Justice Genine Edwards
Kaplan sought to annul a determinatin by New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development denying her succession right to an apartment. She provided numerous documents, and after conducting an investigation respondent Cadman Towers rejected Kaplan’s claim, noting she failed to prove the unit was her primary residence. The city upheld Cadman’s denial of Kaplan’s succession rights claim, ruling she failed to show the apartment was her primary residence. The court found, after review, that while Kaplan established family member status, and that she was included on all relevant annual income affidavits, these factors did not absolve her from showing the subject apartment was her primary residence. It found while Kaplan offered her 2009 tax return, city rules require a tax return at the claimed primary residence for the most recent preceding taxable year, noting that 2010 would be the most recent, which Kaplan failed to provide. The court stated Kaplan’s tax records alone precluded her from establishing primary residency, noting her other documentation was “replete with inconsistencies.” Thus, it concluded the city’s decision was properly founded on the submitted evidence, denying the petition.
