Significant Victories

2026 Victories

Appellate Decisions

• HG&J LLP Class Action Settlement Returns Apartments To Rent-Stabilization With Lower Rents and Substantial Overcharge Awards: Starting 2026 with another victory for tenants, HG&J LLP recently settled the 350 E. 52nd Street rent overcharge/J-51 class action suit. The settlement resulted in 81 apartments being returned to rent stabilized status, provided a benefit worth $6.9M to hundreds of tenants, and resulted in over $500K in refunds to 98 class members.

Carrying Our 2025 Success Into 2026

Happy New Year From Himmelstein Gribben & Joseph LLP

2025 was another dynamic, challenging, hardworking and gratifying year for all of us at HG&J LLP. Every day there was another trial, another motion, another appeal, another application for succession, another appearance before the Loft Board. And every day there was another client able to keep his or her home, take over an apartment from a family member, recover overcharges, negotiate the best settlement possible.

HG&J LLP CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT RETURNS APARTMENTS TO RENT-STABILIZATION WITH LOWER RENTS AND SUBSTANTIAL OVERCHARGE AWARDS

Starting 2026 with another victory for tenants, HG&J LLP recently settled the 350 E. 52nd Street rent overcharge/J-51 class action suit. The settlement resulted in 81 apartments being returned to rent stabilized status, provided a benefit worth $6.9M to hundreds of tenants, and resulted in over $500K in refunds to 98 class members.

BIG NEWS – WELCOME DANIEL NAKOS AS OUR NEW PARTNER

The BIG NEWS in 2025 was that our associate Daniel Nakos has joined us as a partner (beginning January 2026). Dan knows the rent laws inside-out, is always looking for a new way to interpret the law to benefit our clients. Dan is indefatigable. He’s also a great guy. We are so fortunate to have him, a face of the future for our firm.

BEST HOUSING LITIGATION TEAM IN NYC

Partners

Overall, in our humble opinion, we have the best housing litigation team in NYC. Founding partner William Gribben (“Billy”) Gribben has been at it for more than 30-years and fights for his clients with the same passion and commitment that he did when he started out. Partners Serge Joseph, David Hershey-Webb, Ronald Languedoc, Jesse Gribben, Catharine Grad and Daniel Nakos collectively have over a 100 years of experience winning for tenants, cooperative shareholders, condo unit owners and homeowners.

Associates

Milad Momeni and Vanessa Vecchiarello, have racked up many wins over the year and garnered glowing reviews from clients.

Paralegals and Support Staff

Our two paralegals, Romeo Dela Cruz and Tiffany Muse, pore through and organize endless discovery documents and assist all of the attorneys in multiple ways. Our staff keeps the whole operation going: Marisol Dones (office manager), Josephine Muniz (legal assistant), Barbara Cook (bookkeeper).

WINNING FOR OUR CLIENTS

And finally, our clients: artists and nurses and teachers and musicians and social workers and small business owners and doctors and lawyers and filmmakers and retirees, to name a few. Each is seeking a little bit of justice in a tough city.

We are all ready to take on 2026!!

2025 Appellate Court Wins

• Pei-De Tsai v. JCHHBLandlord’s rent claims previously dismissed due to lack of valid certificate of occupancy. Leave to appeal to Court of Appeals denied. Tenants recover use and occupancy payments and attorney’s fees.
• Teore v. DHCRDHCR’s decision failing to find evidence of fraudulent deregulation annulled. Matter remanded to DHCR to review entire rent history.
• 527 W. 48th St. LLC v. StrotzTenant default vacated and case dismissed for failure of landlord to file timely proof of service.
• Carrano v. ColonAgreement to treat an apartment “as if” rent-stabilized includes succession rights.

