Building Must Remain in Mitchell-Lama Program for 50 Years

Landlord of Mitchell-Lama housing complex sued HPD and asked the court to force HPD to issue a letter of no objection that would permit landlord to withdraw from the Mitchell-Lama program. HPD and tenants association objected. The court and appeals court ruled against landlord. Landlord had sought the same relief and lost in a prior court proceeding. Landlord couldn’t seek the same relief again on a different theory. The question was already decided by the court. Besides, landlord’s claim had no merit. Landlord bought three adjoining lots for the project. On one lot bought from a private owner, landlord built the apartment tower. On the two adjoining lots bought from the city, landlord built a parking garage for the building. A restrictive agreement in the deed from the city clearly was intended to apply to all three lots and required landlord to provide affordable housing at the building for 50 years. All three lots had been merged for zoning and tax purposes. Landlord benefited from financial incentives under Mitchell-Lama for many years and shouldn’t be allowed to avoid its agreement to provide affordable housing for at least 50 years.

Tivoli Stock LLC v. HPD: NYLJ, 6/22/09, p. 25, col. 5 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Andrias, JP, Catterson, Renwick, DeGrasse, Freedman, JJ)