Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Spring 2020 Newsletter

1. NEW YORK REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS (212) 825-0365
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
WWW.ALBLAWFIRM.COM
The passage of the Housing Stability and
Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA)
on June 14, 2019, fundamentally altered the
landscape of landlord-tenant proceedings by
enacting “sweeping changes to the rent laws
and adding greater protections for tenants
throughout the State.” Dugan v. London
Terrace Gardens, L.P., 177 A.D.3d 1, 8 (1st
Dept. 2019). While the economic impact of the
HSTPA on New York City real estate remains
hotly debated, it cannot be disputed that the
practical effect and legislative intent of the new
law prolongs the eviction process.
One aspect of housing law that has not
changed, however, is that tenants in nonpay-
ment proceedings are required to show “good
cause” pursuant to RPAPL §749(3) to stay the
execution of a warrant of eviction. But the
legislature also amended RPAPL §753(1), and
in doing so, may have afforded an additional
remedy to the tenant in a nonpayment proceed-
ing based upon a showing of, among other
things, “extreme hardship.” This article reviews
the “good cause” standard under RPAPL
§749(3) and examines the possible role in
nonpayment proceedings of the newly minted
RPAPL §753, as we enter the coming era of
landlord-tenant litigation.
THE TRADITIONAL ‘GOOD CAUSE’ STANDARD
IN NONPAYMENT PROCEEDINGS.
The vast majority of summary proceedings
commenced in the Housing Part are for nonpay-
ment of rent commenced pursuant to RPAPL
§711(2). Although every case is different and
stands on its own facts, as one appellate court
has noted, the “garden variety” nonpayment
proceeding is often resolved by a stipulation
of settlement involving a payment plan where-
by the landlord is granted a final judgment of
possession for the amount of the arrears to
NYC NONPAYMENT PROCEEDINGS POST-HSTPA: FROM 'GOOD CAUSE' TO 'EXTREME HARDSHIP'
Read more online at
alblawfirm.com/nonpayment-
proceedings-post-hstpa/
INTRODUCTION
In the United States of America, the number
of natural disasters has gradually increased.
Most of the costliest disasters have resulted
from hurricanes and terrorist attacks. Other
major casualties have resulted from earth-
quakes, monsoons, tsunamis, and wildfires.
The damage to business and property from
these events substantially affects the lives and
livelihoods of millions of Americans who look to
their attorneys to protect them from the collat-
eral effects of these disasters that occur on an
irreparable scale. Inherent within the operation
and management of a business and building
comes the risk of unexpected and unprevent-
able outside elements. Nevertheless, informed
businesses and building owners can save their
businesses or properties from the financial and
physical ruin attendant on any catastrophic
disaster and also be better prepared to protect
themselves in lease negotiations, as well as
understand the scope of available insurance
liability coverages and equally important but
less-known insurance strategies.
IT TAKES MORE THAN AN INFORMED
BUILDING OWNER TO SAVE THE NATION ON A
LARGER SCALE
Not discussed extensively in this article are
some observations that need to be given seri-
ous consideration by policy makers. First, the
worst disasters occur where the existing struc-
tures are not built with the ability to withstand a
major storm or other disaster. This is why some
towns and cities can recover faster than others.
The manner and way the real estate is built,
combined with the sewage systems, roads,
and overall urban structure and planning, sepa-
rate the impact of the damage. One concrete
PREPARING PRACTITIONERS FOR THE NEXT DISASTERS
example stems from information collected after
Hurricane Irma in Florida. Almost 80 percent of
the homes subjected to and able to sustain
Irma’s highest winds were built after the adop-
tion of Florida’s new building code (which was
put in place after Floridians had experienced
Hurricane Andrew’s wrath).[1] On the other
hand, take, for example, Ocracoke, an Outer
Banks island village located twenty-six miles off
of the mainland coast of North Carolina. This
island, which averages out at five feet above sea
level, was overwhelmed by the wrath and feroc-
ity of Hurricane Dorian’s previously unheard of
seven-foot storm surge.[2] The omnipresent
lack of protective infrastructure and flood-pre-
ventative measures throughout the sun-kissed,
beautiful community of Ocracoke...
