No Proof Tenant of Former 421-a Building Was Rent Stabilized

Landlord sued to evict unregulated tenant after tenant's lease expired. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant claimed that she and landlord had verbally agreed to extend her lease for another two years. But a verbal agreement for more than one year is invalid under the Statute of Frauds. And tenant didn't prove that the parties ever reached a full agreement on any terms of a lease extension. Tenant also claimed that she was rent stabilized. The building had been rent stabilized under Real Property Tax Law Section 421-a. The apartment became deregulated based on high rent in 1992 when the 421-a benefits expired and the prior rent-stabilized tenant moved out. Tenant's lease didn't begin until 1995. Tenant claimed that she had lived in the apartment since 1991 and that prior tenant's lease was assigned to her. But there was no proof of this claim.

72nd Street Associates LLC v. Persson: 47 Misc.3d 126(A), 2015 NY Slip Op 50345(U) (App. T. 1 Dept.; 3/23/15; Schoenfeld, JP, Shulma, Ling-Cohan, JJ)