Lower Court and Administrative Agency Wins

• 862 Union Owner LLC v. Thiers/ThiamLandlord’s claim of deregulation based upon “first rent” rejected. Apartment subject to rent-stabilization.
• West, et. al. v. BCRE-90 LLCCourt applies “waiver” rule where landlord failed to preserve the legal rent, making the “preferential” rent the legal rent and imposes rent freeze. Rent-stabilized tenants entitled to overcharges and attorneys fees.
• Texiera v. Arthur & DHCRCourt finds flaws in DHCR inspection and sends case back to DHCR where landlord reduced number of apartments from 6 to 5 and claimed building not rent-stabilized.
• G&L Realty Delaware LLC v. SchypiorRent-stabilized tenant’s partner may be entitled to succession even though a foreign resident in the country on a long-term visitor’s visa.

Mitchell-Lama Decisions

• HPD found that succession claim by daughter who had lived in Mitchell-Lama apartment for 24-years was not barred by private agreement between her divorced parents.
• Hardship exception allowed successor in Mitchell-Lama type apartment to remain in his apartment without downsizing.

2025 Victories

Appellate Decisions

• Pei-De Tsai v. JCHHB (AD 1^st) Landlord’s rent claims previously dismissed due to lack of valid certificate of occupancy.  Leave to appeal to Court of Appeals denied. Tenants recover use and occupancy payments and attorney’s fees.

• Teore v. DHCR (AD 2^nd) DHCR’s decision failing to find evidence of fraudulent deregulation annulled. Matter remanded to DHCR to review entire rent history.
• 527 W. 48^th St. LLC v. Strotz (AT 1^st) Tenant default vacated and case dismissed for failure of landlord to file timely proof of service.
• Carrano v. Colon (AT 2^nd) Agreement to treat an apartment “as if” rent-stabilized includes succession rights.

Lower Court & Administrative Decisions

• 862 Union Owner LLC v. Thiers/Thiam (Sup Ct, KI) Landlord’s claim of deregulation based upon “first rent” rejected. Apartment subject to rent-stabilization.
• West, et. al. v. BCRE-90 LLC (Sup Ct, NY) Court applies “waiver” rule where landlord failed to preserve the legal rent, making the “preferential” rent the legal rent and imposes rent freeze.  Rent-stabilized tenants entitled to overcharges and attorneys fees.
• Texiera v. Arthur & DHCR (Sup Ct, KI) Court finds flaws in DHCR inspection and sends case back to DHCR where landlord reduced number of apartments from 6 to 5 and claimed building not rent-stabilized.
• G&L Realty Delaware LLC v. Schypior (Civ Ct, NY) Rent-stabilized tenant’s partner may be entitled to succession even though a foreign resident in the country on a long-term visitor’s visa.
• Levan v. First Avenue Realty Holdings LP (Civ Ct, NY) $9,935,000 tenant damage calculation for failure to make repairs found enforceable.
• ACP 150 WEA v. Josiane Herd (Civ Ct, NY) Succession granted to long-term partner of tenant even though tenant relocated for 10-months before he died.
• Annani Group LLC v. Live Nation Worldwide (Civ Ct, KI) Commercial tenant, illegally locked out by owner (who was arrested) restored to possession. Owner’s motion for a stay of restoration denied. Tenant obtains damages.
• 360-362 Lafayette LLC v. Brown (Civ Ct, KI) Two adjoining buildings determined to be a single “horizontal multiple dwelling” entitled to rent-stabilization protection. Buildings have common façade, roof, front stoop, rear-yard, electrical system and adjoining basements.
• Aleichem v. Borenstein (Civ Ct, KI) Eviction of 83-year old, decades long, tenant overturned after timely cure.
• Abart v. Shohett (Civ Ct, NY) Discovery granted in Good Cause Eviction case based on unreasonable rent increase.

Mitchell-Lama Decisions

• HPD found that succession claim by daughter who had lived in Mitchell-Lama apartment for 24-years was not barred by private agreement between her divorced parents.
• Hardship exception allowed successor in Mitchell-Lama type apartment to remain in his apartment without downsizing.

