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Itkowitz PLLC Gets “Free Market Apartment” Back In To Rent Stabilization!

April 17, 2017 I represented a residential tenant in what he thought was a free market apartment.(1) I was hired to investigate whether it was actually subject to Rent Stabilization. It was! My client was the first deregulated tenant. The Individual Apartment Improvements (IAI’s) that the landlord claimed got the apartment over the Deregulation Threshold,… Continue reading Itkowitz PLLC Gets “Free Market Apartment” Back In To Rent Stabilization!

Preventing Airbnb and Other Illegal Short-Term Subleasing in Co-ops — a Panel for Argo University of Boards

February 22, 2017 On February 21, 2017, Michelle Maratto Itkowitz was proud to be on a panel with leading industry experts in the NYC Co-Op space at "Argo University for Boards", a unique training program created by Argo Management to bring high quality content and learning to NYC Co-Op leadership on the topics that matter most to them. The panel was on Preventing… Continue reading

Itkowitz PLLC Gets OUT Illegal Short-Term Leasing Company for Foreign Students that Chopped Apartment up into Four Separate Rooms! With Just a Letter!

February 10, 2017 I represented a residential landlord in Manhattan who had just purchased a multifamily building[1]. I was hired to do Rent Stabilization Due Diligence. Security footage showed that one of the railroad apartments had four different young men coming in and out of different doors. The young men would change frequently, coming and… Continue reading

Owner’s Use Proceedings – MICHELLE’S MONDAY MANDAMUS!

January 30, 2017 January 30, 2017: This Q&A post originally appeared on the LandlordsNY blog, where Michelle Maratto Itkowitz is the "Legal Expert". Hi, Michelle here. I am the LandlordsNY “Legal Expert”. My goal is to post in the blog all of the questions I get from LandlordsNY members (keeping the member anonymous) and my… Continue reading

Itkowitz PLLC Gets $185k buyout for Tenant-Client for only $3,000 in Legal Fees…or…Maybe You Don’t Always Need a Contingency Fee Lawyer?

January 30, 2017 I represented a residential tenant in Brooklyn[1]. She was the last of two holdouts in a ten unit building. The particulars of the case are not that interesting. I am featuring this story because I want to chat about contingency fee tenant lawyers. I told this tenant what I tell everyone… Continue reading Itkowitz PLLC Gets $185k buyout for Tenant-Client for only $3,000 in Legal Fees…or…Maybe You Don’t Always Need a Contingency Fee Lawyer?

Itkowitz PLLC Causes Stay of Commercial Eviction to be Vacated in Kafkaesque Battle When Landlord Purchased Building Out of Foreclosure and Receiver Stuck Him with an Illegal Ten-Year Lease

January 20, 2017 We represented a commercial landlord in Brooklyn who had purchased a building at a foreclosure sale. The receiver went and made a ten-year lease with a tenant, even though to do so far outpaced the receiver’s authority. What a mess for the new owner when he discovered this sweetheart deal. The… Continue reading Itkowitz PLLC Causes Stay of Commercial Eviction to be Vacated in Kafkaesque Battle When Landlord Purchased Building Out of Foreclosure and Receiver Stuck Him with an Illegal Ten-Year Lease

Deciding Who Should Sign the Lease and Who Should Sign the Guaranty – MICHELLE’S MONDAY MANDAMUS!

January 9, 2017 This Q&A post originally appeared on the LandlordsNY blog, where Michelle Maratto Itkowitz is the "Legal Expert". Hi, Michelle here. I am the LandlordsNY “Legal Expert”. My goal is to post in the blog all of the questions I get from LandlordsNY members (keeping the member anonymous) and my answers thereto, when… Continue reading

Tenant Running a Business from Her Apartment – MICHELLE’S MONDAY MANDAMUS!

December 28, 2016 This Q&A post originally appeared on the LandlordsNY blog, where Michelle Maratto Itkowitz is the "Legal Expert". I am the LandlordsNY “Legal Expert”. My goal is to post in the blog all of the questions I get from LandlordsNY members (keeping the member anonymous) and my answers thereto, when I think… Continue reading

Defending Tenants Being Sued for Illegal Airbnb and Other Short-Term Sublets in Their Apartments

December 20, 2016 On December 20, 2016, Michelle taught a Live Webinar Continuing Legal Education program for Lorman Education Services entitled: "Short-Term Illegal Sublets in NY MultiFamily Buildings: Prevention, Detection, Remedies". Here is a sample of the materials from that program, in which Michelle added a new section to her usual repertoire on this topic -- "Airbnb --… Continue reading

Itkowitz PLLC Gets Retail Tenant to Pay in Full Before Surrendering Retail Store in Manhattan

December 7, 2016 I represented a commercial landlord in Manhattan on a retail space. Retail is not doing so great these days, and this was a specialty store. The landlord had given the tenant many chances to catch up. It just wasn’t meant to be. Tenant’s attorney announced that tenant was leaving and they gave… Continue reading Itkowitz PLLC Gets Retail Tenant to Pay in Full Before Surrendering Retail Store in Manhattan

Itkowitz PLLC Gets Hot Water Restored to Couple with Baby in Last Apartment in Building Being Sold as Part of Estate

October 17, 2016 Here’s a story for you. My clients were a young professional couple with an eleven-month-old baby in a $3,000/month apartment in a small building in a nice neighborhood in Queens[1]. They were the last tenants left in the building. The elderly owners had recently died and a daughter in another state… Continue reading Itkowitz PLLC Gets Hot Water Restored to Couple with Baby in Last Apartment in Building Being Sold as Part of Estate

Short-Term Illegal Sublets in NYC Apartments — Prevention, Detection, and Remedies for Landlords

October 4, 2016 On September 27, 2016, Michelle Maratto Itkowitz appeared at the Sublet Spy Symposium. Below is an excerpt from her new and original material on how to prevent, detect, and deal with Illegal Short-Term Sublets in NYC Apartments. Link to full pdf of materials. Michelle Itkowitz presenting. Materials Except IV.… Continue reading