Trial Court Improperly Gave Tenant Two-Year Probation Period

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nuisance by engaging in a pattern of objectionable conduct. The trial court ruled for landlord but stayed execution on the eviction warrant to give tenant time to cure her behavior. Landlord appealed and won. Landlord proved at trial, through testimony and videotape evidence, that tenant accosted other tenants and their children on a regular basis, screamed profanities and homophobic epithets at other residents, caused excessive noise, including banging on the floors and ceiling of her apartment at all hours, pounded and kicked the doors of other apartments, and screamed in other tenants’ faces. The trial court determined that tenant’s behavior constituted a nuisance but improperly granted a probationary stay and delayed eviction while tenant attended therapy and anger management sessions. Although the trial court found that incidents were “sporadic,” the severity and circumstances of these incidents showed tenant’s intolerance and aggression toward other building residents, placing the comfort and health of others in the building at constant risk. 

129th Street Cluster Associates v. Levy: 54 Misc.3d 128(A), 2016 NY Slip Op 51804(U) (App. T. 1 Dept.; 12/23/16; Lowe III, PJ, Shulman, Gonzalez JJ)