Public Housing Tenant Can't Cure Nonprimary Residence

After a hearing, HPD determined that tenant didn't primarily reside in public housing apartment at Mutual Redevelopment Houses. Tenant appealed, claiming that HPD's decision was unreasonable. Tenant admitted that he lived at another location, and showed no proof that he had ever lived in the apartment. He also testified that, although he intended to live in the apartment with his domestic partner and their daughter, he never moved into the apartment with them. But tenant argued that he was curing his nonprimary residence and that landlord had waited too long to enforce the primary residence requirement. The court ruled against tenant. Under a 1987 regulatory agreement between the City of New York and landlord, tenant's occupancy agreement required tenant to primarily reside in his apartment. Tenant's failure to use the apartment as his primary residence wasn't curable. And there was substantial proof before HPD that landlord wasn't aware of tenant's nonprimary residence. Tenant's obligation to reside primarily in the apartment was continuing in nature, so tenant couldn't claim that any time limit for raising the issue had passed. Tenant also offered no excuse for his extended physical absence from the apartment.

Greene v. HPD: NYLJ, 3/17/08, p. 24, col. 5 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Lippman, PJ, Andrias, Williams, McGuire, JJ)