Service Reduction Complaint Dismissed

Rent-stabilized tenants of a building complex complained of a reduction in building-wide services. The DRA ruled against tenants and dismissed their complaint. Tenants appealed and lost. Tenants had complained that for decades they had a traditional intercom system that wasn't connected in any way to their phones or the Internet, put permitted all visitors to be announced by the doorman and allowed entry at the tenants' direction. The system permitted tenants to communicate with the doorman and building staff and didn't require a cell phone, landline, or Internet connection. The intercom system then went out of service and was replaced by a dial-up system that was computer operated and located outside the building at street level, in an enclosed area where the doorman was stationed. But by the time tenants complained of a service reduction, the DHCR had approved landlord's separate application to modify intercom services by replacing the old intercom with the new service. So there was no reason to grant a rent reduction.

160 East 48th Street Tenants Association: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. FS410024RT (11/26/19) [4-pg. doc.]