Landlord Decreased Access to Storage Space

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

Tenants complained of a reduction in building-wide services. They claimed that landlord had limited their access to building storage rooms. Tenants said that locks on the storage room doors were changed and tenants now had to seek out a building employee to gain access. The DRA ruled for tenants and found that storage space access had been reduced. Landlord appealed, arguing that this was a minor condition, and that this change was made to improve security to the storage space. The DHCR ruled against landlord. Tenants still have storage space, but their ability to access that space was decreased. Tenants previously had free access to the storage room at any time from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. After landlord changed the lock to the storage area, tenants could gain access only by going to a building employee. Tenants could no longer gain access if a building employee was unavailable. This wasn't a minor condition.

150 Greenway Terrace LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. TH130017RK (10/4/07) [4-pg. doc.]