As practitioners who have represented amici the Rent Stabilization Association of NYC, Inc., the Community Housing Improvement Program and the Real Estate Board of New York in Altman v. 285 W. Fourth, LLC, 127 AD3d 654 (1st Dept. 2015), and the successful owner in the recent Appellate Term, First Department, decision in 233 East 5th Street LLC v. Smith, 2016 NY Slip Op 26404 (Dec. 8, 2016), we were especially interested in Warren A. Estis and Jeffrey Turkel’s Jan. 4 article, “The ‘Altman’ Conundrum (Continued).”
While the article is an important update in the area of high rent deregulation, we think it misses the mark in its description of the Rent Act of 2011, as well as the import of 233 East 5th Street LLC and the interplay between that decision and Altman. The authors describe the Rent Act of 2011 as if there is an inconsistency (or in this case a conundrum) within the language of RSL Section 26-504.2 as amended in June 2011. Respectfully, there is no confusion or internal conflict.
