In a licensee-holdover proceeding, Gregg Kurlander, Of Counsel at KMWB, helped a landlord regain possession of a $110.00 per month rent-controlled apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
In this case, 82 occupants brought an action against the owner of several Brooklyn buildings and claimed that each of their units should be subject to rent stabilization laws.
Nikolaos Preponis, Of Counsel at KMWB, successfully defended the validity of a non-primary residence holdover involving a corporate tenant after the Respondent submitted a motion to dismiss the proceeding. In their motion, the Respondent claimed that the Notice of Non-Renewal was fatally defective because one of the occupants of the subject apartment was not named in the Notice.
A landlord commenced a holdover proceeding against a rent-stabilized Tenant who consistently disregarded his obligations under both his written lease and the Rent Stabilization Code by refusing to provide the Landlord with access to make repairs in the apartment. The Tenant continuously contacted HPD to report violations in the apartment and would then refuse to provide access once a violation was issued. The tenant’s refusal to provide the landlord with access resulted in the landlord being unable to remedy the various issues in the apartment.
Ultimately, the Landlord requested access to make repairs 27 individual times by sending written requests to the tenant. The tenant ignored each of these 27 requests and continued to refuse access. At the request of the landlord, KMWB commenced a holdover proceeding against the tenant based on his persistent refusal to provide access to the landlord. After the trial, the court ruled in favor of the landlord and issued a warrant of eviction that could be executed if the tenant did not provide access within ten days. Nikolaos Preponis represented the landlord.
On January 25, 2017, James Marino, a partner at Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens, LLP, secured dismissal of three (3) violations issued by the Department of Buildings after a hearing conducted at the Environmental Control Board (Violation numbers 35124143J; 35124145N; 35124146P).
On December 7, 2016, Shogik Oganisyan and Lauren Papaleo secured dismissal of a violation issued by the Department of Buildings following a hearing conducted at the Environmental Control Board. The management company for the owner had been cited for “failure to comply with an order of the Commissioner” pertaining to the removal of a residential tenancy from a commercial space.
On November 2, 2016, James R. Marino served as a member of the presenting panel at a seminar conducted by the Community Housing Improvement Program (“CHIP”). Mr. Marino spoke for 20 minutes on the topic “Illegal Transient Occupancies and Practical Solutions”.
James Marino successfully advanced an argument in an appeal of a Dept. of Buildings AirBnb matter regarding whether aggravated penalties should have been imposed. The owner had been cited for alleged transient occupancy because a tenant had advertised the apartment on AirBnb, and the DOB alleged that a transient tenant had answered that advertisement.
Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens, LLP firmly believes that access to technology is vital to success. To support this belief with action, the firm donated several computers to The Kulanu Academy, a school devoted to ensuring that special needs children have the skills and resources they need to be fully included in all aspects of communal life. The computers were put to immediate use and have enabled the academy to promote more student-centered projects and technologically-focused learning objectives.
Alan Kucker and Robyn Jagroop represented the seller of an Upper West Side property located between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. The 5-story renaissance revival townhouse was built in 1896 just steps away from Central Park. At nearly 11,000 sq. ft., the 125 year old building boasts 15 luxury units that contain 11 foot ceilings, oversized windows, and scenic views of the park. KMWB represented the seller throughout the entirety of the $12,250,000.00 transaction.
Saul Bruh, James Marino, and Robert Berman of Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens, LLP were instrumental in securing favorable decisions for building owners in Roberts litigation. Immediately following the Tishman Speyer v. Roberts decision in 2010, a building owner contacted Mr. Marino to discuss the effect this decision would have on some of his tenants. Mr. Marino analyzed the Court of Appeals decision, the building’s rent roll reports, individual apartment leases, and the expiration dates of the J-51 tax abatement benefits in order to determine the best way for the building owners to respond to the changes in the law.
Robyn Jagroop, an associate in Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens, LLP’s leasing and transactional department, represented the seller of a 2,000 sq. ft. townhouse which closed in March. The townhouse, located in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, boasted 7 bedrooms as well as a private garden, patio, and terrace. Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens, LLP provided legal representation to the seller throughout the entirety of the $7.85 million transaction.
Shogik Oganisyan, an associate at Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens LLP, saved a client hundreds of thousands of dollars and successfully obtained a settlement of defaulted and/or docketed violations issued by various New York City agencies.
Andrew Bittens, a partner at Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens, LLP successfully obtained a judgment of possession where tenant signed out of court surrender agreement and accepted first installment of buyout money.
The owner and tenant entered into a surrender agreement in May, 2013 that provided for the tenant to receive 5 months free rent along with a $25,000 payment in two parts: $12,500 upon signing of the agreement and $12,500 upon surrender of the subject premises in September, 2013. The owner made the payment upon signing of the agreement yet the tenant failed to surrender the premises on time.
Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens, LLP partnered with Volunteers of America in order to express some love and admiration for our nation’s veterans this Valentine’s Day season. Volunteers of America has an extensive veterans program that provides veterans going through hard times with the assistance they need to get back on their feet. In order to show these brave men and women that we care about their success and are grateful for their service to our nation, employees worked together to put together gift bags containing chocolates, candies, and thank you cards. Thank you again to all of our veterans!