Tenant Acted in Antisocial Manner

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nuisance. The court ruled for landlord, and tenant appealed and lost. There was sufficient proof that tenant suffered from a severe psychiatric disorder and conducted himself in an antisocial manner, which endangered the health and safety of other tenants. Six witnesses testified about knife threats, the cutting of intercom and cable television lines, various noises emanating from tenant's apartment day and night, a gas leak, tenant's use of the fire escape to come and go from his apartment, and a suicide threat. This was a pattern of conduct likely to continue and therefore a nuisance. The housing court didn't abuse its discretion by refusing to delay the case indefinitely so tenant could appear at trial. Tenant was involuntarily hospitalized, his date of discharge was unknown, and his attorney declined the offer to take testimony at the hospital and produced no other witnesses in tenant's defense.

2324 Realty Corp. v. Corchado: NYLJ, p. 28, col. 3 (10/30/95) (App. T. 1 Dept.; Parness, JP, McCooe, Freedman, JJ)