Opinion
December 2, 1997
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Eileen Bransten, J.).
In this landlord-tenant dispute, everyone agrees that venue should be changed from New York County, where all parties reside, because one of the defendants is a sitting Judge in that county and the other is a retired Judge who sat there for many years. However, we see no reason to transfer the action entirely out of the First Judicial Department to avoid even a possible appearance of impropriety inasmuch as there have been prior and pending proceedings between the same parties that have been transferred to Bronx County without apparent prejudice or complaint. In fact, a 1994 proceeding was transferred to the Bronx at defendants' specific request.
Concur — Rosenberger, J. P., Nardelli, Andrias and Colabella, JJ.