Tenant Given Chance to Cure Objectionable Conduct Post-Trial

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for breaching her lease and creating a nuisance by objectionable conduct. Landlord claimed that tenant played loud music when other tenants were sleeping, banged on walls, made harassing phone calls to another tenant on the house phone, made threats to neighboring tenants, and verbally abused building staff.

After trial, the court ruled for landlord based on breach of lease but not nuisance. Generally, to prove nuisance, more than one neighboring tenant must complain about noise. Here, only one tenant testified, and her testimony was vague, conclusory, and unreliable. The other tenant also admitted that she at times banged on tenant's wall. And of the five incident reports admitted into evidence, only one incident occurred in 2014, involving playing music after 8 a.m. This was not per se unreasonable. The staff member who testified about one incident where tenant yelled at him said he wasn't disturbed by it. Mere annoyance does not create a nuisance. However, tenant admitted at trial that she breached her lease by intentionally making noises that interfered with the complaining tenant's enjoyment of her apartment on more than one occasion. Tenant also failed to prove that she cured the breach of her lease within the time period set forth in landlord's notice to cure.

The court delayed issuance of an eviction warrant to give tenant a chance to cure the condition by immediately ceasing to bang on her apartment walls and from making any phone calls to her neighbor or otherwise directly communicating with her. Tenant was also directed to refrain from playing music between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Prince George Associates LP v. Mais: 2014 NY Slip Op 50992(U), 2014 WL 2880490 (Civ. Ct. NY; 6/24/14; Kraus, J)