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Evicting a Fired Superintendent

January 4, 2016: This Q&A post originally appeared on the LandlordsNY blog, where Michelle Maratto Itkowitz is the “Legal Expert”. Question: “Hi, I hired a super that didn’t work out after 3 weeks. He signed an agreement of hire that specified the apartment he moved into is not his and that is tied to him being a super. I have since… Continue reading Evicting a Fired Superintendent

Another Residential-Tenant-Buyout Win-Win Story!

December 18, 2015 This is another residential-tenant-buyout win-win story. Itkowitz PLLC represented a gentleman in his seventies. The fellow was still working and very active in his church. He was the second-generation Rent Control tenant in an Upper East Side co-op. Even with SCRIE, this man was finding it hard to pay the rent. Moreover,… Continue reading Another Residential-Tenant-Buyout Win-Win Story!

Landlord’s Obligations When A Rent Stabilized Tenant Requests Spouse Be Added to Lease (& Michelle on Mann Report Cover!)

Michelle made it on to the cover of the Mann Report Nov./Dec. 2015 Residential Issue as part of the feature article on LandlordsNY, in which Michelle is quoted because she is LandlordsNY “Legal Expert”. December 14, 2015: This post originally appeared on the LandlordsNY blog, where Michelle Maratto Itkowitz is the “Legal Expert”. Question: “One of our tenants (Rent Stab. one bedroom APT… Continue reading Landlord’s Obligations When A Rent Stabilized Tenant Requests Spouse Be Added to Lease (& Michelle on Mann Report Cover!)

Evicting Tenants for Short-Term Leasing Violations

By Michelle Maratto Itkowitz November 24, 2015 I. INTRODUCTION This blog post mirrors a booklet that was produced for a LandlordsNY presentation and focuses on how to evict tenants in multiple dwellings for violations of the relatively new laws prohibiting short-term leasing. The booklet is not, however, a bad resource for… Continue reading

Commercial Tenant Triumphs because Termination Clause not Properly Exercised by Former Owner

November 20, 2015 Itkowitz PLLC saved the long-term lease of an industrial tenant in Queens. The landlord brought a holdover, claiming the tenancy was ended by the exercise of a two-year termination clause in the lease. We identified several problems with the landlord’s case. The building had been transferred, and the termination notice was… Continue reading Commercial Tenant Triumphs because Termination Clause not Properly Exercised by Former Owner

Landlord’s Rights to Access an Apartment for Repairs When Tenant is NOT Cooperating; Tenant Asking for Contractor’s Licenses

November 11, 2015 This post originally appeared on November 11, 2015, on the LandlordsNY blog, where Michelle Maratto Itkowitz is the "Legal Expert". Question: “I'm the managing agent of my mother’s three family house. This is a new job for me. The tenants are rejecting my authority by being difficult. One of my concerns is the tenant on the… Continue reading

Holdout Tenant Vacates, Closing Goes Forward!

October 30, 2015 It is the oldest story in the book. A family puts their small building in Brooklyn up for sale. They go to contract. The deal requires them to deliver the building vacant. A tenant who has been in the building for many years promises that he will vacate by closing. The… Continue reading Holdout Tenant Vacates, Closing Goes Forward!

The Rent Stabilization Laws of 2015 Explained — High Rent Vacancy Deregulation and Tenant Buyouts in a New World

October 14, 2015 by Michelle Maratto Itkowitz It was a tough Summer of 2015 for New York City landlords. Two of the most powerful implements in the toolbox of an owner seeking to eliminate Rent Stabilized tenancies and “add value” to a multi-family building, the Tenant Buyout and High Rent Vacancy Deregulation, were very… Continue reading The Rent Stabilization Laws of 2015 Explained — High Rent Vacancy Deregulation and Tenant Buyouts in a New World

Itkowitz PLLC Negotiated a Restaurant Lease on Behalf of a Times Square Landlord

September 18, 2015 Itkowitz PLLC successfully negotiated a restaurant lease on behalf of Landlord Northeast Vantage for the establishment of a 3,000 square foot restaurant at 246 W. 48th Street near the corner of 8th Avenue, in the Times Square area. The new restaurant, Lantern, will be building out the space with an… Continue reading Itkowitz PLLC Negotiated a Restaurant Lease on Behalf of a Times Square Landlord

Itkowitz PLLC Wins $243k Attorneys’ Fee and Expenses in Net Lease / Option to Buy Case

October 2, 2015 This was a net lease case with an option to buy. Obviously, we have all seen quite a few of these cases, as the market has risen over the last decade. After four years of litigation in the New York Supreme Court Commercial Part, the Itkowitz PLLC client was awarded attorneys’… Continue reading Itkowitz PLLC Wins $243k Attorneys’ Fee and Expenses in Net Lease / Option to Buy Case

Audio Input on Security Cameras – Sorry Landlords You Can’t Do It!

September 1, 2015 This post originally appeared on the LandlordsNY blog, where Michelle Maratto Itkowitz is the "Legal Expert". Question: “I am going to install several video cameras on the outside front and rear areas of my 4 family townhouse. None of the cameras have a built in mic However, I have an external… Continue reading

Failure To Comply with Use and Occupancy Order Resulted in Dismissal of Answer and Affirmative Defenses in Summary Proceeding and Three Newsstand Evictions

August 7, 2015 Tenant entered into licenses with public benefit authority to operate four newsstands located in four different New York City subway stations. The public benefit corporation, represented by Itkowitz PLLC, brought proceedings based on Tenant’s failure to pay compensation and failure to procure insurance for the newsstands. Tenant did not… Continue reading Failure To Comply with Use and Occupancy Order Resulted in Dismissal of Answer and Affirmative Defenses in Summary Proceeding and Three Newsstand Evictions