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online at
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com/
preparing-
practitioners/
date and a warrant of eviction; however, the
execution of the warrant is stayed based upon
tenant’s compliance with the payment plan.
Dkegg Holdings v. Dalnoky, 18 Misc.3d 141(A)
(App Term, 1st Dept. 2008); see, e.g., Hotel
Cameron v. Purcell, 35 A.D.3d 153 (1st Dept.
2006); Chelsea 19 Assoc. v. James, 67 A.D.3d
601 (1st Dept. 2009); see also 1029 Sixth
v. Riniv, 9 A.D.3d 142, 150 (2004), appeals
dismissed 4 N.Y.3d 795 (2005).
In many instances, the tenant subsequent-
ly returns to court by way of an Order to Show
Cause (OSC) seeking to stay execution of the
warrant. Prior to the passage
of the HSTPA, the only basis
for such relief was...
REAL ESTATE LITIGATION
SPRING 2020 NEWSLETTER
LANDLORD - TENANT REPRESENTATION
Hon. John Zhuo Wang & Massimo F. D' Angelo
Adam Leitman Bailey, Dov Treiman & John Desiderio

2. 2 SPRING 2020 (212) 825-0365
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
ALBPC PROTECTS LOAN SERVICER FROM RICO CONSPIRACY & FRAUD
Borrowers in foreclosure can be highly
creative in bringing claims they think will
help protect their homes. In one recent case,
after foreclosure counsel had obtained a fore-
closure judgment against a borrower in state
Supreme Court, the borrower filed a federal
action against the current loan servicer, the
original lender, and several other parties hoping
to disrupt the foreclosure sale. Adam Leitman
Bailey, P.C. was brought in to defend the loan
servicer in the federal case.
The borrower, sought to void his mort-
gage, vacate the foreclosure judgment, and
obtain treble damages. He alleged that the
loan servicer, in conjunction with many partic-
ipants in the sub-prime loan industry, were
in a conspiracy to defraud him in violation of
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/
synagogue-
title-
foreclosure/
After a three year diligent search and many
disappointments, the board and building
committee of a young, vibrant and growing
synagogue located in Queens, New York final-
ly secured a property that would house their
future synagogue building. The synagogue is
currently renting space in a temporary loca-
tion and due to a steady growth in member-
ship a larger space has become a necessary
commodity. Both the location and price were
exactly what they had been searching for. The
property was well-maintained, large, and appro-
priately zoned to allow for ground-up renova-
tion of their synagogue. The building commit-
tee members had purchased the property at a
foreclosure auction after synagogue members
quickly pooled together funds for the purchase.
Unbeknown to the synagogue members, on
the morning of the foreclosure sale, the prior
owner of the property filed an emergency appli-
cation seeking to stop the sale, but the judge
denied the motion and allowed the sale to move
forward. However, the prior owner was not done
filing motions. Subsequent to the foreclosure
sale, the prior owner again moved by order to
show cause to cancel the sale retroactively. The
prior owner claimed he that he had the funds
to payoff the mortgage on the date of the sale
for which he was in default. The prior owner
also collaterally attacked the foreclosure sale,
moving by separate motion and order to show
cause to vacate default judgment against him
and seeking to re-open the case and interpose
an answer with counterclaims....
With the passage in June, 2019 of the
Housing Stability and Tenant Protection
Act of 2019 (HSTPA), owners are desperate-
ly seeking ways out of rent regulation in an
attempt to recapture the profitability their build-
ings had on the eve of HSTPA’s passage. Two
such exit strategies are “substantial rehabili-
tation,” available only to deteriorated buildings
and “demolition,” generally available to rent
stabilized buildings regardless of their condi-
tion. Since the HSTPA enables municipalities
throughout New York State to bring their hous-
ing stock under a form a rent stabilization, these
questions are not only of renewed importance
in New York City and its suburbs, but potentially
statewide, under the administration of the New
York State Division of Housing and Community
Renewal (DHCR).
