tenant maintained a primary residence outside the United States, that the apartment was unoccupied or used infrequently, that tenant lived in the apartment less than 180 days per year, that landlord's employees hadn't seen tenant in the building for two years, that tenant paid monthly rent in sequentially numbered checks, that landlord believed that tenant's electric use was minimal, and that landlord believed that tenant's telephone service was connected in June 2003. All those allegations must be read together, not separately. Taken together, the allegations show that the apartment is at least underutilized and possibly unoccupied.

1286-1290 First Avenue LLC v. Stern: L&T Index No. 88310/04 (Civ. Ct. NY 2/9/05; Cavallo, J) [5-pg. doc.]