Matter of Cerick v. New York City Dept. of Bldgs.

2024 NY Slip Op 32569(U)
New York Supreme Court, New York County·Decided July 26, 2024·No. Index No. 158941/2023·Unpublished

Opinion

Matter of Cerick v New York City Dept. of Bldgs.

2024 NY Slip Op 32569(U)

July 26, 2024

Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 158941/2023 Judge: John J. Kelley

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.

FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/26/2024 04:51 PM INDEX NO. 158941/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 34 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/26/2024

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY

PRESENT: HON. JOHN J. KELLEY PART 56M Justice

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 158941/2023 In the Matter of

07/12/2024,

RYAN CERICK, MOTION DATE 07/12/2024

Petitioner/Plaintiff, MOTION SEQ. NO. 001, 002

-v-

THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS and DECISION, ORDER, AND THE CITY OF NEW YORK JUDGMENT

Respondents/Defendants.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 27, 28, 29, 31 were read on this motion to/for ARTICLE 78 (BODY OR OFFICER) .

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 002) 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 32 were read on this motion to/for DISMISS .

In this hybrid proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 and action for declaratory relief, the petitioner/plaintiff (the petitioner) seeks judicial review of a May 5, 2023 New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) determination denying his application for a Site Safety Manager (SSM) certificate on the ground that he had not commenced and completed the requisite 18 months of training in the 24 months immediately prior to his submission of the application (MOT SEQ 001). The respondents/defendants (the respondents) oppose the petitioner’s request for relief pursuant to CPLR article 78. In his petition/complaint, the petitioner also seeks a judgment declaring that the DOB’s interpretation of 1 RCNY former 104-08(a)(3) effectively established a new, unpromulgated regulation imposing a different deadline for the filing of an application for an SSM certificate than that articulated in the existing regulation and, thus,

158941/2023 CERICK, RYAN vs. THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS ET AL Page 1 of 11 Motion No. 001 002

1 of 11

[* 1]

FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/26/2024 04:51 PM INDEX NO. 158941/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 34 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/26/2024

violated the New York City Administrative Procedure Act (New York City Charter §§ 1041-1047; hereinafter CAPA). The respondents move pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7) to dismiss the declaratory judgment cause of action for failure to state a cause of action (MOT SEQ 002). The petitioner opposes the motion. The petition is denied, the proceeding is dismissed, the respondents’ motion is granted, and the declaratory judgment cause of action is dismissed.

New York City Administrative Code (Admin. Code of City of N.Y.) § 28-402.2(4) provides that an applicant for an SSM certificate must have

“completed an 18 month on-the-job training program working on major buildings as that term is defined in [Admin. Code] chapter 33 under the direct and continuing supervision of a certified site safety manager. Such on-the-job training program shall conform to rules promulgated by the department [of buildings]. The supervising site safety manager shall certify the trainee's satisfactory completion of the training program. In addition, the applicant shall provide proof that, within one year prior to the date of application, he or she has satisfactorily completed a 40-hour course approved by the department [of buildings].”

Additionally, pursuant to 1 RCNY 104-08(a)(2) [former 104-08(a)(3)],

“[f]or the purposes of satisfying the requirements of paragraph 3.8 of section 28-

402.2, an acceptable 18 month on-the-job training program shall consist of successful completion within two years prior to application of an OSHA 30-hour safety course and the following: (i) The buildings worked on must have been major buildings; (ii) The work must have been site safety work performed under the direct supervision of a certified site safety manager . . . ; (iii) The trainee must have worked on a paid and full-time basis; (iv) Dated and notarized summaries must have been completed by the certified supervising site safety manager at the end of every month. Such summaries must specify the location and the precise nature of the construction activity the trainee was engaged in at the location for the month covered; (v) The program must include at least four months of training in soil or foundation work, at least four months of training in structural erection”

(emphasis added). This section of title 1 of the RCNY was formally promulgated as a regulation effective December 31, 2014, although 1 RCNY former 104-08(a)(3), which set forth the relevant text, has been renumbered as 1 RCNY 104-08(a)(2) as of May 29, 2024.

The petitioner participated in an on-the-job training program for an SSM certificate under the supervision of Michael Cerick from February 17, 2019 to March 2020, and again from January 11, 2021 to June 13, 2021. He further trained under the supervision of BSI Services

158941/2023 CERICK, RYAN vs. THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS ET AL Page 2 of 11 Motion No. 001 002

2 of 11

[* 2]

FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/26/2024 04:51 PM INDEX NO. 158941/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 34 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/26/2024

and Solutions, Inc. from February 11, 2019 to January 4, 2021, and under the supervision of The Casa Group, Inc., from April 20, 2020 to June 13, 2021. On November 2, 2022, the petitioner applied to the DOB for his certificate and for enrollment in the 30-hour OSHA course In its May 5, 2023 determination denying the petitioner’s application, the DOB concluded that,

“[a]s a part of your application, you were required to demonstrate completion of a qualifying 18 month on-the-job training program. In support of your application, you submitted an Experience Verification Forms from your employer. You also provided copies of training logs and your Social Security History of FICA Earnings (‘SSHE’) statement. However, the Department was unable to confirm the qualification of your on-the-job training program, as several of your training logs fall outside of the qualifying timeframe. Specifically, nine (9) of your training logs summarized training which occurred between February 2019 and October 2019, more than two years prior to your November 2, 2022 application date.

Therefore, the Department was unable to credit your training during this period”

(emphasis added). This hybrid proceeding and action ensued.

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