On December 23, 2009, attorneys at the law firm of Himmelstein Gribben and Joseph secured a potentially major victory for tenants in New York City. W Associates v. Maverick Scott. On that day, Housing Court Judge Bruce Scheckowitz ruled that the tenant’s apartment located at…
In a decision dated December 2, 2013, 98 Riverside Drive v. DHCR and 98 Riverside Drive Tenants Association, Justice Cynthia S. Kern of the New York State Supreme Court dismissed the landlord’s Article 78 petition against a rent reduction order issued by the DHCR which…
Most residential leases prohibit subleasing. However, a statute, Real Property Law section 226-b, titted “Right to Sublet”, gives the appearance that despite the lease prohibition you can go ahead and sublet. You would not be faulted if you believed that. Alas, it is not that…
In the 1980’s, a Brooklyn brownstone containing 7 units was converted to 4 units. None of the units were ever registered with the DHCR. A duplex unit was occupied by the owners from 1998 to 2008. In 2008, these owners sold the building, and the…
My name is Serge Joseph. I am a partner in the law firm of Himmelstein Gribben & Joseph. The attorneys in our firm represent individual tenants and Tenant Associations in many HPD-supervised Mitchell-Lama developments throughout the City, including in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. The…
My name is Samuel Himmelstein, I am a partner at Himmelstein Gribben & Joseph. We represent tenants, tenants associations, co-op shareholders and condo unit owners. Over the years we have represented numerous Mitchell Lama Tenants Associations and individual tenants. Most recently I argued and won…
Class Action law suits allow claims to be brought on behalf of many people who have been adversely affected by the actions of the defendant. Often times the individual claims are small but in the aggregate can be huge. For example, a credit card company…
Last week our firm week won a huge victory in a long, bitter and hard fought housing court case entitled Samra v. Messeca. This was what is known as an “owner use” proceeding-an eviction case brought against a rent stabilized tenant because the landlord claims that…
Approximately 95% of tenants in housing court are not represented by attorneys. One of the results is that tenants often enter into agreements (or “stipulations”) to give up their apartment even when they may have a strong defense to the case against them. In a…
New York Housing Court Judge Sabrina B. Kraus recently dismissed a landlords non-payment proceeding on the grounds that the landlord had repeatedly refused rent which the tenant tried to pay. The defense is known as “tender and refusal.” Windermere vs. Mulla, NYLJ, 8/7/13. The tenant…
Landlords commonly request access from tenants for repairs both parties agree must be done. Work usually is completed with cooperation and communication on both sides. But sometimes, claims of “no access” are created by landlords and boards to pressure a tenant or shareholder to do…
“Discovery” is generally where a party to a legal proceeding is required to provide the other party with documents and sit for a “deposition” to help that party prove its case. (It can also involve production of videotapes, medical examinations, inspection of premises, etc.) A…
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People often make the mistake of trying to manage a landlord-tenant dispute on their own. Without experienced legal counsel, however, it is easy to make the situation worse. We are skilled at negotiating with landlords, and fighting evictions in housing court and Supreme Court.
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