A building owner had commenced an Article 78 proceeding to annul a determination of a petition for administrative review (PAR) of respondent NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), which had denied the owner’s “Application for an Order Granting Approval to Refuse Renewal of Lease and/or to Proceed For Eviction” (application), predicated upon the owner’s “proposal to demolish the subject building.” The trial court had dismissed the proceeding. The Appellate Division (court) reversed.

The Rent Stabilization Law authorizes the Rent Stabilization Code (RSC) “to permit an owner to refuse to renew a lease ‘where the owner intends in good faith to demolish the building and has obtained a permit therefor from the Department of Buildings’…” (DOB).