137 W. 141 St. Tenants' Assn. v 137 W. 141 LLC

Annotate this Case

Download PDF

137 W. 141 St. Tenants' Assn. v 137 W. 141 LLC 2021 NY Slip Op 32043(U) May 3, 2021 Civil Court of the City of New York Docket Number: L&T 305578/20 Judge: Frances A. Ortiz Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. INDEX [*FILED: 1] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 CIV IL COURT OF THE CITY OF EW YORK TY OF EW YORK, HOUSING PART B CO ------ ------- -- -------------------------------------------------------X 137 WE T 141 STREET TE A TS ' ASSOCIATlO , HO OREA THORTO , JOHNNIE MAE ESTELL, LI MACCAULEY, LE ORA SEALEY, DEBORAH METTS, ARRJ WEEKS, CHICO K lGHT, HARRY BLAIN , ALIYA QUENTI Petitioners, Tenants, Index No. L&T 305578/20 DECISIO N AND ORDER -aga inst- 13 7 WEST 141 LLC, SHLOME REIFER; ELEA OR PATRICK Respondent( s)-Owner( s) DEP RTM E T OF HOUSING PRESERVATION D D VELOPME T, EW YORK CITY DEPARTME T OF B lLDT GS (.. DOB") Co-Respondent. ----------------------------------------------------------------------X F RANCES A. ORTIZ, JUDGE Recitation as required by CPL R 22 19(a), of the paper considered in the review of the petition rs · motion for an Order to Co1Tect. umbered Papers otice of Motion, Affamation, Affidavit & Exhibits ... ..... .. ......... .... ...... 1/NYSCEF 16- 25 ffirmat ion & Affidavit in Opposition & Memorandum of Law ................. .2/ YSCEF 26- 29 R pl y ffirmat ion & Affidavit. ...... ............................. ..... ... .... ..... ....... ... ...... 3/NYSCEF 30-31 Upon the fo regoing cited papers, the Decision/Order of this Court on petitioners ' moti on to restore the matter for an Order to Correct is as fol lows: Th is is an HP Action brought by petitioners/tenants eeking correction of conditions at the subject premises, 137 West 141 Street, pts. 24 33 , 36, 37, 44, 52, and 55, 1 1 of 10 ew York , Y INDEX [*FILED: 2] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 I 0030. Department of Buildings ("DOB") is a co-respondent on the in tant petition. According to paragraph twenty-five (25) of the petition, DOB has issued violations for the subject building and the owner is required to correct said violations. This Court on January 22, 2021 issued an Interim Order to Correct al l open Department of Housing and Preservation ("HPD") violations at the ubject premises. However, the interim order did not address the DOB or Environmental Control Board ("ECB") violations. Now, petition rs move for an additional Order to Correct all DOB and ECB violations for th e subject building . According to petitioners· counsel, at the time of Interi m Order the owner cla imed to have corrected the DOB violation relating to the building elevator. However, this was not the case and no r quest was made for an order to correct the DOB violation. Petitioners claim that the elevator conditions continue to deteriorate. (Shah Affirm.~ 3, NYCEF 17). As such, they ask that al l outstanding DOB and ECB violations be ordered corrected. Specifically petitioners attach DOB paper hawing DOB/ECB iolation number 39016172X dated January 23, 2020 for failure to maintain elevator or conveying system at the subject building. (Exhibit A- NYSCEF 20). The papers show that th re was a hearing at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearing (" OATH") regarding this violation, that respon dent/owner was found in violation and that a penalty was im posed per decision dated October 26 , 2020. (Exhibit B- YSCEF 21) . ccording to petitioners, th violati on remains open on the DOB website as of the date of the motion. (Exhibit C- NYSCEF 22). Additional ly, petitioners Chico Knight and Deborah Metts submit affidavits in support of the motion detailing how they both got stuck in the subject building 's elevator on February 18 2021. (. YSCEF 18 & 19) . Thereafter, a DOB violation # 39036705H was i ued on February 24, 2021 for elevator not working. (Exhibit F. NYSCEF 25). 