Cellar Apartment Listed on 1935 I-Card Still Legal Despite Later HPD Records

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord after finding a Class “A” apartment in the building basement occupied as a super’s apartment in violation of permitted occupancy. The building didn’t have a Certificate of Occupancy. HPD I-cards from 1935 showed one cellar apartment, while 1945 I-cards listed no cellar apartment. Landlord argued that the 1935 I-card showed that the cellar apartment was legal, while DOB argued that the 1945 I-card superseded the older record and therefore the cellar apartment was illegal. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined it $3,000. Landlord appealed and won. An appeals court, ruling in a recent case involving the same building, found that the 1945 I-card didn’t establish a new legal use for the area where the cellar apartment was recorded. So ECB dismissed the violation and ordered a refund of landlord’s $3,000 payment.

345 W. 70th Street Tenants Corp.: ECB App. No. 1601090 (12/15/16) [1-pg. doc.]