Dep't of Hous. Pres. & Dev. v. Vabre

• Decision Date: 16 August 2021
• Docket Number: Index 2084/2019,2971/2019
• Citation: Dep't of Hous. Pres. & Dev. v. Vabre, 2021 NY Slip Op 32021(U), 2971/2019, Index 2084/2019 (N.Y. Civ. Ct. Aug 16, 2021)
• Parties: DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Petitioner, v. DOMINQUE VABRE and 9M4N HOLDINGS LLC, Respondent. AARON MILTON JR., Petitioner, v. 9M4N HOLDINGS LLC, et al., Respondent.
• Court: New York Civil Court

2021 NY Slip Op 32021(U)

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Petitioner, v. DOMINQUE VABRE and 9M4N HOLDINGS LLC, Respondent.

AARON MILTON JR., Petitioner, v. 9M4N HOLDINGS LLC, et al., Respondent.

Index Nos. 2084/2019, 2971/2019

Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County

August 16, 2021

Unpublished Opinion

Present: Hon. Jack Stoller Judge, Housing Court

DECISION AND ORDER

HON JACK STOLLER J.H.C.

Aaron Milton Jr. ("Petitioner #1"), Alexis Mena ("Petitioner #2"), Celeste Waters ("Petitioner #3"), Daiju Edwards ("Petitioner #4"), Laura Saldana ("Petitioner #5"), Ronny Nunez ("Petitioner #6"), and Terry Kenard Barnes ("Petitioner #7"), the petitioners in one of these proceedings (collectively, "Petitioners") commenced their Housing Part proceeding ("HP proceeding") against 9M4N Holdings LLC, Refolio Holdings LLC, and Dominique Vabre ("Respondents")^[1] pursuant to New York City Civil Court Act §110 seeking different forms of relief against Respondents with regard to 94 Monroe Street, Brooklyn, New York ("the subject premises"), although Petitioners indicated at trial that they were not pursuing their harassment causes of action. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development of the City of New York ("HPD") commenced the other HP proceeding against Respondents also seeking an order to correct. Respondents interposed an answer. The Court held a joint trial of these matters on May 20, 2021 and May 21, 2021 and adjourned the matter for post-trial submissions to July 30 2021.^[2]

The trial

HPD introduced into evidence a number of violations of the New York City Housing Maintenance Code at the subject premises ("the Violations"), including several "C" violations dated February 25, 2019 for fire damage;^[3] an order that HPD placed on the subject premises directing that the occupants vacate by March 12 2019 because of fire damage and an absence of gas, heat, electricity, and a water supply ("the Vacate Order");^[4] and proof of service of notices of violation in compliance with N.Y.C. Admin. Code §27-2115(o). Petitioners introduced into evidence an order to correct that the Court entered in HPD's proceeding against Respondents dated December 11, 2020 ("the Extant Order To Correct"). The Extant Order To Correct found that a fire occurred at the subject premises on February 20, 2019 and directed Respondents to correct the Violations within seven days for "C" violations, thirty days for "B" violations, and ninety days for "A" violations. Petitioners introduced into evidence violations placed on the subject premises by the New York City Department of Buildings ("DOB") noting an inspection on February 20, 2019 warranting a full vacate order.^[5]

Petitioner #7 testified that he moved to a particular room in the subject premises in 2018; that he paid rent at a rate of about $800 a month; that he interacted with someone named "Mr. Aronov" ("the Landlord"); that a group would call him to get things fixed like plumbing, electricity, and a door lock; that the Landlord would enter the subject premises without notice with an employee who never identified himself and who was recording with a camcorder; that the Landlord one time put numbers on doors and presented something that looked like a makeshift eviction notice that was not official; that Petitioner #7 communicated with a landlord and a management company; that the Landlord said that he would start working with them to get repairs done in September or October; that the Landlord would constantly switch off breakers; that a basement flooded; that the Landlord used a sump pump; that stairs were creepy and loose; that toilets would clog; that showers on the first and second floors were not working; that a shower on a third floor was sitting for months at a time; that Petitioners were down to one shower; that they reached out to the Landlord in October to see where the Landlord was with repairs; that they got no response for months; that a fire occurred in February of 2019; that on the day of the fire when he returned to the subject premises Petitioners, who he characterized as his roommates, were at a YMCA kitty-corner to the subject premises; that the Red Cross was there, helping people salvage things; that a cleaning crew came from the Landlord's management company, cleaning up their things as the Red Cross was taking them in for temporary shelter; that they called the Landlord to ask that he stop trashing their things and give them more time to get their things, and that they have not been back to the subject premises since then.

