437 Manhattan LLC v Santos (2009 NY Slip Op 52392(U))
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437 Manhattan LLC v Santos
2009 NY Slip Op 52392(U) [25 Misc 3d 1232(A)]
Decided on November 25, 2009
Civil Court Of The City Of New York, New York County
Lebovits, J.
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau
pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
This opinion is uncorrected and will not be
published in the printed Official Reports.
Decided on November 25, 2009
Civil Court of the City of New York, New York
County
437 Manhattan LLC,
Petitioner,
against
Theresa Santos, Respondent.
051961/08
Green & Cohen, P.C. (Michael R. Cohen of counsel), for petitioner.
The Legal Aid Society, New York City (Clarissa M. Gomez and Sheryl Karp of
counsel), for respondent.
Gerald Lebovits, J.
In this nonpayment proceeding, petitioner seeks rent arrears in the amount
of $30,677.43 at $972.00 a month.
When petitioner bought the subject building from the United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) on August 15, 2004, it signed a regulatory agreement with HUD
in compliance with Section 204 of the Housing and Community Development Amendments of
1978, 12 USC § 1701z-12. Under that agreement, petitioner agreed that until all necessary
repairs were completed, petitioner would not increase the rent for any unit to more than what the
tenant was paying when HUD owned the building. Respondent argues that she paid $188.00 a
month in rent when petitioner bought the building from HUD and that she has continued to pay
petitioner at least that amount, and for 52 weeks even more, since then. Respondent also argues
that petitioner's agreement with HUD provided that respondent could seek a Section 8 subsidy
and that petitioner would cooperate to assure that respondent, if otherwise eligible, would