The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 005) 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 244, 245, 246, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260 were read on this motion to/for ORDER MAINTAIN CLASS ACTION. DECISION + ORDER ON MOTION BACKGROUND In this case alleging rent overcharge, plaintiffs Stella Quinatoa and Ana Cabrera currently move for class certification, with Quinatoa and Cabrera as lead plaintiffs and Milbank LLP (Milbank) and The Legal Aid Society (Legal Aid) as co-counsel for the class. In addition, plaintiffs seek approval of their proposed class notice and an order that directs defendant Hewlett Associates, LP (Hewlett) to provide them with contact information for the proposed class members. Hewlett opposes the motion. For the following reasons, the court grants the motion. Plaintiffs Stella Quinatoa and Ana Cabrera reside in the Trafalgar Apartments (Trafalgar) in Flushing, Queens (NYSCEF Doc. No. 1 [complaint],
8-9). Hewlett Associates, LP (Hewlett) is the owner and landlord of Trafalgar (id., 10).1 Plaintiffs allege that Hewlett violated Administrative Code §11-243, commonly referred to as J-51 after its predecessor provision.2 Under J-51, landlords who undertake major capital improvements on their buildings receive tax abatements. While they receive such abatements, all apartments in the buildings have rent-stabilized status, regardless of whether the apartments were stabilized before the building received the abatements. Where the cessation of benefits leads to the destabilization of an apartment, the landlord must notify the affected renter that the J-51 benefits are about to expire and that as a result the renters will lose their rent-stabilized status. If the landlord does not notify them in the proper manner, the apartment remains rent stabilized. Trafalgar was built around 1973 and contains 113 rental units (NYSCEF Doc. No. 1, 36). Hewlett filed for J-51 benefits in 2006 (see NYSCEF Doc. No. 11), and it allegedly received the benefits commencing in 2008 (NYSCEF Doc. No. 1, 39). The complaint contends that, during this period, Hewlett “systematically violated [its] obligations under the Rent Stabilization Laws” (NYSCEF Doc. No. 1, 40) in that it did not treat all the apartments at Trafalgar as rent stabilized. For example, the complaint alleges that in 2017, only 14 of the units were listed as rent-stabilized although the building received J-51 benefits; the current motion papers assert that no more than 15 of the units were treated as rent stabilized between 2014 and 2018, which is the proposed class period. Also, the complaint asserts that Hewlett did not notify the tenants that their apartments were rent-stabilized and that Hewlett lied to tenants and others who asked about their units’ rent-stabilized status. Quinatoa and Cabrera allege that they were unaware of the rent-stabilized status of their respective apartments and that their lease increases exceeded the amount the Rent Guidelines Board allowed. As a result, plaintiffs claim that they sustained financial damages. According to plaintiffs, Hewlett’s actions also adversely affected the ability of Trafalgar’s senior citizens residents to take advantage of RPTL 467-b, which is implemented in New York City under N.Y.C. Administrative Code §26-509. This provision is known as SCRIE, a shorthand for “Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption.” SCRIE freezes the rent of senior citizens over 62 who live in rent-stabilized housing and whose income falls below a specified level, so that the rent does not exceed the greater of 1) one-third of the household’s aggregate disposable income or 2) the rent in effect immediately before the senior becomes eligible for the benefit. For the purpose of this law, the eligibility date is the date a qualified tenant applies for SCRIE (see Nunez v. Giuliani, 91 NY2d 935 [1998]). Because of the misrepresentations, the complaint states, senior citizens who lived in Trafalgar did not apply for SCRIE when they first could have applied (NYSCEF Doc. No. 1,