Petitioner #7 testified on cross-examination that he moved to the subject premises in August of 2018; that he signed a lease agreement with current tenants; that the Landlord was not a party to that lease; that he rented his room from a tenants' association; that he interviewed with Petitioner #1, Petitioner #6, and another tenant named Casey Appleton ("the Occupant"), all of whom had signed the lease; that he did not have a copy of the lease; that his lease was a monthto-month lease; that he paid $800 rent to Petitioner #6 in cash; that he got receipts, but they were destroyed in the fire; that Petitioner #6's room, a bathroom, office supplies, a closet with an unusable kitchen space, and a living room were on the second floor of the subject premises; that the first week of November of 2018 was his first interaction with the Landlord; that he saw the Landlord again in December of 2018; that he saw the Landlord come into every space in November of 2018; that they spoke about the maintenance of the subject premises and rent payments; that he told the Landlord he was paying rent to Petitioner #6 and the Occupant who put it into a "mutual fund;" that he did not know where the funds were held; that the Landlord never asked for rent; that their idea was that they would put the money into a fund for repairs themselves; that they did not get permission from a landlord to repair facilities themselves; that the Landlord came a few weeks before the fire and put numbers and "unofficial eviction notices" on doors; that he did not have the unofficial eviction notice; that anything in his room was lost to him, thrown in the trash by a cleaning crew on the same day as the fire; that the day after the fire he was locked out of the subject premises; that utilities were included in his rent; that he did not have an account for utilities in his own name; that he asked the Landlord for permission to retrieve his belongings multiple times; that his room was unfurnished when he rented it; that the door to his room was white; that they painted the walls a tangerine color; that Petitioner #1 is his partner; that did not remove papers from the subject premises on the day of the fire, but rather removed his cat's body, a bag of clothing that was drenched, textbooks, and artwork; that most of the stuff was burnt or smelled of soot and was water-damaged; and that the Fire Department ("FDNY") was rushing them off the property because they wanted to make sure that they would get out safely.

Petitioner #7 testified on redirect examination that the parties to that lease were him and the current tenants; that it was his understanding that the Landlord would review the lease; that he paid rent to Petitioner #6 of the Occupant; and that his expectation was that they would transfer the money to the Landlord.

Petitioner #2 testified that he moved into a particular room in the subject premises in September of 2018; that Petitioner #6 gave him the Landlord's phone number; that he spoke to the Landlord before he moved in; that Petitioner #6 put him on a text thread with the Landlord; that they were texting each other; that he spoke to the Landlord mostly to complain about repairs that needed to be done; that he paid rent in an amount of $650; that he once saw the Landlord enter the subject premises with an employee who walked in holding a phone recording everything while they entered each room; that they said it was a standard walk-through; that Petitioner #6 and Petitioner #1 were there at the time; that the Landlord said that a management company would handle complaints about conditions and that repairs would be done as long as he made his payments; that he paid but repairs were not done; that, on the day of the fire, DOB was inspecting the subject premises; that he used to be a mortgage officer and had experience working with DOB inspectors; that he was there on the day of the fire and saw that it started in another room when a DOB inspector happened to be there; that he had tried to put out a fire in his room with a fire extinguisher, but it was not enough; that the DOB inspector called 911; that everyone in the subject premises at the time got out; and that FDNY gave them permission to retrieve belongings before they moved to a shelter.

Petitioner #2 testified on cross-examination that when he moved in, he did not sign a lease; that the Landlord said that he would be there month-to-month; that Petitioner #6 showed him the room initially; that the Landlord was the one who told him to work with Petitioner #6 as a point person; that the Landlord told him that his rent would be $650; that he got receipts for rent paid but lost all his belongings in the fire; that he does not remember who signed the receipts; that he did not know about a "mutual fund" or any joint account being held by an occupant of the subject premises; that he knew the Occupant, who was a tenant; that he called the Occupant a "lone wolf"; that he thought that the Occupant was there before him up until the fire; that he did not sign a lease with the Occupant; that he did not remember if there was an extension cord from his room; that he did not remember if he spoke to someone from the FDNY; that h...