A petitioner had commenced a special proceeding, pursuant to Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) §881 (§881) against an adjacent land owner (respondent), to obtain a license “to enter the adjoining property to erect, maintain and deconstruct scaffolding, sidewalk bridges/sheds, roof protection and overhead protections for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the public and respondent’s adjoining property during the construction of petitioner’s property (Work).”

The petitioner is building a nine-story hotel adjacent to the respondent’s property, has building plans approved by the NYC Dept. of Buildings (DOB) and has commenced construction. The petitioner alleged that it cannot continue construction above the second story level without doing the Work and the Work requires the respondent’s consent for the petitioner to access the respondent’s property. The respondent allegedly refused to consent to provide the access, despite several “reasonable requests.” The petitioner had allegedly drafted and sent to the respondent for its review and negotiation an access agreement. However, its efforts were allegedly met with “silence and cancelled appointments to meet.”