Judge Marcia Sikowitz
Landlord commenced a nuisance holdover action seeking possession of tenant Arena’s rent stabilized apartment. The predicate notice to cure contained just four paragraphs, noting Arena continuously harassed landlord and other tenants, and created a nuisance with his guests, among other things. Arena moved for dismissal arguing the predicate notice was impermissibly vague. He also noted he paid rent during the window period which landlord retained, but returned the checks only after Arena moved for dismissal. The court found the predicate notice was devoid of any dates or times of the alleged nuisance. It stated the notice to cure failed to describe or explain the nature of the harassment the landlord and other tenants faced by Arena. Further, the notice failed to indicate specific times or dates or how often the alleged nuisance behavior by Arena and his friends occurred. Also, the court found landlord accepted five weeks of rent during the window period, and the rent was not returned until after Arena moved for dismissal of the petition, without an explanation regarding landlord’s retention of the five payments in the window period. As such, the predicate note was insufficient, and dismissal was granted.