Elevator Upgrade Qualifies as MCI

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on an elevator upgrade costing over $324,000. The DRA ruled for landlord but disallowed DOB filing fees. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant argued that the two first-floor apartments didn't require elevator access, that the two second-floor apartments could be accessed only by stairs, and that the elevator only went to the 14th floor, so tenants who lived on the 15th floor had to walk up a flight. Tenant didn't raise any objections before the DRA, and therefore couldn't do so now. And, in any event, the work qualified as an MCI even if the elevator didn't go to the second or 15th floor.

555 Edgecombe Avenue: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. AS410033RT (10/3/14) [2-pg. doc.]