117 Misc. 2d 952 | N.Y. City Civ. Ct. | 1983
OPINION OF THE COURT
In this holdover proceeding petitioner seeks possession of respondent’s single-room dwelling unit for her own personal use. Petitioner proceeds under subdivision (b) of section 51 of the Code of the Metropolitan Hotel Industry Stabilization Association, Inc. (hereinafter METHISA Code) which provides that the owner may “refuse to offer or renew a lease or to continue the tenancy of a permanent tenant” where “[t]he Owner seeks in good faith to recover possession of a dwelling unit for his own use and occupancy” (METHISA Code, § 51, subd [b]).
After trial, the court is satisfied that petitioner has made the requisite showing of good faith required by subdivision (b) of section 51 of the METHISA Code. Respondent’s unit is located on the same floor as petitioner’s own unit and the
The question then becomes whether there exists any statutory authority for an owner to recover a unit on this ground in light of the amendment of section YY51-6.0 (subd c, par [9]) of the Administrative Code of the City of New York (Rent Stabilization Law of 1969) by section 6 of chapter 555 of the Laws of 1982.
Petitioner contends that the premises are registered with METHISA and that the METHISA Code applies to the premises as a rooming house and not a “hotel” as defined in the METHISA Code and that any amendment to the Rent Stabilization Law is irrelevant to this proceeding since it is governed by the METHISA Code and not the Code of the Rent Stabilization Association of New York City, Inc. (Rent Stabilization Code).
Respondent on the other hand argues that since the building does not provide any hotel services as defined in the METHISA Code the premises are governed by the Rent Stabilization Code and not the METHISA Code and the amendment to the Rent Stabilization Law requires dismissal of this proceeding.
Respondent contends that by reason of the amendment of section YY51-6.0 (subd c, par [9]) and the enactment of a new paragraph (9) and (9-a) omitting the phrase “and on specified grounds set forth in the code approved by the housing and development administration consistent with the purpose of this law” the authority for subdivision B of section 54 of the Rent Stabilization Code was repealed. Without the use of subdivision B of section 54 of the Rent Stabilization Code, respondent asserts petitioner has no right to recover possession of his unit for her own use. (See Kamm v Drake, 117 Misc 2d 658.)
The court finds that petitioner has lost the right to obtain respondent’s unit as a result of the amendment to section YY51-6.0 (subd c, par [9]) of the Administrative Code by section 6 of chapter 555 of the Laws of 1982.
The respondent demonstrated that petitioner’s building does not qualify as a “hotel” under the METHISA Code as amended July 15, 1982. For a building tó be classified as a “hotel” the building must commonly be regarded as a hotel and must customarily provide hotel services such as maid service, furnishings and laundering of linen, telephone and bellboy service, secretarial or desk service and use and upkeep of furniture and fixtures. (METHISA Code, § 3, subd [h].) The trial record demonstrates that none of these services were provided. However, the METHISA Code applies not only to these hotel premises but to “similar dwelling units which are subject to regulations pursuant to the ETPA [Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974] including units in hotels, single room occupancy facilities and rooming houses, or rooming units” pursuant to section 2 (subd [a], par [2]) of the METHISA Code provided one of three prerequisites have been met.
Respondent has not addressed this contention made by petitioner but simply argues that the lack of hotel services renders the METHISA Code inapplicable and requires the
The court does not rule on the issue of whether petitioner’s building is governed by the METHISA Code as a rooming house under section 2 (subd [a], par [2]) of the METHISA Code. Petitioner has not made any showing with respect to the history of the building to enable the court to determine whether the building comes within section 2 (sübd [a], par [2]). However, by reason of the amendment to section YY51-6.0 (subd c, par [9]) of the Administrative Code not only has the authority for subdivision B of section 54 of the Rent Stabilization Code been repealed but subdivision (b) of section 51 of the METHISA Code is also without statutory support. The amendment requires dismissal of this proceeding.
The court reaches this conclusion based upon the fact that METHISA Code exists under the authority granted by section YY51-6.1 of the Administrative Code which provides for the establishment of a hotel industry stabilization association and a code. Subdivision c of section YY51-6.1 provides that any code “approved hereunder * * * [by] the housing and development administration * * * [be] in compliance with the standards set forth in subdivision c of section YY51-6.0 to the extent such standards are applicable to the hotel industry”.
Accordingly, the petition is dismissed.
. Section 2 (subd [a], par [2]) provides that the METHISA Code applies, in addition to “hotels”, to “similar dwelling units which are subject to regulations pursuant to the ETPA [Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974] including units in hotels, single room occupancy facilities and rooming houses, or rooming units, as those terms are defined by law, which were (a) subject to * * * this Code on June 31, 1971 and were thereafter exempted upon vacancy decontrol by Chapter 371 of the Laws of 1971, (b) were subject to the provisions of the City Kent Law on June 30,1971 and were thereafter exempted from vacancy decontrol by Chapter 371 of the Laws of 1971, or (c) are in buildings completed or substantially rehabilitated prior to January 1,1974, provided that the dwelling unit is located in a multiple dwelling containing six or more dwelling units.”
. In 1981, the Court of Appeals decided in La Guardia v Cavanaugh (53 NY2d 67) that class B multiple dwellings were not coveréd by the Rent Stabilization Law of 1969 (§ YY51-3.0, as amd by Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 [L 1974, ch 576, § 7]). The Legislature immediately responded with an amendment to section YY51-3.0 (L 1981, ch 675) which explicitly extended the Rent Stabilization Law of 1969 to class B multiple dwellings which as defined in subdivision 9 of section 4 of the Multiple Dwelling Law include, inter alia, hotels and rooming houses. However, dwelling units in hotels “whether classified as * * * Class A or * * * Class B multiple dwelling[s] * * * [where] the rent charged for the individual dwelling units on May thirty-first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight was not more than three hundred fifty dollars per month or eighty-
