MCI Application Involving DOB Sign-Off Dismissed as Untimely

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on installation of a backflow preventer, including engineering costs. The DRA ruled against landlord, finding that landlord's MCI application wasn't filed within two years from the date of the installation completion. Landlord appealed and lost. The work involved was physically completed some time before DEP signed off on the initial backflow device test reports. The DEP permits had been refiled due to a clerical error on the original permit application, and the permit expired before the error could be corrected. DOB signed off on landlord's permit on Feb. 1, 2016, after landlord submitted this permit to DOB in November 2015, three years after the physical work was completed. Landlord failed to show that the delay in obtaining the DOB sign-off was beyond landlord's control. 

Levin: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. FR330026RO (11/5/19) [2-pg. doc.]