Housing and Community Renewal for a new calculation of the legal regulated rent
pursuant to Rent Stabilization Code (9 NYCRR) § 2522.4 (a).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed, with costs to the petitioner.
In 2008, the petitioner, a tenant in a residential apartment building owned by Steve
Marrone and Josephine Marrone (hereinafter together the Marrones), filed an
administrative complaint alleging a rent overcharge. The Rent Administrator of the New
York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (hereinafter the DHCR),
determined that the petitioner was charged in excess of the legal regulated rent of
$995.99 per month and imposed a penalty of treble damages. Subsequently, the Marrones
filed a petition for administrative review (hereinafter PAR). In a determination dated
March 31, 2011, the Deputy Commissioner of the DHCR (hereinafter the Deputy
Commissioner) modified the Rent Administrator's determination by eliminating treble
damages. Upon reconsideration of the PAR, however, in a determination dated January
17, 2013, the Deputy Commissioner modified the Rent Administrator's determination by
recalculating the legal regulated rent for the apartment to be $1,200 per month, thereby
reducing the rent overcharge total, and confirmed the imposition of a penalty of treble
damages for the overcharges during the period of November 2008 through December
2009.
[*2] Thereafter, the petitioner
commenced the instant proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review the Deputy
Commissioner's January 17, 2013, determination. The Marrones interposed a
counterclaim to review so much of that determination as confirmed the imposition of
treble damages for the overcharges during the period of November 2008 through