2 2 of 10 INDEX [*FILED: 3] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 Respondent/owner, Sh lome Reifer, submits an affidavit in o pposition to the motion. Acco rding to Mr . R ifer, the subject building had a new elevator system installed in 2020 with upgraded, modernized and computer ized system . (Reifer ii 3, NYSCEF 26). On February 17, 2021 the bui ld ing elevator was not working properly due to a defecti ve Con Ed meter bank wh ich caused insufficient amount of electrical power. (Id ii 4). ln order to rectify the problem Mr. Reifer states that he had to file electr ical pe rmi ts. (Exhibit A- NYSCEF 27). Thereafter, they placed the elevators out of service for the safety of the tenants . He notified the tenants. (Exhibit B- NYSCEF 28) . (Id ~ 5 & 6). However, the de~ ctive meter bank was replaced on February 24, 2021. (Id ~ 7). He states that a DOB inspector came to inspect the elevators also on February 24, 2021 while the electrician\ as wo rking on the issue. He to ld th inspecto r that the elevator had been restored but the inspector told him that he still had to write the violation. However, he could nd a letter to DO B stating the elevator was operational. (Id 8). Lastly, respo ndent opposes the motion arguing that the petitioner can not restore thi s case becau the vio lati ons ordered to b corrected were resolved and thi s Court's January 22, 202 1 Inte rim Order to Correct did not include a DOB violati on for the elevator. Respondent argues tha t petiti oners' remedy wou ld be to start a new HP Action. Nevertheless, respondent argues that the elevator condition has been corrected and petitioners should be asked to confirm that. Petitioners' counsel in rep ly argues that this Court has continuing jurisdiction to issue an Orde r to CotTect unti l all violations are remedi ed, that there has never been a final disposition on the cas due to the int rim order status and that DOB violatio n have no t been remedied, de pite respondent' s contention. Specifically, counsel fo r petitioners contends that on March 18, 2021 , and on other days the elevator has been shut down. A lso th door fails to open or close requiring tenants to manually push the door or press the " door open " button numerous times, 3 3 of 10 INDEX [*FILED: 4] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 before opening which is well after the February 24 2021 correction date . (Shah Reply Affirm ~ /-/) DISCUSSION The statutory purpose of New York City Civil Court Act 110 explicitly provides subject matter jurisdiction to the Housing Part of the Civil Court to grant injunctive r lief to enforce "state and local laws for the establishment and maintenance of housing standards, including, but not limited to , the multiple dwell ing law and the housing maintenance code, bui lding code and heal th code ... " (CCA 110 [a]). This language makes it clear that the hous ing court may enforce ··housing standard " under either the bui lding code the Housing Maintenance Code or health code. Indeed, here the cond itions of the elevator involve "housing standards." The term '·housing standards"' as used in the CCA should be given as broad a meani ng as possible. The term is not. limited to HPD vio lat ions of record. The term ·"housing standard' ' inc ludes any legi lative standard which directly impacts the health and safety of the occupants of buildings. The legislative purpose in enacting the HMC and the Housing Court was to provide for safe housing . The purpose of this HP proceeding is to hear the petitioners' claim of existing conditions and enforce the conection inc ludin g any DOB elevator vio lations, especially since DOB is a municipal co-respondent to the petition and paragraph twenty-five (25) of the petition eeks an Order to Correct DOB violation# 39016 l 72X. Therefore, this Court has subject matter jurisdiction to hear the matter and provide injunctive rel ief ordering the owner to correct the DOB violations. Various Tenants of 515 E. 12th St. V. 515 E. 12th c l. Inc~, 128Misc. 2d235, 236- 3 7( YCtyCiv. Ct. 1985). 