Tenant Didn't Exhaust Administrative Remedies

Rent-controlled tenant sued the DHCR and the New York City Department of the Aging. Tenant asked the court to compel the agencies to correct their records. Tenant claimed that a 1997 DHCR order revoked a 1996 order restoring landlord's right to collect rent increases. Tenant further claimed that this should result in a recalculation by the Department of the Aging of her SCRIE benefits. The court ruled against tenant. The DHCR's 1997 order didn't have the effect of clearing the DHCR's records of prior rent increase orders. To invalidate the rent increase orders, tenant should have exhausted her administrative remedies by filing PARs. Since she didn't do so, the case against the DHCR must be dismissed. And the SCRIE determination was properly based on the DHCR decisions, so the case against the Department of the Aging was dismissed also.

Koplos v. DHCR: NYLJ, 11/4/02, p. 19, col. 3 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Mazzarelli, JP, Saxe, Ellerin, Lerner, Marlow, JJ)zz