New York State Justice Richard B. Lowe III ruled August 5, 2010 that tenants at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are entitled to retroactive damages for rent overcharges because their landlord, initially MetLife and then Tishman Speyer, improperly deregulated apartments that were receiving J-51 tax abatements.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled October 22, 2009 that the building owners were not entitled to deregulate apartments while receiving the abatements from the city, but it did not rule on the issue of retroactivity.
City Councilman Dan Garodnick, a resident at Peter Cooper Village, applauded the ruling: "This is another huge win for tenants. The Court of Appeals first resolved the question of liability - now we are getting a clearer picture of damages. MetLife should not fight this any further. Residents were illegally overcharged for years, and we expect them to get the recovery they deserve."
Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village contain more than 11,000 apartments in red-brick, mid-rise buildings east of First Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets.
An article at law.com today by Noeleen G. Walder said that "the ruling affects roughly 4,400 deregulated units, according to Alexander Schmidt of Wolf Haldenstin Adler Freeman & Herz, which represents the Stuyvesant Town tenants.
The article, however, quoted Mitchell Posilkin, general counsel for the Rent Stabilization Association of New York, which was an "amicus" of the defendants in the case, as stated that the decision was "potentially devastating," adding that "there has been wholesale reliance on the luxury deregulation provisions and the interpretation of those provisions by the" New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development "by owners, lenders, and the entire real estate community."
The first cause of the lawsuit of the two-count first amended consolidated class action sought damages of $215 million, including interest and attorneys' fees and the second cause sought a declaration that plaintiffs' apartments will continue to be subject to rent stabilization as long as defendants receive J-51 benefits.
MetLife applied for and received J-51 benefits for the properties in 1992.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled October 22, 2009 that the building owners were not entitled to deregulate apartments while receiving the abatements from the city, but it did not rule on the issue of retroactivity.
City Councilman Dan Garodnick, a resident at Peter Cooper Village, applauded the ruling: "This is another huge win for tenants. The Court of Appeals first resolved the question of liability - now we are getting a clearer picture of damages. MetLife should not fight this any further. Residents were illegally overcharged for years, and we expect them to get the recovery they deserve."
Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village contain more than 11,000 apartments in red-brick, mid-rise buildings east of First Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets.
An article at law.com today by Noeleen G. Walder said that "the ruling affects roughly 4,400 deregulated units, according to Alexander Schmidt of Wolf Haldenstin Adler Freeman & Herz, which represents the Stuyvesant Town tenants.
The article, however, quoted Mitchell Posilkin, general counsel for the Rent Stabilization Association of New York, which was an "amicus" of the defendants in the case, as stated that the decision was "potentially devastating," adding that "there has been wholesale reliance on the luxury deregulation provisions and the interpretation of those provisions by the" New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development "by owners, lenders, and the entire real estate community."
The first cause of the lawsuit of the two-count first amended consolidated class action sought damages of $215 million, including interest and attorneys' fees and the second cause sought a declaration that plaintiffs' apartments will continue to be subject to rent stabilization as long as defendants receive J-51 benefits.
MetLife applied for and received J-51 benefits for the properties in 1992.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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