4 4 of 10 INDEX [*FILED: 5] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 Similarly, New York City Civil Court Act JI O (c) empowers the Housing Court with broad authority to recommend or employ any remedy for the enforcement of housing standards if it believes the remedies wi ll be more effective to accomplish compliance or to protect the public interest. However, upon a review of the current DOB website as of the date of this decision which this Court takes judicial notice, the DOB violations 39016172X and # 39036705H are both marked "VIOLA TJON RESOLVED. 1" Specifically, DOB violation# 39016 l 72X under vio lation summary certification status indicates "CERTIFICATE ACCEPTED.' According to the DOB website thi means that a Certificate of Correction was accept d and found in compliance and any owner who owes a penalty can pay it to DOB via a website link. Additionally, the DOB violation# 39036705H under violation summary certification status indicates" /A- DISMISSED." According to the DOB website, this means a Certificate of Conection is not required. Last ly, the hearing . tatus for this violation indicat s ·•dismissed.' s uch. this Court doe · not n ed to issue an Order to Correct against the respondent/owner for DOB/ECB vio lations 390 l 6 l 72X and # 39036705H, although it does hav the j urisdiction to do so, if the violations had not been resolved. Accordingly, petitioners ' motion is denied as moot. The matt r is marked off calendar. ORD RED: Petitioners' motion for an Order to Correct OOB/ECB vio lations is denied as moot. 1 The Court will attach to this decision and order a cunent copy of those DOB websi te summary dispositions for those p cific violation number . 5 5 of 10 INDEX [*FILED: 6] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 This is the decision and order of the Court, copies of which are being emailed to those indicated below. Date: May 3. 2021 Judge, Frances A. Ortiz Manhattan Legal Services Ami Shah, Esq . I West 125 Street, 2nd floor ew York, Y 10027 (646) 442 - 3154 ashah lsnyc.org Counsel for petitioners/tenants Sontag and Hyman Mar Hyman, Esq. I 65 Ro ·lyn Road Ros lyn Heights, Y 11577 (516) 621 - 0600 mhyman@sontag-hyman.com Counse l for respondents/owners Depanment of Housing Preservation and Development Mart ine Bass, Esq. l 00 Gold Street ew York, NY 10038 C\\J\l r (2 12) 863 - 5532 C\i'v ' bassm@hpd.nyc.gov Counsel for co-respondent/HPD \ E. ·oRK Ml\'t O4 1.ffl.\ 6 6 of 10 INDEX [*FILED: 7] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM OA I HIECB v1 olat1on Details 5/3/2021 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 N¥C Buildings ~ CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR BUILDINGS NEWS 1 NYC Department of Buildings OATH/ECB Violation Details Click here for mo re inform ation about Severity, Violation and Hearing Statuses Premises: 137 WEST 141 STREET MANHATTAN BIN : 1060085 Block: 2010 Fi led At: 137 WEST 141 STREET, MANHATTAN , NY 10030 Community Board: 110 Lot: 6 VIOLATION RESOLVED OATH/ECB Violation Summary OATH/ECB Violation umber: 39036705H Certification Status: N/A - DISMISSED Severity : CLASS • 2 Hearing Status: DISMISS ED Penalty Ba lance Due : $0 .00 Respondent Information Name: 137 WEST 141 DE LLC Mailing Address : 36 11 14 AVENUE, BROOKLYN, NY 11218 Violation Details Violation Date: 02/24/2021 Violation Type: CRAN ES & DERRICKS Served Date: 03/1 1/2021 Inspection Unit: ELEVATOR DIVISION Infraction Codes 261 Standard Description Section of Law BC3314. 