Loft Board Reasonably Denied Landlord's Abandonment Application

Landlord applied to the NYC Loft Board for a determination that tenant's loft unit had been abandoned. The Loft Board ruled against landlord, who then filed an Article 78 court appeal. The court ruled against landlord, who appealed and lost. The Loft Board had ruled that landlord failed to show that no family member, as defined by 29 RCNY Section 2-08.1(c)(3), would be denied the benefits of succession rights under the law if the abandonment application was granted. This decision had a rational basis and wasn't arbitrary or capricious. The building owner's statement that the deceased tenant lived alone, without supplying the basis for this claim, was insufficient given the absence of any further information. The fact that tenant's parents and sister didn't respond to copies of its application sent to them also was insufficient to support the abandonment application.

383 8th LLC v. City of New York: Case No. 2020-03322, 2021 NY Slip Op 06027 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 11/4/21; Acosta, PJ, Renwick, Kapnick, Kennedy, Mendez, JJ)