ADMINISTERING RENT REGULATION
Governing the demolition process is DHCR’s
Operational Bulletin 2009-1. This bulletin deals
LANDLORD REPRESENTATION
IMPROVING RENTAL BUILDINGS' PROFITABILITY THROUGH DEMOLITION
Read more online at alblawfirm.com/
improving-rental-buildings-profitability/
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/rico-
consipracy/
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. is a full service real estate and litigation law firm.
For more information about the firm or for a complete copy of
any of the decisions and articles mentioned, please contact Adam
Leitman Bailey at 212-825-0365 or email him at info@alblawfirm.com.
FORECLOSURE LITIGATION
the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act (“RICO”) and state fraud law.
The borrower based his claim on his discovery
of a real estate tax assessment of his home,
which was lower than the purchase price.
This lead him to allege his loan was illegally
inflated by the original lender on the borrower’s
purchase of the property in 2008 – claiming it
was a “liar’s loan.”
Since the borrower’s complaint...
with demolition applications for three scenari-
os: rent control, rent stabilization, and non-New
York City rent stabilization (The Emergency
Tenant Protection Act of 1974 “ETPA”). The rules
are radically stricter for rent-controlled apart-
ments than for New York City rent stabilization
and ETPA. In these matters, the courts grant
extreme deference to the DHCR (Peckham v.
DHCR, 12 NY3d 424 (2009).
This includes when the DHCR decides it
wants to reconsider matters on its own after a
case has gone up for Article 78 review. Porter v.
DHCR, 51 AD3d 417, 857 NYS2d 110 (1st Dept.
2008) Under its administration, the DHCR has
worked without a specific definition of “demo-
lition,” but “an intent to gut the interior of the
building, while leaving the walls intact, has
been held as sufficient,”...
FORECLOSURE LITIGATION
ALBPC SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS
SYNAGOGUE'S TITLEAdam Leitman Bailey & Dov Treiman

3. 3WE GET RESULTSWWW.ALBLAWFIRM.COM
NEW YORK REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS
plan, and explaining how many of the condi-
tions complained of by Plaintiffs were not, in
fact, violations of the offering plan at all. The
mediation memorandum also set forth, with
supporting case law, how each of Plaintiffs’
additional causes of action were duplicative of
their breach of contract claim and otherwise
meritless.
The mediator was impressed with ALBPC’s
aggressive advocacy on behalf of its client. ALB
PC’s argument that the Sponsor had satisfied
all of its contractual obligations to Plaintiffs and
that Plaintiffs had no viable causes...
LANDLORD REPRESENTATION
Read more online at alblawfirm.com/
relinquished-lease-rights/
In a February 2020 decision, the Appellate
Term, First Department, affirmed the housing
court’s February 2019 order after trial, which
awarded possessory judgment to the landlord
in a non-traditional family member succes-
sion proceeding concerning a rent stabilized
apartment.
The Appellate Term Held in a unanimous
decision:
A FAIR INTERPRETATION OF THE EVIDENCE
SUPPORTS THE TRIAL COURT’S FINDING
THAT RESPONDENT . . . FAILED TO MEET
HER AFFIRMATIVE OBLIGATION TO PROVE
“EMOTIONAL AND FINANCIAL COMMIT-
MENT, AND INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN
[HERSELF] AND THE TENANT” SUCH AS
WOULD ENTITLE HER TO SUCCEED TO THE
SUBJECT RENT STABILIZED APARTMENT.
The occupant moved into the apartment with
the tenant years ago. There was no dispute that
the pair co-resided together for at least the
requisite two years. However, the occupant did
not share a blood relationship with the tenant
and the two were never married. She was
decades younger than the tenant, and original-
ly moved in as a roommate. She paid a portion
of the rent and the utilities, and alleged that the
pair shared other expenses.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., commenced a
holdover proceeding against the occupant.
Discovery revealed that the occupant did
not share financial accounts with the tenant.
Despite the tenant being extremely ill, the occu-
pant was not the tenant’s health care proxy.
She was also not named in his will and was
not the beneficiary on his life insurance policy.
Furthermore, the occupant lacked pictures of
herself with the tenant. However, the occupant
had a notarized affidavit from the tenant in
which he asked for her to be added to the lease
as a family member...
