Opinion
September 28, 2000.
Determination of respondent Commissioner, dated June 18, 1998, which, after a hearing, dismissed petitioner from the New York City Police Department, unanimously confirmed, the petition denied and the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR article 78 (transferred to this Court by order of the Supreme Court, New York County [Leland DeGrasse, J.], entered June 11, 1999) dismissed, without costs.
Daniel B. Gazan, for petitioner.
Fay Ng, for respondents.
Before: Nardelli, J.P., Mazzarelli, Lerner, Andrias, Buckley, JJ.
There was substantial evidence (see, Matter of Pell v. Bd. of Educ., 34 N.Y.2d 222, 230-231) to support the specifications charging petitioner with associating with a person reasonably believed to be a criminal, failure to properly safeguard his weapon, and failure to comply with orders on five separate occasions in eight months. The record does not support the conclusion that the Department's determination was made in bad faith to prevent petitioner from obtaining disability retirement benefits. The record, as noted, supports the findings against petitioner, and, in addition, supports the conclusion that petitioner would not, in any event, have qualified for disability retirement. In light of the seriousness and number of proven violations, dismissal of petitioner from the Police Department was justified (see, Matter of Siciliano v. Safir, 259 A.D.2d 366; Matter of Richardson v. Safir, 258 A.D.2d 328; Matter of Marcondes v. Ward, 172 A.D.2d 318).
We decline to address petitioner's remaining contention, that the Department violated the Administrative Code by failing to act on his ordinary disability application within 90 days, since it was never raised at the administrative level (see, Matter of Hughes v. Suffolk Dept. of Civ. Serv., 74 N.Y.2d 833, 834; Matter of Klapak v. Blum, 65 N.Y.2d 670).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.