Window Frame Repair Was Unrelated to MCI Window Replacement

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on installation of new apartment windows. The DRA ruled for landlord in part, but disallowed any cost associated with repairing wooden window frames.

Landlord appealed and lost. The window replacement was subject to approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). A statement by landlord's architect showed that the work done on the wooden window frames was undertaken to correct a contractor's error. That error resulted in an initial denial by the LPC to sign off on the work due to noncompliance with approved plans. The excluded work wasn't done as an integral part of the initially contracted scope of work under LPC-approved plans. The window frame repair work also didn't begin until nine months after the initial window installation was completed. It was in fact a subsequent repair that didn't qualify as an MCI.

Tenants also appealed the MCI but their claim that the new windows were defectively installed because they were too difficult to open and close was unsupported by the evidence.

Ennismore Apartments Inc./124 West 79th Street Tenants Association: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket Nos. DU430012RO, DU430030RT (10/1/20) [3-pg. doc.]