Plaintiffs-unit owners at a Queens County
condominium brought an action against
the Sponsor, asserting the following causes
of action against the Sponsor relating to the
allegedly defective construction of Plaintiffs’
unit: (1) breach of contract; (2) breach of
warranty; (3) negligence; and (4) fraud. In this
case, however, the Sponsor had remediated all
of the alleged defects in the subject unit prior to
Plaintiffs’ commencement of the action.
The case was chosen for the Court’s pilot
program for automatic referral to mandatory
mediation in the Alternative Dispute Resolution
Program of the Court’s Commercial Division. As
part of its mediation strategy, ALB PC prepared
a detailed mediation memorandum, outlining
each and every step the Sponsor had taken to
meet its contractual obligations and remediate
any alleged construction defects that violat-
ed the terms of the Condominium’s offering
CONDOMINIUM & COOPERATIVEAPELLATE LITIGATION
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/
succession-
claim-
holdover/
Atrial court had denied plaintiffs’ motion to
restore “settled action to the calendar,” to
compel a defendant landlord’s adherence to
a stipulation of settlement and for an award
of continuing damages and legal fees. The
Appellate Division affirmed.
The plaintiffs were long-term tenants in a
building that had been “severely damaged and
rendered unsafe by a fire in February 2017.”
They had commenced an action seeking, inter
alia, “access to their personal property left in
the apartment.” The plaintiffs and the landlord
had entered into the settlement in 2017, pursu-
ant to which the subject lease would be termi-
nated, and the landlord agreed that it would
not dispose of the plaintiffs’ personal proper-
ty until the building had been “deemed safe
and plaintiffs were allowed access to remove
their belongings.” The settlement provided
that a non-breaching party could seek injunc-
tive relief and reasonable attorney fees in the
event of a breach or a threatened breach of the
settlement.
The plaintiffs argued that a landlord’s letter
“updating them on upcoming repairs and seek-
ing their input concerning items that needed to
be relocated or discarded in anticipation of the
repairs, did not constitute a threatened breach
of the settlement agreement.” The Appellate
Division (court) rejected the plaintiffs’ argu-
ment that such letter constituted a threatened
breach of the settlement...
The court found that the letter “merely
sought a mutual understanding to determine
which items in a portion of the unit needing
repair were not salvageable due to fire, smoke,
water or more damage…..”
Comment: Adam Leitman Bailey of Adam
Leitman Bailey, P.C., attorney for the landlord,
explained that the landlord had “suffered a
devastating fire in its building” and former
tenants sought to not only recover their prop-
erty from the unsafe building, but also sought
what the landlord believed were “undeserved
buyouts.” He stated that the landlord...
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY PREVAILS FOR LANDLORD
AFTER TENANTS RELINQUISHED LEASE RIGHTS
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C. ACHIEVES FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT OF
CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS CLAIMS AGAINST SPONSOR
ALBPC WINS APPEAL AFFIRMING
TRIAL VICTORY FOR LANDLORD
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/
construction-
defects-
claims/

4. 4 SPRING 2020 (212) 825-0365
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
Recovery on a secured loan can be a difficult
process without adequate knowledge of,
and expertise in, all potential claims in law and
equity; and restitution for challenged mortgage
loans can be particularly problematic without
proper representation. Recently, the lender of
a mortgage loan on a home in Nassau County
encountered precisely these issues when the
borrower defaulted on payments and chal-
lenged the validity of his signature on the mort-
gage papers. After prior counsel was unable
to foreclose on the mortgage based on the
disputed signature, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s
Colin Kaufman, Eric S. Askanase, and Vladimir
Mironenko were engaged to represent the
lender in securing its rights through litigation.
The owner of the property secured a mort-
gage loan from the client’s predecessor-in-in-
terest and made payments on the mortgage
for a number of years before abruptly ceas-
ing all payments and defaulting on the loan.