2024 Victories

Appellate Court Wins

• Pei-De Tsai v. JCHHB, Inc., (App. Div., 1st Dept) Owner ejectment seeking arrears dismissed because no valid Certificate of Occupancy

• Matter of 350 Cent. Park W. Assoc. LLC v. N.Y. State Div. of Hous. & Cmty. Renewal, (App. Div., 1st Dept) Rent reduction order for removal of elevator operators upheld where Owner had not provided an adequate substitute

• Glebow Realty Assocs. v. Dietrich>, (App. Div., 1st) Apartment rent-stabilized because residential use was known to owner and no use and occupancy due because no valid Certificate of Occupancy

• Matter of 58E83 Realty, LLC v. N.Y. State Div. of Hous. & Cmty. Renewal, (App. Div., 1st) Demolition application denied by DHCR affirmed where Owner offered insufficient proof of financial ability

Lower Court and Administrative Agency Wins

• 123 On the Park LLC v. Decicco-Ting, (Civ. Ct., NY Co Nov 2024) Rent concession spread out through the tenancy is a preferential rent, holdover for failure to sign renewal is dismissed

• 360-362 Lafayette, LLC v. Brown, (Civ. Ct., Kings) Tenant granted discovery in HMD status case limited to inspection of the building

• Lashley v. Kings Village Corp., (Sup. Kings) Denying defendant Citimortgage’s motion to dismiss action brought by co-op shareholder involving co-op’s attempt to assess attorneys’ fees incurred in an HP Action for repairs where shareholder was the prevailing party.

• Nizamuddin v. Khan, (Civ. NY 9/16/24) Dismissed claim for rent/use and occupancy because tenant was ousted from upper portion of his duplex apartment and landlord divided the unit into two separate apartments in violation of the certificate of occupancy

Other Victories for Tenants

• The historic Knickerbocker Greys, a 120-year old youth cadet corps. defeat eviction attempts by the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy
• Obtained rent stabilization status, rent reductions and substantial overcharges for multiple tenants throughout the city
• Won multiple rent-stabilization and Mitchell-Lama successions, including one successor who finally got his rent-stabilized lease after 14-years
• Settled a four-year rent-stabilization status litigation with a substantial rent abatement and a 10-year lease and another with a substantial buyout
• Obtained rent abatements for tenants who suffered an elevator outage for months
• Resolved multiple year recurring sewage overflow into tenant’s apartment after commencing HP proceeding
• Defeated motion for preliminary injunction seeking to demolish and reconstruct defendant’s shower in a cooperative building
• Negotiated settlement of demolition application gaining tenants temporary relocation apartments and a right to return as contractual rent stabilized tenants after new construction is complete
• Dismissal of Civil Court proceeding for failure to accurately describe premises
• Dismissal of nuisance holdover for defective predicate notice
• Negotiated settlement with waiver of $367,924.03 in past due rent
• Negotiated settlement with waiver of $218,028.17 in past due rent

HGJ attorneys also taught CLEs for the State and County Bar Associations on Regulatory Status and Rent Overcharges, Good Cause Evictions and Mitchell-Lama Article 78s and participated in Palante’s annual Tenants Rights Conference.

We are all looking forward to more wins in 2025!!

