Prior Ruling That Building Was Part of HMD Barred Claim Apartments Were Unregulated

In 2022, a Westchester County landlord filed two Administrative Determination requests with the DHCR concerning two separate apartments in a building at 2 Morningside Avenue. Landlord pointed out that it also owned 1 Morningside Avenue, that each building contained four apartments, and that the buildings each had separate entrances, utility meters, tax lots, and furnaces. The DRA ruled against landlord because a prior 2007 DHCR decision in another case had ruled that the two buildings together were a horizontal multiple dwelling (HMD) that contained eight apartments under common ownership as of Oct. 15, 1978, and therefore was rent stabilized under the ETPA.

Landlord appealed and lost. The DHCR noted that the 2007 decision had been appealed by landlord in an Article 78 court proceeding. In that case the court upheld the DHCR's ruling. Under principles of res judicata and collateral estoppel, landlord's 2022 claim about two other apartments in the building was barred and its application properly dismissed.

1-6 Morningside Properties LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket Nos. LR910036RO, LR910037RO (9/15/23)[6-pg. document]