Through predecessor counsel, the client filed a
single count complaint seeking foreclosure on
the loan. The borrower challenged foreclosure,
asserting that the signature on the mortgage
“appeared not to be” his own. In light of this
challenge to the validity of the mortgage, ALBPC
was hired to develop a strategy to secure the
lender’s right to foreclose despite the contest-
ed signature. ALBPC began aggressive discov-
ery and obtained valuable admissions during
borrower’s deposition, including his admis-
sion under oath that he both secured the loan
from lender’s predecessor-in-interest and used
proceeds from the loan to both pay off a prior
mortgage and lien and to make improvements
to the mortgaged property.
ALBPC moved for summary judgment based
on the mortgage documents and borrower’s
admissions, which the court granted. Borrower
appealed; and the Appellate Division reversed
based on the purported factual dispute...
FORECLOSURE LITIGATION
When purchasing real property, an attorney
will almost always advise a purchaser to
buy title insurance. Although it is not legal-
ly required, title insurance serves to protect
the purchaser from a defect in title post clos-
ing. A defect in title arises when someone
that was given prior ownership rights seeks to
assert those rights against the current owner.
The owner’s policy will protect the purchaser
against a dispute up to the purchase price of
the property.
The most common misconception is that
there is only one form of title insurance avail-
able for purchase. In fact, there are different
levels of coverage offered by all title compa-
nies. When sitting at a closing table, a purchas-
er will be asked by the title company represen-
tative if they would like to purchase additional
coverage. In most cases, the purchaser’s attor-
ney will advise the purchaser it is not needed,
the waiver is quickly signed and the transaction
moves on. However, it is important to know the
additional coverage available to a purchaser.
In New York, purchasers have the option to
buy a “market value rider,” which is the highest
level of title coverage a purchaser can obtain.
The market value rider will cover the fair market
value of the property instead of the original
purchase price. This rider is important if it is
believed there will be significant appreciation
during the period of ownership. The rider does
not increase coverage for a rise in value result-
ing from renovations, capital improvements, or
remodeling...
MORTGAGE FINANCE
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/market-
value-rider/
Read more
online at
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com/
equitable-
lien/
EXCERPT FROM ARTICLE:
STUART: But I remember that period in 2007
we had a cover, I think it was in September
2007, which was when the subprime crisis
happened. It was a funny period from a news
point of view, because you saw when the stuff
hits the fan, lawsuits start to proliferate. People
need to read news [even] more. You know, we
were writing about the Interstate Land Sales
Full Disclosure Act, which was the most inge-
nious thing. It was Adam Leitman Bailey, the
lawyer, coming up with this obscure federal
statute, which required [developers] to disclose
something about swampland in Florida, but it
was a federal statute. And none of the develop-
ers here had added it to their projects’ disclo-
sure forms. So he basically figured out a way
to get all his condo buyers out of the projects
or get price reductions by saying, you didn’t
[adhere to] this [1968] law about swampland.
AMIR: And I remember that Howard Lorber was
just starting to invest with developers through
his New Valley subsidiary, and he really didn’t
want us to write that story because he thought
other people are going to find out about [ILSA]
and then pull out of their contracts [to buy new
development condominiums]. And we still wrote
the story, obviously, and people did pull out of
their contracts. And that really damaged our
relationship for several years.
STUART: Luckily, we didn’t have to make any
layoffs during that period [when the recession
hit].
AMIR: In fact, we ended up hiring people. The
[New York] Sun closed down, and we were able
to get a lot of great journalists from there.
TRD’S FOUNDERS SHARE WAR STORIES
FROM OVER THE YEARS: RECOUNTING THE
BIG BREAKS AND CONTROVERSIES THAT
SHAPED THE REAL DEAL’S IDENTITY
Read more online
at alblawfirm.com/
press-mentions/real-
deal-founders/
REAL ESTATE LITIGATION
ALB FEATURED IN TRD'S 250TH
ISSUE: 'WAR STORIES'
ALBPC WINS FULL RESTITUTION IN
FORECLOSURE ACTION
THE MARKET VALUE RIDER
MYSTERY - SOLVED!

5. 5WE GET RESULTSWWW.ALBLAWFIRM.COM
NEW YORK REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS
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associated-
with-buying-
and-selling/
increases using the same formula discussed
above.
