Borg v. Santos

17 Misc. 3d 472
CourtCivil Court of the City of New York
DecidedAugust 20, 2007
StatusPublished

This text of 17 Misc. 3d 472 (Borg v. Santos) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Civil Court of the City of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Borg v. Santos, 17 Misc. 3d 472 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

George M. Heymann, J.

Petitioner commenced this personal use holdover proceeding seeking to recover apartment 4A at 273 South 2nd Street, Brooklyn, New York 11211, “for the use and occupancy of a member of his immediate family as her primary residence.”

On August 18, 2006, the petitioner served the respondent a “Notice to Tenant of Non-renewal of Lease, Termination of Tenancy and Landlord’s Intention to Recover Possession Based on Owner Occupancy” also known as a “Golub” notice1 by certified and regular mail.

In addition to providing information regarding the individual who intends on living in the subject premises as her primary residence, and informing the respondent that her tenancy will terminate when her lease term expired on November 30, 2006, said notice contained the following:

“Upon information and belief, the tenant herein is not over sixty-two (62) years of age and does not suffer from a permanent impairment as defined under Section 2520.6 (p) and (q) of the Rent Stabilization Code [RSC].[2]
“If, in fact, the tenant is sixty-two (62) years or [474]*474older and/or is so physically impaired, it is requested that the tenant notify the attorneys for the landlord, in writing, immediately.” (Emphasis added.)

Respondent now moves this court for an order pursuant to Civil Practice Law and Rules § 3212, granting the respondent

“summary judgment in dismissing the Petition herein on the ground that Petitioner has failed to comply with the statutory mandate of 9 NYCRR § 2524.4 (a) (2)[3] in that Ms. Santos is disabled as defined by the Rent Stabilization Code and Petitioner has failed to offer and provide ‘an equivalent or superior housing accommodation at the same or lower regulated rent in a closely proximate area’, and granting Respondent such further relief as may be just.”

Respondent contends in her affidavit that she is disabled as defined by the Rent Stabilization Code and thus the petitioner’s failure to offer to provide or provide “an equivalent or superior housing accommodation at the same or lower regulated rent in a closely proximate area” is a fatal defect in the predicate notice. As confirmation of her being disabled, the respondent provides as her only proof a printout (respondent exhibit 1) dated January 26, 2007, indicating that she receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and next to the phrase “Type of Person:” are the words “Disabled Individual.”

[475]*475The respondent avers that the petitioner was put on notice that she was disabled since she informed his attorney that she was disabled on the first court date, December 13, 2006, and also stated it in her subsequent answer to this proceeding on April 16, 2007.

Petitioner opposes the motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, seeks a hearing to determine if the respondent is disabled as defined in the ESC. Petitioner states that the parties consented to discovery in a stipulation dated March 30, 2007 but the respondent’s attorney never served any request to depose the petitioner and instead brought the instant motion.

Petitioner points out that the only proof submitted by the respondent is the printout annexed to her motion papers which, although it refers to her as a “Disabled Individual,” provides no other information as to the nature or extent of the disability. There is no other corroborating information provided. Petitioner argues that receiving SSI is not an absolute defense to this proceeding.

The respondent counters by claiming that “[t]he Social Security Administration [SSA] has supremacy in disability matters as the federal government has charged it with making disability determinations’’ and that the “SSA is best qualified to judge a person’s medical condition. ... If SSA grants SSI, the recipient has been held to a stringent standard and is severely disabled.” (Respondent’s attorney’s reply affirmation 1Í 4.)

In respondent’s reply affidavit (1if 3-4), she describes, for the first time, the medical conditions which prevent her from finding employment, to wit: mental problems for which she takes two medications, i.e., chronic psychiatric conditions including depression, anxiety, loss of memory, severe nervousness and sometimes hearing voices, terrible arthritis causing debilitating pain, dangerously high blood pressure, high cholesterol and rhinitis. Respondent sees a psychiatrist once a month and goes to group therapy once a week and has had physical therapy and rehab over the years.

Although the respondent gives this detailed description, she does not provide any documentation with regard to any of the above-mentioned conditions. The respondent relies entirely on the SSI reference to “Disabled Individual.”

In support of her position that she is, in fact, disabled, the respondent relies on the case Gogu v Ely (152 Misc 2d 169 [Civ Ct, Queens County 1991]) wherein the court concluded that the [476]*476tenant’s condition as defined by the Social Security Act rendered her “disabled” pursuant to the RSC. There, the court held that the condition manifested by the respondent “is for the purposes of the Social Security Act a mental impairment of substantial duration. The definition of ‘disabled’ within the meaning of the Code mirrors the concept focused in the Social Security Act. Accordingly, respondent is a disabled person within the meaning of the Rent Stabilization Code.” (152 Misc 2d at 171.)

Even if the court were to accept the respondent’s contention, that the SSA’s determination that she is a “disabled individual” as being conclusive regarding her claimed disability pursuant to the definition set forth in the RSC, as did the court in Gogu v Ely (supra), that does not automatically warrant summary judgment in the respondent’s favor dismissing this proceeding.

Respondent takes the position that by not offering to provide “an equivalent or superior housing accommodation at the same or lower regulated rent in a closely proximate area” in the body of the combined “Golub” notice and termination notice, said notice is thereby defective, thus depriving this court of jurisdiction over this matter.

The court disagrees with that assessment. This very issue was addressed in Gordon v Kahn (2002 NY Slip Op 50517[U], *4 [Civ Ct, NY County 2002]) as follows:

“Neither Sections 2524.2 or 2524.4 require that a predicate notice include language that if the tenant was a senior citizen [or disabled] the landlord would be required to provide equivalent or a superior housing accommodation at the same or lower regulated rent in a closely proximate area. A tenant’s entitlement to relocation to equivalent housing under RSC Section 2524 only arises after he or she proves that they are 62 years old. A landlord who seeks owner occupancy need not first determine that a tenant is 62 years old or disabled. Rather, the fact that a tenant is a senior citizen or disabled is a defense to the proceeding which must be pleadfed] and proven by respondent. Once respondent establishes that she is in fact a senior citizen [or disabled] then petitioner’s obligation to relocate her arises.”

[477]*477Citing Gordon v Kahn, the court in Miller v Jones (NYLJ, Jan.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Gogu v. Ely
152 Misc. 2d 169 (Civil Court of the City of New York, 1991)
Mora v. Cassino
196 Misc. 2d 403 (Civil Court of the City of New York, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
17 Misc. 3d 472, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/borg-v-santos-nycivct-2007.