• Tenants represented by HGJ at an upper west side building have just won a case at the Appellate Division. In 2014 the DHCR issued a decision freezing the rent and preventing any rent increases, including one for a major capital improvement, based on defects in 26 hallway windows throughout the building. The DHCR, and now the Appellate Division, have rejected the landlord’s defenses and ruled that rents will remain frozen until the windows are finally repaired.
• HGJ Recovers Over $8 Million In Rent Refunds, A Waiver Of MCI Charges And Forgiveness Of 10 Years Of Rent Increases In Historic J51 Class Action Settlement HGJ has recovered over $8 million in rent refunds, a waiver of MCI charges, and forgiveness of any possible rent increases over the past 10 years as part of a J-51 class action settlement for current and past tenants of an Upper East Side building. The agreement, approved by New York State Supreme Court last week, is one of the largest class action settlements in a J-51 overcharge case since the 2009 Roberts decision. The $8 million will be distributed among 327 past and current tenants of the Clermont, located at 442 East 82nd Street. The settlement guarantees permanent rent stabilized status for class members. The tenant class is represented by William Gribben and Ron Languedoc of HGJ, and by Matt Brinckerhoff of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP.
• Upper West Side Tenants Win Ruling Over Smaller Storage Bins Upper West Side tenants had their storage rooms taken away and replaced by storage bins that were % smaller. DHCR ruled that the change was a reduction in services and reduced the rents for rent controlled tenants and rolled back and froze the rents for rent-stabilized tenants.
• Widow Wins Appeal of Mitchell-Lama Apartment Denial The widow of a veteran was on the waiting list for a Mitchell-Lama apartment. Her number came up and she was offered an apartment. She was given a certain priority because her husband had been a veteran. However, due to an error, her name was not listed on her husband’s death certificate. Even though she had the death certificate amended and provided other proof of her identity, the housing company still denied her the apartment. HGJ filed an appeal with DHCR on her behalf and DHCR ruled in her favor, ordering the housing company to restore her to the waiting list in the position she would have been in had she not been denied.
• Tenants Beat $48/Room MCI Rent Increase After six years of litigation rent-stabilized tenants in an Upper West Side building beat a $48.00 per room MCI rent increase for a new roof and exterior restoration. The DHCR had initially granted the rent increase in 2013. HGJ filed an appeal (“PAR”) on behalf of the Tenants Association and four years later the DHCR issued an order granting the PAR and revoking the rent increase. The Tenants Association had retained an engineer which found the work incomplete and the DHCR conducted its own inspection at the PAR level, confirming those findings.
• Rent Stabilization, Lower Rent and Overcharge Refund Tenant who moved into a “market” apartment filed an overcharge complaint claiming the apartment had been unlawfully deregulated. DHCR found that the apartment was rent stabilized and the tenant was entitled to a rent reduction of $1300/month and an overcharge of $137,000.00. Landlord spent over three years pursuing various appeals and the Supreme Court upheld the decision on a Article 78.
• DHCR Sees the (Some of) the Light Landlord took away two of rent stabilized tenant’s skylights that she had for 40 years. HGJ filed a complaint with the DHCR which ordered one of the skylights restored. An appeal is pending seeking restoration of the other skylight.
• Domestic Abuse Victim Gets out of Lease Landlord would not let a victim of domestic abuse out of her lease even though she had vacated the apartment where she had resided with her abuser, her husband. HGJ negotiated with the landlord who finally did let her out of the lease.
• Big Overcharge Award HGJ helped a rent stabilized tenant win a rent overcharge of $100,000.
• Eviction Case Avoided Landlord threatened tenant with eviction for allegedly installing new floors. HGJ got landlord to drop the case.
• Rent Roll Back HGJ filed an application for a rent reduction based upon various building-wide reductions in services for rent stabilized tenants at a building in Murray Hill. The DHCR found that the hallway carpets were worn, torn and frayed, that the men’s shower in the gym was out of order and that the laundry room floors were dirty and stained. The DHCR rolled back and froze the rents until the landlord restores the services.
• Chelsea Hotel Tenants Win Abatements, No Rent Increases, Legal Fees On September 27, 2013, the Chelsea Tenants’ Association, represented by Janet Ray Kalson and Sam Himmelstein, reached a groundbreaking comprehensive settlement of the tenants’ two year court battle with the prior ownership in response to a construction fusillade endangering the health, safety and welfare of the tenants.The settlement provided for a 100% rent abatement for 4.7 months, a 20 percent rent abatement until such time as construction at the hotel is completed, free temporary relocations during renovations in tenants’ apartments with a $60 per day meal allotment per person, completely upgraded apartments (heat, air conditioning, electric, windows, doors etc.), no rent increases for renovations (no MCIs a/k/a/major capital improvements), and the payment of the tenants’ legal fees of $100,000.
