Hallway Light Fixtures Didn't Qualify as MCI

The DRA denied landlord's application for MCI rent hikes based on lobby and hallway restoration. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that the DRA should at least have granted rent increases for the new lighting fixtures installed in the building's hallways and stairwell. But landlord's installation failed to meet the requirements that the improvement be building-wide; depreciable under the Internal Revenue Code; other than for ordinary repairs; required for the operation, preservation, and maintenance of the structure; and done to replace an item whose useful life had expired.

850 Amsterdam Avenue: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. YC430063RO (4/24/14) [2-pg. doc.]