NY Appellate Court Holds Determination by NYC Environmental Control Board was Not Supported by Substantial Evidence

In this case, Plaintiff Branic Intern. Realty Corp., a building owner, brought an Article 78 petition to annul the Environmental Control Board’s determination that it violated Administrative Code of City of NY § 28–118.3.2, prohibiting changes inconsistent with existing certificate of occupancy.

The record reflected that the DOB inspector who issued the notice of violation admitted at the hearing that he erroneously treated petitioner’s three adjoining buildings as one, and was unable to identify any apartments he visited in that building, or any occupants he spoke with. Accordingly, the court found that the determination that petitioner violated Administrative Code of City of NY § 28–118.3.2 by having its premises used as a transient hotel, contrary to the records of the Department of Buildings (DOB), was not supported by substantial evidence.

Branic Intern. Realty Corp. v. City of New York, 146 A.D.3d 700 (1 Dept.  2/26/2017)