1.1 (2008CODE) & FAILED TO NOTIFY DEPARTMENT PR IOR TO INSTALLATION OR REMOVAL OF SUSPEN OED SCAFFOLD Specific Violation Condition(s) and Remedy : MAIN POWER THIRD PHASE IN THE ELECTRICAL METER BOX DEF ECTIVE ON PROVIDED LOW POWER TO ELEVATOR CONTROLLER, CON -ED POWER COMPANY WORKING AT LOCATION TO FIX PROBLEM , REMEDY; AFTER REPAIR COMPLETED AND ELEVATOR DE Issuing Inspector ID: 2790 DOB Violation Number: Issued as Aggravated Level : NO Dept. of Buildings Compliance History and Events Certi fi cation Status : Complia nce On : NIA - DISMISSED A Certificate of Correction must be subrrntted to the Administrative Enforcement Unit (AEU ) for all violations. A violation that is no dismissed by OATH/ECB wi ll continue to remain ACT IVE or "open" on DOB records until acceptable proof is subm itted to the AEU , even 1f you have paid the penalty imposed by OATH/ECB. OATH/ECB Hearing Information Scheduled Hearing DaterTime : 05/27/2021 8:30 Hearing Status : DISMISSED Amount Paid: $0 .00 OATH/ECB Penalty Information Penalty Imposed : $0.00 Adjustments : $0.00 Pena lty Balance Due: $0 .00 a8 10-b isweb.nyc. gov/bisweb/E C BOueryByN u mbe rServlet?requesti d=2&ecbin =39036 705H 7 of 10 1/2 INDEX [*FILED: 8] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM 5/ 3/2021 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 OATH/ECB Violation Details NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 If you have any questions please review these Fregu ent!Y. Asked Questions, the Glossa[Y., or call the 311 Citizen Service Center by dialing 311 or (212) NEW YORK outside of New York City. a81 0-bi swe b. nyc.govl bisweb/E C BO ueryB yNu mberServlet? req uestid=2&ecbin= 39036 705H 8 of 10 2/2 INDEX [*FILED: 9] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM OA I R/ECB V1olat1on Details 51312021 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 N¥C Buildings B CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR BUILDINGS NEWS NYC Department of Buildings OATH/ECB Violation Details Click here fo r more information about Severity, Violation and Hearing Statuses Filed At: 137 WEST 141 STREET, MANHATTAN, NY 10030 Premises : 137 WEST 141 STREET MANHATTAN BIN: 1060085 Block : 2010 Community Board: 110 Lot: 6 VIOLATION RESOLVED OATH/ECB Violation Summary OATH/ECB Violation Number: 39016172X Certification Status: CERTIFICATE ACCEPTED Severity : CLASS • 1 Hearing Status : IN VIOLATION Penalty Balance Due : $1 ,250.00 Respondent Information Name : 137 WE ST 141 DE LLC Mailing Address : 3611 14 AVENUE , BROOKLYN, NY 11218 Violation Details Violation Date : 01/23/2020 Violation Type : ELEVATOR Served Date: 01/23/2020 Inspection Unit: ELEVATOR DIVISION Device Type: ELEVATOR Device Number: 1 P9779 151 Standard Description Section of Law Infraction Codes 28-304.1 FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ELEVATOR OR CONVEYING SYSTEM Specific Violation Condition(s) and Remedy: 42/5/7 CAR DOOR MONITORING MI SSING PERFORM AND FILE FOR TESTING BY NYC DOB . 8N/A CAR FLOOR TO LANDING SILL NOT LEVEL ADJUST. DOB Violation Number: 2767 Issuing Inspector ID: Issued as Aggravated Level : NO Dept. of Buildings Compliance History and Events Certification Status : Compliance On: 01 /25/2021 CERTIFICATE ACCEPTED 01 /25/2021 Certification Subm ission Date : A Certificate of Correction must be submitted to the Administrative Enforcement Unit (AEU) fo r al l violations. A viola tion that is not dismissed by OATH/ECB will continue to remain ACTIVE or "open" on DOB records until acceptable proof is submitted to the AEU , even 1f you have paid the penalty imposed by OATH /EC B. OATH/ECB Hearing Information Scheduled Hearing Date/Time: 10/22/2020 10:30 Hearing Status: IN VIOLATION OATH/ECB Penalty Information Penalty Imposed : $1,250.00 Adjustments : $0.00 Amount Paid : $0.00 Penalty Balance Due : $1 ,250.00 Court Docket Date : 02/28/2021 a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/ECBQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&e cbin=39016172X 9 of 10 1/2 INDEX [*FILED: 10] NEW YORK COUNTY CIVIL COURT 05/04/2021 10:17 AM 513/2021 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 32 OATH/ECB Violation Details NO. LT-305578-20/NY RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/04/2021 If you have any questions please re view these FreguenllY. Asked Questions, the GlossarY., or call the 311 Citizen Service Center by dialing 311 or (212) NEW YORK outside of New York City. aB 0-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/ECBQueryB yNu mberServlet?requestid=2&ecb in=390 16172X 10 of 10 212

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.