Opinion
June 12, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Lange, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed, with costs.
Seven of the petitioner's tenants filed complaints of rent overcharge for garage space that they rented from him. The District Rent Administrator found that the petitioner violated the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 (hereinafter ETPA) and the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law (hereinafter EHRCL), and ordered the petitioner to refund the amount of overcharge to the complaining tenants. The petitioner filed seven petitions for administrative review which were consolidated by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (hereinafter DHCR). The DHCR affirmed the District Rent Administrator's order, and the Supreme Court confirmed the DHCR's order, finding that the garage space was a service provided in connection with each tenant's housing lease agreement.
The determination of the DHCR that the rent increases for the petitioner's parking garage were an impermissible attempt to circumvent the rent regulation laws and a violation of the relevant ETPA rent regulation guidelines has a rational basis in the record, and we decline to substitute our judgment for that of the DHCR (see, Matter of Sterling Ridge Realty Co. v. New York State Div. of Hous. Community Renewal, 185 A.D.2d 354). The petitioner contends that the DHCR may only regulate housing accommodations and "essential services". However, the petitioner cites no such limiting language in the ETPA § 10 (McKinney's Uncons Law of N Y § 8630 [a], L 1974, ch 576, § 4, as amended) or Emergency Tenant Protection Regulations (9 N.Y.CRR part 2500). Therefore, we reject this assertion (see, Matter of Sterling Ridge Realty Co. v. New York State Div. of Hous. Community Renewal, supra). Mangano, P.J., Joy, Hart and Florio, JJ., concur.