Building Work Insufficient to Prove Rent Stabilization Exemption Based on Substantial Rehab

(Decision submitted by David Hershey-Webb, Esq. of the Manhattan law firm of Himmelstein McConnell Gribben & Joseph LLC, attorneys for the tenants.)

Landlord applied to the DHCR, seeking a ruling that its building was exempt from rent stabilization based on substantial rehabilitation. The DRA ruled against landlord, who appealed and lost.

The DHCR affirmed the DRA's ruling that landlord didn't prove that 75 percent of all building-wide and individual apartment systems, including common areas, had been replaced. Also, in the DOB application for the work, the landlord stated that the work would cost $7,500. The affidavit of landlord's architect stated only that there was a renovation of two class A apartments in the basement, that the first through third floors were converted from furnished rooms to one class A apartment per floor, that the fourth-floor apartment was renovated, that the common wood stairway was replaced, that a terrace was installed for the second-floor apartment, that plumbing and mechanical fixtures were replaced and/or new fixtures were installed, and that the building is fully equipped with sprinklers. But the DHCR found that the architect's summary didn't show that at least 75 percent of systems were replaced. And other documentation the landlord submitted was inconsistent and/or insufficient to prove that enough work was done to qualify as a sub rehab. 

Bushwick Holdings Group, LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. KX210024RO (5/2/23)[12-pg. document]