Opinion
July 29, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Shaw, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiff Daniel J. Sullivan was injured while descending an outdoor staircase on a building owned by the defendant Specialty Glass Corporation and leased, in part, by the defendant Sid's Hardware and Home Center Corporation (hereinafter Sid's Hardware). The Supreme Court granted the motion of Sid's Hardware for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against it. We affirm.
An owner or tenant in possession of real property owes a duty of reasonable care to maintain the property in a safe condition (see, Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233, 241). The determinative question is one of possession or control (see, McGill v. Caldors, Inc., 135 A.D.2d 1041). Here, in support of its motion for summary judgment, the tenant Sid's Hardware demonstrated that the store could not be reached by use of the staircase and that neither the owner nor the employees of the store used the staircase. In addition, in the parties' lease, the landlord specifically retained the obligation to maintain in good condition the external portions of the building, including the staircase (see, Garcia v. Arbern Realty Co., 89 A.D.2d 616). In opposition to the motion, the plaintiffs failed to produce evidentiary proof in admissible form sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact (see, Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557, 562). Accordingly, the motion for summary judgment was properly granted.
We have examined the plaintiffs' remaining contentions and find them to be without merit. Rosenblatt, J.P., Santucci, Joy and Hart, JJ., concur.