Karan Realty Assocs. v. Perez

• Decision Date: 25 March 2022
• Docket Number: Index L & T 306418/21
• Court: New York Civil Court
• Parties: Karan Realty Associates LLC, Petitioner-Landlord, v. Nelson Perez, Respondent-Occupant, CRISTINA PEREZ JOHN DOE & JANE DOE, Respondent-Undertenants.

2022 NY Slip Op 22093

Karan Realty Associates LLC, Petitioner-Landlord,
v.
Nelson Perez, Respondent-Occupant,

CRISTINA PEREZ JOHN DOE & JANE DOE, Respondent-Undertenants.

Index No. L & T 306418/21

Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County

March 25, 2022

For Petitioner: Gregory Bougopoulos, Esq., Novick Edelstein Pomerantz, P.C.

For Respondent: Jessie Phillips Levine, Esq. Queens Legal Services

JEANNINE BAER KUZNIEWSKI, J.H.C..

Recitation, as required by CPLR 2219(A), of the papers considered in the review of this Notice of Motion:

PAPERSNUMBERED

NOTICE OF MOTION, AFFIRMATION AND AFFIDAVITS ANNEXED

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE, AFFIRMATION AND AFFIDAVITS ANNEXED 1

ANSWER AFFIRMATION & AFFIDAVIT 2

REPLYING AFFIRMATION 3

EXHIBITS Memo of Law

STIPULATIONS

OTHER NYS ERAP Application Status

Upon the foregoing cited papers, the Decision/Order on the petitioner's motion to vacate the stay that is in effect due to the filing of a Hardship Declaration and ERAP application in this holdover proceeding is as follows:

This holdover proceeding was commenced seeking possession of the premises at 109-10 Park Lane South, apartment A6, Richmond Hill, NY 11418. The petition states that Nelson Perez is in occupancy of the apartment as an incidence of his employment as superintendent of the building. His employment was terminated on September 1, 2021 and the petition was filed on September 28, 2021. On October 6, 2021 the petitioner filed an amended petition which also alleged:

"Respondent's persistently and unreasonably engaging in behavior that substantially infringes on the use and enjoyment of other tenants or occupants or causes a substantial safety hazard to others, including your landlord and other tenant(s)."

Essentially the petitioner is alleging that the respondent is infringing on the use and enjoyment of the landlord and other tenants by remaining in the apartment and thereby not allowing the new superintendent to move in and be on property to address the needs of the tenants in the building. On October 3, 2021 Nelson Perez completed a Hardship Declaration. On December 10, 2021 the petitioner filed this Order to Show Cause. On January 27, 2022 the respondent applied for ERAP. On February 1, 2022 the respondent submitted opposition to the Order to Show Cause and on February 7, 2020 the petitioner filed their reply.

The Order to Show Cause seeks an order invalidating the Hardship Declaration filed by Mr. Perez. The Court will deny this as moot as this protection expired on January 15, 2022.

The application further asks that the proceeding be allowed to continue arguing that:

"...due to Respondents continued occupancy demonstrating persistent and unreasonably ongoing in behavior which is substantially interfering with the use and enjoyment of other tenants or occupants, or which causes a substantial hazard to others

-invalidating any stay of the proceeding date to Perez's filing of an Emergency Rental Assistance Program (the "ERAP") application, pursuant to Chapter 417, laws of 2021, Part A, §8) the "ERAP Amend Law") because this is not an eviction proceeding eligible for coverage under ERAP program and/or Perez is not eligible for ERAP; and

-pursuant to Eviction Restriction Law §10, scheduling the matter for a trial on a date and time certain." ^[1]

In April 2021, the legislature passed the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program ("CERAP"), funded with $2.6 billion for residential rent and utility assistance.

"On August 12, 2021, in the case Chrysafis v Marks, the U.S. Supreme Court enjoined the enforcement of CEEFPA's residential eviction moratorium, finding that provisions that provided for a tenant to self-certify financial hardship and delayed a landlord from contesting the certification violated constitutional rights to due process. In response, the New York State Legislature amended the statute on September 1, 2021." ^[2]

"The legislature is especially cognizant of the ongoing risks posed by residential evictions stemming from non-payment of rent during the height of the public health emergency, and its recovery period, such as the potential to exacerbate the resurgence of COVID-19, the damage significant numbers of evictions would cause to the state's economic recovery, and the deleterious social and public health effects of homelessness and housing instability." ^[3]

The amendment addressed the due process argument by providing for a mechanism for a...