Summary
allowing for post judgment cure of alterations made without landlord's consent
Summary of this case from 201 W. 54th St. Buyer LLC v. RodinOpinion
January 28, 1993
Appeal from the Civil Court, New York County (Bruce J. Gould, H.J.).
We agree that respondent's removal and replacement of the cabinets and refrigerator without petitioner's permission when neither was so defective as to warrant such unilateral action was a substantial violation of the "no alteration" clause of the petitioner's lease (Freehold Invs. v. Richstone, 72 Misc.2d 624, revg 69 Misc.2d 1010, revd 42 A.D.2d 696, revd 34 N.Y.2d 612). Nevertheless, issuance of the warrant of eviction should again be stayed on condition that respondent reinstall the original cabinets within 10 days after they are made available to him by petitioner. Should petitioner fail to make the cabinets available to respondent within 20 days after service of a copy of this order with notice of entry, the judgment is vacated.
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Wallach and Kassal, JJ.
To replace an old refrigerator with a new one and to substitute wooden kitchen cabinets for metal ones for aesthetic reasons is an unsubstantial deviation from the obligations of tenancy (see, Rumiche Corp. v. Eisenreich, 40 N.Y.2d 174).
To bottom a warrant of eviction on such flimsy grounds is to denigrate landlord and tenant law.