No Notice to Cure Required for Tenant Who Assaulted Landlord

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for creating a nuisance after sending tenant a 10-day termination notice. Landlord claimed that tenant constantly yelled and screamed profanities at a building maintenance worker, on one occasion stomped on the worker's feet and shoved him, and on another occasion violently kicked him in the back. This required the worker to go to the hospital. Since that instance, landlord claimed that tenant followed the worker and stuck a camera in his face, preventing him from working. Landlord also claimed that tenant violently kicked a ladder that another building employee was working on, and that tenant daily banged on her apartment ceiling when she heard someone walking in the apartment upstairs. Landlord also claimed that tenant violently pushed landlord in the back and threatened him, knowing that landlord wore a back brace. Tenant asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that landlord should have sent her a notice to cure before sending the termination notice. The court ruled for tenant and dismissed the case.

Landlord appealed, and the case was reopened. Landlord wasn't required to send a notice to cure before sending a termination notice for nuisance conduct. Most of the incidents landlord cited in its notice constituted nuisance behavior against the landlord or building staff that didn't require a cure notice. But, since tenant's lease required landlord to give tenant a 10-day cure notice for "improper conduct" that "annoys other tenants," a cure notice was required before sending the termination notice based on the ceiling banging that disturbed the upstairs tenant. 

751 Union Street, LLC v. Charles: 56 Misc.3d 141(A), 2017 NY Slip Op 51104(U) (App. T. 2 Dept.; 8/25/17; Weston, JP, Aliotta, Elliot, JJ)