Plainly, there was no abuse of discretion. Whatever the history of the proceedings in the Housing Court, there was a point at which it was agreed not to go forward in the Housing Court pending a determination by the Surrogate’s Court as to whether it would grant the estate’s application for a transfer.
In 1971 the will of Dr. Samuel A. Gadsby was admitted to probate in Surrogate’s Court, New York County. The will had established trusts funded in large part by real property in New York County. The decedent’s widow was a beneficiary of 50% of the income. Certain nieces were beneficiaries of the remainder.
The designated trustee, having qualified, became incapacitated in 1981. Between that time and the appointment of a successor trustee in 1984, a nephew of the original trustee, allegedly acting without authority, began to administer the residential premises located at 242 West 132nd Street. By the time petitioner Peter Sims was appointed trustee in 1984, the property had fallen into disrepair. The Housing Court proceedings, transferred to the Surrogate’s Court, involve claims not only that the tenánt Manley’s occupancy was illegal, but that he had without authority taken over management of the property and collected the rents. Although there are the usual landlord and tenant issues, including habitability, the alleged failure to make repairs and the obligation to pay rent, there is a question of authority to control and manage the trust property. Plainly these matters involve the estate of the decedent and the trusts set up under his will.