When purchasing a property located in
the five towns of Eastern Long Island known
as the Peconic Bay Region which include
Southampton, Easthampton, Shelter Island,
Southold and Riverhead purchasers will be
expected to pay the Peconic Bay Region
Community Preservation Fund Transfer Tax.
In Southold and Riverhead the tax amount is
2% on the amount over $75,000.00 on the
purchase price of unimproved land and 2% on
the amount over $150,000.00 on the purchase
price of improved land. In Southampton, East
Hampton and Shelter Island the tax amount is
2% on the amount over $100,000.00 on the
purchase price of unimproved land and 2% on
the amount over $250,000.00 on the purchase
price of improved land.
If obtaining a mortgage, a purchaser is
required to pay a mortgage tax based on the
mortgage amount (not the purchase price). The
mortgage tax rate varies based on the county
In America, owning a home is one of the most
significant achievements and investments
one will make in adulthood. Most home buyers
focus their attention on the purchase price and
the interest rate on their mortgage, but what
many do not consider are the various other
costs associated with purchasing a home and
the financial obligations connected with closing
costs. Lets explore.
TAXES
There are several different taxes which may
be anticipated in connection with the purchase
of real property.
One type of tax is called the mansion tax. A
purchaser is responsible for paying mansion
tax for transactions that have a purchase price
above one million dollars. The mansion tax rate
depends on the purchase price. For example,
the mansion tax rate is 1% for a purchase price
between $1,000,000.00 to $1,999,999.00
and increases to 1.25% for a purchase price
between $2,000,000.00 to $2,999,999.00.
The tax rate will increase 0.25% as the price
THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH BUYING AND SELLING A HOME IN NEW YORK
Read more online at alblawfirm.com/
government-meddling/
REAL ESTATE LITIGATION
MORTGAGE FINANCE
in which the property is located. For example,
in New York City the mortgage tax is 1.8% on
mortgages under $500,000.00 and 1.925% on
mortgage amounts above $500,000.00. The
lender pays 0.25% of the mortgage tax while
the borrower is responsible for the rest.
BANK FEES
Every lender has their own required fees asso-
ciated with obtaining a mortgage. Nevertheless,
every borrower can expect to encounter an
upfront nonrefundable appraisal fee which can
range anywhere between $250.00 to $750.00
depending on the size and detail of the proper-
ty they are purchasing. All other bank fees will
usually be collected at the closing...
Rent-regulated buildings in NYC aren’t built
with seniors’ safety or comfort in mind,
despite the fact that countless older adults rely
on them for shelter.
According to a New York City Rent Regulation
Memo, the average age of at least one tenant
in a rent-regulated household is over 67 years
old. For many, the agility and stamina neces-
sary to walk up the long stairs of a typical
rent-regulated building fades roughly at this
age, necessitating a move to more age-friendly
accommodations.
Previously, landlords had incentives to share
with the current tenants, by way of buyouts, the
profits they would realize from renting out apart-
ments to new tenants. In many cases, tenants
received large sums, enabling them to better
their lives or move to more appropriate housing.
In just one year in my community of real
estate lawyers, landlords paid over $75 million
in buyouts with at least five tenants receiving
over $15 million each and at least 50 tenants
receiving over a million.
The tenants receiving smaller, but still highly
significant, sums numbered in the thousands.
Today, that safety net has disappeared for
seniors.
The Housing Stability And Tenant Protection
Act of 2019 (HSTPA) also strikes against the
construction industry both by heavily restricting
the turnover of apartments and by eliminating
landlords’ profits from upgrading apartments.
The number of construction jobs thus
abolished and the damage to NYC’s economy
from the elimination of a large component of
construction supply purchases is uncertain.
But one thing if for sure — the damage
includes stagnating housing redevelopment,
excessively expensive free market housing, loss
of thousands of jobs, and lost revenues to the
city in tax collection as land values, incomes,
and sales all fall.
Now that the state legislature has almost
completely eliminated deregulation — previ-
ously effected by landlords hiring workers and
spending money on improvements to apart-
ments so as to raise their rents above the regu-
lation thresholds — the landlord has neither
reason nor incentive to offer any tenant any
money needed to move to a more appropriate
home...
