Tenant's Rent Subsidy Terminated Based on Criminal Drug Activity

HPD terminated tenant's Section 8 rent subsidy after finding that a member of tenant's household engaged in drug-related criminal activity from the apartment and that tenant was aware of it. Tenant then filed an Article 78 court petition, claiming that HPD's action was arbitrary and unreasonable. The court ruled against tenant. Substantial evidence supported HPD's decision. Police records showed that a confidential informant bought drugs at the apartment on four occasions during the afternoon and evening, police recovered drugs and drug paraphernalia in the apartment, and tenant was unemployed, which indicated that she was home when the sales occurred. The termination of tenant's rent subsidy wasn't so disproportionate to the offense as to be shocking to a sense of fairness. HPD's decision was rational.

Henderson v. Been: 2017 NY Slip Op 07523, 2017 WL 4818393 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 10/26/17; Tom, JP, Richter, Andrias, Gesmer, Singh, JJ)