Section 27-2110
§ 27-2110 Style of legal actions by department; disposition of moneys
collected. a. All actions or proceedings instituted to recover penalties
imposed by this code, or to recover any costs, expenses and
disbursements incurred by the department for the repair or
rehabilitation of a dwelling that are reimbursable under the provisions
of this code, shall be brought in the name of the department by the
corporation counsel.
b. All moneys recovered under this section shall be paid to the city
officer who brings such actions and proceedings. Such officer shall pay
the moneys to the commissioner of finance each month. The officer, on
the first of each month, shall report to the commissioner of the
department on the amount collected under this section, if any, and the
necessary disbursements incurred in the prosecution of such actions and
proceedings, if any.
Section 27-2111
§ 27-2111 Moneys collected by department payable to special repair
fund. All penalties and all other moneys recovered for costs, expenses
and disbursements that are reimbursable under this code for the repair
or rehabilitation of a dwelling shall be paid into a separate fund in
the treasury of the city. Such fund shall be available to the department
for the purpose of meeting the costs, expenses and disbursements for the
repair or rehabilitation of dwellings pursuant to the provisions of this
code.
Section 27-2112
§ 27-2112 Liability of the department for costs. Neither the city nor
the department nor any officer or employee thereof shall be liable for
costs in any action or proceeding brought under this code.
Section 27-2113
§ 27-2113 Notice of pendency of action. a. In any action or proceeding
brought by the department, it may file a notice of pendency in the
county clerk's office in the county where the premises affected by the
action or proceeding are located. The department may file such notice at
any time after it serves the notice of violation or order to repair, or
at the time it commences the action or proceeding, or any time
thereafter, before final judgment or order.
b. The corporation counsel shall designate in writing on such notice
of pendency the name of each person against whom the notice is filed and
the number of each block on the land map of the county which is affected
by the notice. The county clerk in whose office a notice of pendency is
filed shall record and index such notice against the names and blocks
designated.
c. A notice of pendency may be vacated by order of a judge of the
court where such action or proceeding was brought or is pending, or by
the written consent of the corporation counsel. The clerk of the county
where such notice is filed shall cancel the notice upon receipt of such
written consent or a certified copy of such order.
Section 27-2114
§ 27-2114 Responsibility of stockholders of corporations owning
multiple dwellings declared nuisances. a. The term "nuisance" shall be
held to embrace public nuisance as known at common law or in equity
jurisprudence. Whatever is dangerous to human life or detrimental to
health, and whatever dwelling is overcrowded with occupants or is not
provided with adequate ingress or egress or is not sufficiently
supported, ventilated, sewered, drained, cleaned or lighted in reference
to its intended or actual use, and whatever renders the air or human
food or drink unwholesome, are also severally, in contemplation of this
section, nuisances. All such nuisances are unlawful.
b. Whenever the department shall certify that any multiple dwelling,
or any part of its premises, or the plumbing, sewerage, drainage,
lighting or ventilation thereof, is in a condition or in effect
dangerous to life or detrimental to health, the department may, after
giving notice to the owner and an opportunity to be heard at a hearing
held for such purpose, declare the same, to the extent it may specify, a
public nuisance. Such declaration shall be filed in the central
violation bureau as provided by section three hundred twenty-eight of
the multiple dwelling law, if applicable, or as a public record in the
department. The officers of a corporation upon which notice of such
hearing has been served, other than a banking organization as defined in
section two of the banking law, a national banking association, a
federal savings and loan association, the mortgage facilities
corporation, savings banks life insurance fund, the savings banks
retirement system, an authorized insurer as defined in section one
hundred seven of the insurance law, or a trust company or other
corporation organized under the laws of this state all the capital stock
of which is owned by at least twenty savings banks or by at least twenty
savings and loan associations or a subsidiary corporation all of the
capital stock of which is owned by such trust company or other
corporation, shall serve similar notice on all stockholders of record of
the corporation and other persons known to be stockholders or beneficial
owners of the stock of the corporation. A stockholder upon whom such
notice has been served shall serve similar notice upon any persons
holding a beneficial interest in such stockholder's stock.