HOW LONG CAN RENTAL MARKETS SURVIVE GOVERNMENT MEDDLING?
Rosemary Liuzzo & Carly Clinton
Adam Leitman Bailey

6. 6 SPRING 2020 (212) 825-0365
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
“HIS STRATEGIC THINKING AND AMAZING
COMMUNICATION SKILLS INSTILL CONFI-
DENCE AND TRUST IN HIS CLIENTS.”
“ADAM’S RESPONSE TIME IS FANTASTIC; HE
MAKES SURE ALL MATTERS ARE DEALT WITH
ACCORDINGLY.”
Q: My sister lived in Co-Op City in the Bronx.
She passed away in July 2017, and I
became voluntary executor of her estate. She
kept this apartment spotless, and did not make
any changes, except adding a light shine-coat
to the living room floor. When the inspector
went to check apartment and we did the walk-
through, he pointed out a few minor things, and
said things were pretty good.
After months of waiting and following up and
asking about the refund of the deposit due to
her, I finally received the check…and they took
50%, claiming repairs and other unexplained
fees, such as $4,000 for a new floor. (They said
the coating she used could not be taken off, so
the complete floor was damaged. That is false,
and I can prove it.)
Is there a department that regulates what
repair fees can be charged, and how much? If
these repairs are legitimate, there should be
a table with each cost, so everyone moving in
knows what it will cost to move out — simple
information. At this point, it seems someone
simply decided to make some money off the
people moving out; that is not right, and seems
like simple abuse.
A: Says attorney John Desiderio of Adam
Leitman Bailey, P.C., a law firm in New York
City: “The writer could submit a complaint to
the NYC Department of Housing Preservation
and Development (HPD), but HPD would not
normally take any action with respect to repair
expenses of this kind. This would be viewed
as a matter dependent upon the terms of the
lease between the landlord and the tenant. The
writer’s best course of action
would be to file a complaint in
Small Claims Court.”
Private townhouse owners in New York City
encounter a number of unique challenges,
not the least of which involve delicate negoti-
ations with neighbors often separated by a
thin party wall. Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. was
recently engaged to help resolve a challenging
dispute between our clients, owners of a recent-
ly gut-renovated single family townhouse on
Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and their neigh-
bors, a cooperative apartment whose base-
ment abutted the townhouse’s. Our clients, had
noticed a disturbing odor emanating from their
basement over the course of a number of days
this winter. On further inspection, our clients
discovered that the area surrounding their
basement
water tank
had been
filling with a
murky and
foul smelling
liquid that
would reap-
pear rapidly
despite regu-
lar drain-
ing. After
investigating
CONDOMINIUM & COOPERATIVE
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unexplained-repair-fees/
Recognized for his knowledge of real estate
law and for providing the highest quality of
advice Adam Leitman Bailey of Adam Leitman
Bailey, P.C. was awarded the 2020 Client Choice
Award for real estate. Adam Leitman Bailey has
always put his clients first, aggressively pursu-
ing their cases to bring to its clients the best
that any law firm can offer, both in advocating
on behalf of the client and in working with the
client. Below are a couple of chosen quotes
from clients that highlight Mr. Bailey’s advoca-
cy and intellect in assisting clients in all real
estate matters.
“ADAM IS EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE OF
REAL ESTATE LAW AND ALWAYS PROVIDES
THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF ADVICE.”
AWARD
Read more online at alblawfirm.com/2020-
client-choice/
REAL ESTATE LITIGATION
various sources, our clients determined that
the viscous liquid was most likely a sewage leak
from the neighboring cooperative apartment
building. Despite placing calls to 311 and a
visit from the New York City Health Department
of Health that confirmed the sewage appeared
to be leaking from our client’s neighbor into
the townhouse basement, the cooperative
building refused to address the issue, fearing
a costly remediation that might include replac-
ing sewage pipes buried beneath its concrete
basement floor.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. was hired
to aggressively pursue remediation and
commence litigation as needed to stop the
dangerous sewage leak. Adam Leitman Bailey,
P.C. quickly arranged site visits with our engi-
neer at both the townhouse and cooperative
building, reviewed all relevant DOB records,
contacted 311 and the Health Department, and
communicated repeatedly with the cooperate...