• Small Leak, Big Case A small leak developed in the closet ceiling of apartment 15L. The Coop’s engineer’s opinion was that it was caused by a leak from the bathroom in apartment 16L. The 16L apartment owner retained our firm and an engineer whose opinion was that the leak was not emanating from our client’s bathroom but rather from pipes higher up in the building.When our client refused to permit the coop’s engineer to break open the walls to her bathroom, the Coop entered her apartment , at a time when they knew she was out of the country, and without her permission and without notice totally demolished her bathroom, removing the shower stall, basin, toilet, walls and floors.Next stop: court case. The Coop sued, claiming that because the leak came from our client’s apartment they had the right to investigate and abate the leak even if that meant dismantling the bathroom and they were entitled to reimbursement for legal and engineering fees.After nine days of trial the court dismissed the Coop’s claims, finding that our client did nothing wrong. A motion for reimbursement of our client’s costs and fees is pending.Note: We have found that disputes between coops and proprietary lessees over access and repair issues develop into battle royals. Emotions, and costs, run high, settlements are difficult to attain and trials are long and hard fought. William J. Gribben represented the shareholders.
• Courts Find Tenants To Be Rent Stabilized
• Former Mitchell-Lama Tenants Not Subject to Market Rents
  December 2010 Thousands of tenants in former “Mitchell-Lama” buildings will be protected from having their rents increased to market levels thanks to a recent decision by the Appellate Division, First Department, Columbus 95 v. DHCR v. Columbus House Tenants Association. The owner of a Columbus House, a former Mitchell-Lama on the Upper West Side applied to the DHCR for rent increases to market rents under the “unique or peculiar” provision of the rent laws. After the application was filed, the DHCR adopted a new code provision which said that having been in the Mitchell-Lama program could not be the sole basis of such increases. The owner challenged the code provision as being contrary to the law. The Supreme Court found that the provision was valid and that the rent laws never authorized such increases and the Appellate Division agreed. HGJ’s David Hershey-Webb and Serge Joseph represented the Tenants Association.
• Landlord’s $400 a Room MCI Goes up in Smoke, Mostly
  October 2010 The Landlord of a building on West 57th Street applied for a $400 a room MCI in 2004. The MCI included some blatantly ineligible items such as the cost of a smoking room for one of the owners. The Tenants Association retained HGJ to fight the application and got the rent increase reduced to $130.50 per room, then to $118.75 per room. The Landlord and the Tenants Association both appealed. In October 2010, the Landlord’s appeal was denied and the DHCR granted the Tenants Association appeal in part, further reducing the MCI to $60.32 per room.
• Market Tenant Obtains Big Refund, Lower Rent and Rent-Stabilization Status
  October 2010 A tenant who had been rented an apartment as a “market” tenant while the landlord was receiving a J-51 tax abatement received a substantial refund, a rent-stabilization lease and a lower rent when the parties settled after HGJ commenced a proceeding in Supreme Court.
• Long-Time Tenant in Mitchell-Lama Co-Op Wins Succession Battle
  October 2010 A man who had lived in a Mitchell-Lama co-op with his mother for 23 years was denied succession rights when his mother vacated. The DHCR upheld the denial on the basis that, although the son had submitted substantial evidence of his co-occupancy with his mother, he did not appear on the last income affidavit before she vacated because no such affidavit was filed. The mother claimed that she did not file income affidavit for two years because of concerns about corruption at the development which led to the conviction of the Housing Assistant. HGJ filed an Article 78 proceeding on behalf of the son and the Supreme Court reversed the DHCR, granting the right to remain in his home and have a stock certificate issued in his name. See Matter of Murphy v. DHCR under Decisions.
• Tenant Who Temporarily Vacated Her Rent-Stabilized Apartment Due to Fire Does Not Have to Pay 1/40th Rent Increases
  October 2010 The landlord of an Upper West Side building tried to charge 1/40th rent increase to a tenant who had to temporarily vacate her rent-stabilized apartment after a fire. The Rent Stabilization Law allows landlords to pass on 1/40th of the cost of some qualified improvements if a tenant consents in writing or if they are made when the apartment is vacant. The DHCR found that apartment was not “vacant” where the tenant had temporarily vacated due to a fire. The landlord appealed in an Article 78 proceeding. HGJ represented the tenant and the court upheld the DHCR.