Pena v. New York City Housing Authority

Full title: WILLIAM PENA, Respondent, v. NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY, Appellant

Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department

Date published: Jul 15, 1993

195 A.D.2d 395 (N.Y. App. Div. 1993)

600 N.Y.S.2d 681

Opinion

July 15, 1993

Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Harold Baer, Jr., J.).

Plaintiff alleges that he was attacked and stabbed in the lobby of a building owned by defendant by unknown assailants who had been hiding in the stairwell. The only basis for liability against defendant is that the lock on the front door was broken. This record, which contains no indication of prior criminal activities by third parties in the building, is insufficient to hold the landlord liable. At a minimum there must be some basis to conclude that the cited negligence proximately caused plaintiff's injury. (See, Pagan v. Hampton Houses, 187 A.D.2d 325; Camacho v. Edelman, 176 A.D.2d 453.)

Concur — Murphy, P.J., Ross, Asch and Kassal, JJ.