Motions to dismiss case and for further discovery denied.

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development brought a proceeding to determine whether to grant a building owner's application for a certificate of no harassment. The building owner made a pre-trial motion for further discovery, claiming he was unable to meaningfully understand the claims against him so as to prepare for trial. ALJ John Spooner denied the motion finding the amended petition, and the “prodigious amount of pretrial discovery” provided to the owner gave it sufficient notice of the harassment allegations he is facing. The owner also argued that the amended petition should be dismissed as defective in that it failed to allege the harassment materially advanced the demolition or alteration of the building. ALJ Spooner ruled that alleging such a motive was not necessary as it is not an element of harassment.  Dep't of Housing Preservation & Development v. Jusewitz (in PDF), OATH Index No. 347/10, mem. dec. (Feb 9, 2010).

Loss of license and fine recommended for cab driver’s use of profanity.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission sought to revoke the license of a cab driver. On the testimony of the driver and an eyewitness, ALJ Alessandra Zorgniotti found that the driver cursed and yelled at a TLC employee in an abusive manner. In light of the driver's previous incidents of verbal abuse towards cab passengers, unsafe driving, and failure to follow TLC directives, ALJ Zorgniotti recommended revocation of the hack license and $1,000 fine.

Taxi & Limousine Comm'n v. Liu (in PDF), OATH Index No. 1714/10 (Feb. 12, 2010).

Eligibility specialist lied to receive benefits.

ALJ Kevin Casey recommended that the Human Resources Administration terminate an eligibility specialist found to have falsified affidavits to the New York City Housing Authority stating that she was unemployed, thereby defrauding the city of over $22,000 in housing benefits.

Human Resources Admin. v. Johnson (in PDF), OATH Index No. 1187/10 (Feb. 17, 2010).

Illegal weapon found in car.

The NYPD was allowed to retain a vehicle seized when the driver was arrested for reckless driving. A stolen firearm was found in the vehicle during an inventory search. ALJ Zorgniotti found that the Department had demonstrated the legality of the stop, that the car's status as an instrumentality of a crime was indisputable when the crime was reckless driving, and that possession of the illegal handgun in the vehicle demonstrated a significant safety risk to the public.

Police Dep't v. Hanslip (in PDF), OATH Index No. 1687/10, mem. dec. (Feb. 2, 2010).

City may refuse architect's filings.

The Department of Buildings sought to bar an architect from filing any papers with the Department. ALJ Salzman found that the respondent had made false and misleading statements, including sworn statements, to the Department, and submitted misleading photographs to make it appear that a lamppost had been moved, when in fact it remained unlawfully placed, blocking a driveway. The architect additionally was found to have knowingly filed false statements with the Department regarding zoning, including manipulated zoning calculations that affected the bulk of new buildings and the number of parking spaces required to be provided, the lot size and configuration (treating an interior lot as if it were at a corner lot), and regarding the use of the zoning lot (claiming a community facility that was not really planned and did not exist), for the purpose of overbuilding on the site. ALJ Salzman recommended that the Commissioner refuse to accept any further filings by the architect.

Dep't of Buildings v. Scarano (in PDF), OATH Index No. 2571/08 (Mar. 1, 2010).