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online at
alblawfirm.
com/
leaking-
sewage-line
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY AWARDED 2020 CLIENT CHOICE AWARD
UNEXPLAINED
REPAIR FEES
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C. RESOLVES TOWNHOUSE OWNER'S DISPUTE
OVER NEIGHBOR'S LEAKING SEWAGE LINE

7. 7WE GET RESULTSWWW.ALBLAWFIRM.COM
NEW YORK REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS
read, ending with the students voting on their
favorite home to live in. Each student was then
presented with an autographed book person-
alized by Mr. Bailey to each individual child,
including their name and a greeting.
​As Mr. Bailey, left for his next assigned read-
ing class, Enrico called out, “can you come back
again?” Bailey held the door and turned his
head back and said, “I hope so but I know that,
that book and all of the books in this classroom
and the library will have adventures in them to
keep you excited for many years to come.”
of the new
rental
over-
charge
laws that
allow
tenants
to review
the entire
rental
history for
an apart-
ment ad
infinitum,
which has
essentially frozen the purchase and sale of
rent-regulated buildings.
In closing, the presenters fielded questions
from the attendees and provided insight on
some of the most important aspects of the
HSTPA such as the newly minted RPAPL § 702
on attorney fees and RPAPL § 753 on staying
execution on warrants of eviction, as well as the
new security deposit laws.
New York County Landlord/Tenant Bar
Association, with the Honorable Jean T.
Schneider, moderating, featured Adam Leitman
Bailey, P.C.’s Massimo F. D’Angelo, speaking on
the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act
of 2019.
Mr. D’Angelo opened the lecture with a
discussion on the history of rent-regulation in
the State of New York, which can be traced
back to World War I, and explained, in detail,
the two forms of rent-regulation: (i) rent-con-
trol; and (ii) rent-stabilization. Specifically, Mr.
D’Angelo illustrated the intrinsic regulatory
scheme over the City’s housing stock imposed
under Rent Stabilization Law (“RSL”), along with
its oversight by the relevant City agencies, and
how rent-regulated apartments were deregulat-
ed under the prior laws.
Next, the lecture centered around the HSTPA
which was signed into law on June 14, 2019,
and extended the sunset provisions over
affordable housing protections. As Mr. D’Angelo
explained, the HSTPA totally abolished both
high-rent and high-income and high-rent luxury
deregulation, and repealed vacancy increases
and longevity bonuses. Beyond this, through
the imposition of stringent caps, vast portion
of the debates involved the HSTPA’s revamping
with his pupils, the students, stampering and
clamoring with every word. He understood the
students and they understood him. He gave it
his all and the students appreciated it.
The teacher looked on this whirlwind of a
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.
One Battery Park Plaza
Eighteenth Floor
New York, New York 10004
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island-cares/
COMMUNITY/HOME
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landlord-tenant-bar-association/
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
COMMUNITY
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY BRINGS FUN TO LOCAL STUDENTS FOR RAAD
LONG ISLAND CARES, INC. THANKS
ALB FOR HIS SUPPORT
Every year Adam Leitman Bailey travels to
underserved schools to motivate, donate,
read, and gift books. This year for Read Across
America Day, Mr. Bailey could not refuse an
invite from another school that reminded him
of his own childhood. After presenting the
school’s principal with a very generous dona-
tion check, he was introduced to the first of two
first grade classes he would be reading to, or
more accurately what I would call entertaining.
​As soon as Mr. Bailey walked through the door
he immediately lit up the room—the children
sprang to their feet and I knew that Mr. Bailey
was hopeful at least one of these students
would fall in love with reading today. His book
of choice—his own multi-award winning, Home,
and he read that book like a sermon in a church
Read more online at alblawfirm.com/raad/
MASSIMO D'ANGELO SPEAKS BEFORE ESTEEMED AUDIENCE AT NEW
YORK COUNTY LANDLORD/TENANT BAR ASSOCIATION