135-43 126 Holdings Corp. v. Guzman

2026 NY Slip Op 30574(U)
CourtCivil Court Of The City Of New York, New York County
DecidedFebruary 24, 2026
DocketIndex No. 301688/2023
StatusUnpublished
AuthorJack Stoller

This text of 2026 NY Slip Op 30574(U) (135-43 126 Holdings Corp. v. Guzman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Civil Court Of The City Of New York, New York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
135-43 126 Holdings Corp. v. Guzman, 2026 NY Slip Op 30574(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2026).

Opinion

135-43 126 Holdings Corp. v Guzman 2026 NY Slip Op 30574(U) February 24, 2026 Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 301688/2023 Judge: Jack Stoller 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.

file:///LRB-ALB-FS1/Vol1/ecourts/Process/covers/LT_301688_WW.html[02/27/2026 3:45:55 PM] FILED: HARLEM COMMUNITY JUSTICE CENTER - INDEX NO.09:09 L&T 02/25/2026 LT-301688-23/HA AM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 52 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/25/2026

CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK: HOUSING PART R ---------------------------------------------------------------X 135-43 126 HOLDINGS CORP.,

Petitioner, Index No. 301688/2023 -against-

ROSA GUZMAN, DECISION/ORDER Respondent. ---------------------------------------------------------------X Present: Hon. Jack Stoller Judge, Housing Court

135-43 126 Holdings Corp., the petitioner in this proceeding (“Petitioner”), commenced

this summary proceeding against Rosa Guzman, the respondent in this proceeding

(“Respondent”), seeking a money judgment and possession of 405 East 117th Street, Apt. 1A,

New York, New York (“the subject premises”), on an allegation of nonpayment of rent.

Respondent interposed an answer amended on March 25, 2024 with defenses of laches, tender

and refusal, payment, breach of the warranty of habitability, and that MDL §302(1)(b) precludes

collection of rent, and counterclaims for breach of the warranty of habitability, harassment, an

order to correct, and attorneys’ fees. The Court held a trial of this matter on March 5, 2025,

August 15, 2025, and November 20, 2025 and adjourned the matter for post-trial submissions,

ultimately to February 13, 2026.

The trial record

Petitioner proved that it is a proper party to commence this proceeding; that the parties

are in a landlord/tenant relationship with one another; that Respondent is protected by the Rent

Stabilization Code; that Petitioner has satisfied the registration requirements of 9 N.Y.C.R.R.

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§2528.3 and MDL §325; that Respondent owed rent arrears; and that Petitioner demanded

payment of rent pursuant to RPAPL §711(2).

Petitioner submitted into evidence a two-year lease commencing on July 1, 2019 with a

monthly rent of $997.73. Petitioner submitted into evidence a two-year lease commencing on

July 1, 2021 with a monthly rent of $1,007.70. Petitioner submitted into evidence a two-year

lease commencing on July 1, 2023 with a monthly rent of $1,058.08. Petitioner submitted into

evidence a rent breakdown showing that after the commencement of the lease, Petitioner

received one payment of $997.53, one payment of $990.92, one payment of $3,000, one payment

of $1,000, one payment of $998, one payment of $1,996, seven payments of $997.60, one

payment of $1,992.90, two payments of $997.50, one payment of $2,000, one payment of

$958.92, one payment of $1,132, one payment of $2,0461, two payments of $1,007.70, one

payment of $1,100, one payment of $3,071.06, one payment of $754.64, one payment of

$997,73, and a payment on February 7, 2024 in the amount of $15,468.16 from the Emergency

Rental Assistance Program (“ERAP”). The rent breakdown shows that Respondent moved into

the subject premises on August 2, 2017.

Nadav Cohen (“Manager”) testified that he does not register the subject premises with

DHCR; that he does not have a rent registration for the subject premises; that there is a big

balance for the rent; that the subject premises is on the ground floor; that there may be one other

apartment on the ground floor, but he forgot; that he has managed the building in which the

subject premises is located (“the Building”) for four years; that there was a commercial store on

the ground floor before he was managing the Building; that there is no commercial store now;

that he did not know the configuration of the subject premises because his state of mind was that

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Respondent reconfigured the subject premises; and that he has never been inside the subject

premises.

Manager testified on cross-examination that sometimes someone who works for

Petitioner makes a correction to a rent breakdown if rent is not added or if it is added twice.

Petitioner submitted into evidence an I-card1 dated October 5, 1938 that stated that the

Building had no apartments in the cellar, one apartment on the first floor, two apartments on each

of the four floors above that. Petitioner submitted into evidence HPD records showing that HPD

dismissed violations dated March 16, 2002 and February 29, 2003 requiring that the owner file

plans and an application to legalize an alteration or to restore to the legal condition existing

before the alteration a subdivision of apartment 1B at the Building into two units.

Respondent submitted into evidence a summons and complaint dated May 31, 2023 in the

ejectment action 135-43 126 St Holdings Corp v. Guzman, that alleged that Respondent intruded

or squatted upon the premises in violation of the certificate of occupancy. Respondent submitted

into evidence holdover petitions, all captioned at 135-43 126 St Holdings Corp v. Guzman. In

the first holdover petition, which does not have an index number, Petitioner alleged that

Respondent squatted in the “store”. The second holdover petition, predicated on a notice to quit

dated March 24, 2022, had an index number of 305700/2022, and was discontinued without

prejudice. The third holdover petition, seeking the same relief and predicated on a notice to quit

effective July 31, 2022, had an index number of 300843/2022. The Court granted a cross-motion

to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and a failure to adequately describe the subject

1 I-cards provide evidence of an inspector’s observations and thus of the nature of the use or occupancy. Matter of 345 W. 70th Tenants Corp. v. N.Y.C. Envtl. Control Bd., 143 A.D.3d 654, 654-55 (1st Dept. 2016). 3

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premises by an order dated April 21, 2023. Two of the holdover petitions sought judgments for

use and occupancy.

Respondent testified that there is a small space where you find mailboxes and then a

small hallway that leads directly to the subject premises and that the subject premises has two

doors. Respondent submitted into evidence photographs of the façade of the Building, one of

which shows the common hallway with two doors that say “1A” on them. The photographs also

show one apartment, “1A” on the doorbell and the mailboxes.

Respondent testified that she moved into the subject premises in 2001; that she last paid

rent for the subject premises in 2022 when they brought her to Court; that she paid rent monthly

directly from her bank account to Petitioner; and that Petitioner blocked her from paying the rent.

Respondent submitted into evidence a printout of an online payment that said that she

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Bluebook (online)
2026 NY Slip Op 30574(U), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/135-43-126-holdings-corp-v-guzman-nycivctny-2026.