Matter of Cambridge v. Commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings

• Decision Date: 11 January 2005
• Docket Number: 4472.
• Citation: 14 A.D.3d 373,2005 NY Slip Op 00114,788 N.Y.S.2d 84
• Parties: In the Matter of MICHAEL CAMBRIDGE, Respondent, v. COMMISSIONER OF THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS et al., Appellants.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

14 A.D.3d 373

788 N.Y.S.2d 84

2005 NY Slip Op 00114

In the Matter of MICHAEL CAMBRIDGE, Respondent, v. COMMISSIONER OF THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS et al., Appellants.

4472.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Department.

January 11, 2005.

Order and judgment (one paper), Supreme Court, New York County (Michael D. Stallman, J.), entered December 19, 2003, which granted the petition to annul respondent's determination denying petitioner's application for a license as a master electrician, and remanded the matter to respondent with a direction to grant the application, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the petition denied and dismissed.

In March 2000, petitioner filed an application for a master electrician's license. In his sworn application, petitioner stated that from September 10, 1990 to the date of the application he had been employed as a journeyman electrician by Green's Electrical Service Inc., in Mount Vernon, New York. After having passed the written examination, petitioner submitted additional documents from George D. Green, indicating that he had been employed by Green on a full-time basis from May 1991 to March 2001 and part time from March 2001 to November 2001. Petitioner also submitted his federal tax returns for 1991 through 1996 and a Social Security Administration statement of his earnings for 1988 through 2000.

The tax returns reflected no income from salary in the years 1991 through 1996. With each return was submitted a "Schedule C," a statement of profit or loss from a "sole proprietorship," listing petitioner's occupation as "Electrician" and his business address in New York City. Each year's return deducted itemized business expenses for such items as supplies, depreciation, repairs and maintenance, office expense, car and truck expense, and travel. Petitioner's Social Security statement reflected that he was employed by Green only from 1997 to 2000 and indicated no paid employment at all in the years 1991 through 1996.

On June 3, 2002, petitioner appeared before the license board. Under questioning about the discrepancy between his statement of employment and his tax returns, petitioner told the board that he had always worked full time for Green, whom he had known for his entire life, and that Green's accountant prepared his tax returns and sent them to him for his signature. He said that he did not review the returns before signing them, which he did "on trust," and that he was unaware that he was represented on the returns to be the sole proprietor of a business. The board observed that petitioner "may have been put in a bad position," but since he signed the tax returns under oath, swearing that the information contained in them was correct, it had no choice but to recommend to the City Department of Buildings that his application be denied.

After his appearance before the board, petitioner submitted letters from Green's accountant, his own accountant, and Green's wife (writing on Green's behalf because he was incapacitated), essentially confirming his testimony that it was Green's decision to issue 1099 forms instead of W-2 forms.

The Commissioner of the Department of Buildings denied petitioner's application on the ground of want of good moral character, as evinced by the hearing testimony and documentary evidence indicating that for at least six of the years preceding his application, petitioner was "the principal of a company that engaged in the installation, alteration or repair of wiring or appliances for electric light, heat or power within the City of New York without a license," and that he submitted tax forms to the federal government identifying himself as the sole proprietor of an electrical contracting business, in direct violation of the New York City Electrical Code (Administrative Code of City of NY § 27-3017). The Commissioner stated that, even assuming the truth of his testimony that he did not review his tax forms, an admission that petitioner failed to review documents that he swore were true and accurate and then submitted to a government agency "reflects poorly on [his] ability to be reliable, accurate and trusted — all important traits of a licensee of good moral character." Referring to petitioner's posthearing evidence, she stated that it was ...