Elevator Modernization

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on elevator modernization. Tenants opposed landlord's application. They claimed that landlord didn't itemize costs, didn't submit proof of labor costs, and that certain costs should be disallowed. The DRA ruled for landlord, and tenants appealed. They repeated their objections and argued that the DRA should have disallowed costs for an architect and a consultant. The DHCR ruled for tenants in part. Landlord wasn't required to submit a detailed breakdown of costs for each item included in the elevator modernization. A detailed breakdown isn't a standard requirement in a contract that includes all costs as a lump sum. But the DRA should have disallowed the $40,000 cost of additional electrical work that dealt with power in the building as a whole and that wasn't specifically required for the elevator modernization. And the work of the architect and the consultant duplicated services. So the cost of the architect, which was more than the cost of the consultant, was disallowed. In total, the DHCR reduced the MCI from $10.35 per room to $8.94 per room.

360 Central Park West: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. SF430073RT (6/22/05) [4-pg. doc.]