HPD Properly Granted Landlord Certificate of No Harassment

Landlord of hotel-stabilized SRO building applied to HPD for a certificate of no harassment. HPD ruled for landlord. Tenants appealed, claiming that HPD's decision wasn't supported by the evidence presented to the agency. The court ruled against tenants. The record showed substantial evidence was submitted to HPD that landlord didn't engage in conduct that harassed or was intended to harass any SRO tenant. Landlord showed that essential services were maintained on an ongoing basis, that management took prompt steps to correct maintenance problems as they arose, and that the violations against the building were all recent, nonhazardous, and largely corrected by the time of HPD's hearing. There also was no basis to disturb the hearing officer's findings concerning witness credibility.

Breslin Tenant Association v. HPD: NYLJ, 11/19/09, p. 31, col. 5 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Gonzalez, PJ, Saxe, McGuire, Acosta, JJ)