Replacing Landmark Windows Doesn't Qualify as MCI

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes for replacing 29 out of 334 building windows. These wood-frame windows were all landmarked and couldn't be replaced by aluminum windows. The DRA ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord argued that the work qualified as an MCI because it replaced all similar windows at the building. The DHCR said landlord previously had replaced other apartment windows, and its installation of the landmark windows wasn't part of a unified plan. Instead, this work was done to correct landlord's failure to comply with the rules of the Landmark Preservation Commission. The work also involved less than 80 percent of the building's windows. And replacing landmark apartment windows wasn't the same as replacing lot line and hallway windows, which would qualify as an MCI.

131-135 Prospect Park W.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. TF230067RO 8/30/06 [3-pg. doc.]