Tenants' Right to Meet Subject to Conditions

In November 2009, the SRO Law Project distributed flyers to tenants in landlord's building announcing a meeting in the eighth-floor hallway. Landlord sought an injunction before the meeting, claiming that the hallway was only 3 or 4 feet wide with 7-foot ceilings and that the meeting could attract up to 1,000 tenants. The court granted a temporary restraining order, restricting attendance to 60 people, but then denied a preliminary injunction because landlord didn't show that the meeting would block exits or create unsafe conditions. Landlord appealed.
The appeals court ruled for landlord, finding that it was entitled to a preliminary injunction given the small size of the meeting location and the fact that a large number of people could obstruct access. Tenants had a right to meet under Real Property Law (RPL) Section 230(2). But they were also bound by building and fire code rules on unobstructed corridors and exits. Under the RPL, tenant meetings must be held in a peaceable manner, at reasonable hours, and without obstructing access to the premises or facilities. Tenants' attorneys said that since the case began, three meetings were held with no more than 40 people attending each. But the lower court didn't hold a hearing before denying the preliminary injunction. The case was sent back for further fact-finding by the lower court.

1234 Broadway LLC v. West Side SRO Law Project: 4624N, Index No. 116414/09 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 5/12/11; Gonzalez, PJ, Catterson, Richter, Abdus-Salaam, Roman, JJ)