Grandson with Criminal Conviction Can't Get Tenant's Apartment

NYCHA tenant’s grandson claimed that he was a remaining family member after tenant died. NYCHA ruled against him, finding that he didn’t qualify. Grandson filed an Article 78 petition, claiming that NYCHA’s decision was arbitrary and unreasonable. The court ruled against the grandson. There was no question that the grandson lived with tenant for many years without landlord’s authorization. He didn’t become an authorized occupant before tenant died in 2004. NYCHA had denied tenant’s 1995 application to add grandson as an authorized occupant. This was a final decision, and no appeal was ever filed. The grandson claimed that neither he nor tenant ever received notice of NYCHA’s denial of a second application filed in 1998. But even if he didn’t get notice, the 1998 NYCHA decision stated that he was ineligible due to a prior criminal conviction, and the grandson offered no challenge to that ruling.

Valentin v. NYCHA: NYLJ, 4/12/10, p. 28, col. 1 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Andrias, JP, Saxe, Catterson, Freedman, Abdus-Salaam, JJ)