Bronx D.A. Can't Intervene in Drug Eviction Case

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for creating a nuisance for dealing heroin from the apartment. The Bronx D.A. had sent landlord a written notice demanding that landlord start the proceeding. The D.A. then asked the court for permission to intervene in the case. Tenant had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession and was sentenced to a conditional discharge and community service after a police search turned up 100 envelopes of heroin in the apartment. The court ruled against the D.A. because it would improperly extend the prosecutor’s authority. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 715(1), the so-called “bawdy house” law, permits the D.A. to direct or commence eviction proceedings if a landlord fails to do so. But the D.A. had no real interest in landlord’s property and no right to control the outcome.

40 Marcy, Ltd. v. Garcia: NYLJ, 1/25/10, p. 34, col. 3 (Civ. Ct. Bronx; McClanahan, J)