c. The department may order such nuisance to be removed in accordance
with the provisions of article five of this subchapter, and if any order
of the department is not complied with, then, as an alternative to
proceeding under the provisions of article five of this subchapter, if
the multiple dwelling involved shall have been declared to be a public
nuisance pursuant to subdivision b of this section, and such declaration
shall have been filed as therein provided, the department or a receiver
appointed pursuant to article six of this subchapter or section three
hundred nine of the multiple dwelling law or any tenant of such multiple
dwelling may institute and maintain an action in the supreme court or in
the housing part of the New York city civil court in the county where
the multiple dwelling is located against any owner or owners to whom the
order was issued pursuant to section 27-2125 of article five of this
subchapter for an order compelling such owner or owners to comply with
the department's order and, if such action be brought by such receiver
or tenant, for payment of the costs and disbursements of the action
including legal fees. Except as owners may have otherwise agreed, any
owner who removes or remedies the nuisance in compliance with an order
of the department or court shall be entitled to recover a proportionate
share of the total expense of such compliance from all other owners to
whom the department's order was issued or to whom such owner sent a copy
of the department's order within thirty days of receipt of same by
registered mail.
d. Whenever a multiple dwelling shall have been declared a public
nuisance to any extent pursuant to subdivision b of this section and
such declaration shall have been filed as therein provided, the term
"owner" shall be deemed to include, in addition to persons mentioned in
the definition of the term in section four of the multiple dwelling law,
all the officers, directors and persons having an interest in more than
ten percent of the issued and outstanding stock of the owner as herein
defined, as holder or beneficial owner thereof, if such owner be a
corporation other than a banking organization as defined in section two
of the banking law, a national banking association, a federal savings
and loan association, the mortgage facilities corporation, savings banks
life insurance fund, the savings banks retirement system, an authorized
insurer as defined in section one hundred seven of the insurance law, or
a trust company or other corporation organized under the laws of this
state all the capital stock of which is owned by at least twenty savings
banks or by at least twenty savings and loan associations or a
subsidiary corporation all of the capital stock of which is owned by
such trust company or other corporation, and thereupon any corporation
which is included in the term "owner" as provided in this subdivision d
shall file an additional statement of registration within ten days which
shall contain the name and residence and business address of each
director and stockholder of the corporation and of each person known to
have any beneficial interest in such stock.
e. Whenever a multiple dwelling shall have been declared a public
nuisance to any extent pursuant to subdivision b of this section, and
such declaration shall have been filed as therein provided, all
officers, directors and persons having an interest, as holder or
beneficial owner thereof, in more than ten percent of the issued and
outstanding stock of any corporation other than a banking organization
as defined in section two of the banking law, a national banking
association, a federal savings and loan association, the mortgage
facilities corporation, savings banks life insurance fund, the savings
banks retirement system, an authorized insurer as defined in section one
hundred seven of the insurance law, or a trust company or other
corporation organized under the laws of this state all the capital stock
of which is owned by at least twenty savings banks or by at least twenty
savings and loan associations or a subsidiary corporation all of the
capital stock of which is owned by such trust company or other
corporation, then in operation and control of such multiple dwelling,
shall, in addition to all other liabilities and penalties provided in
this code and elsewhere, be jointly and severally liable for all injury
to person or property thereafter sustained by any tenant of such
multiple dwelling or any other person by reason of the condition
constituting such public nuisance and for all costs and disbursements
including attorney's fees of any suit brought by such tenant or other
person.
f. No civil or criminal liability or penalty shall attach to any
person by reason of such person's ownership or beneficial ownership of
stock in a corporation owning a multiple dwelling declared to be a
public nuisance pursuant to subdivision b of this section because of his
or her failure to comply with any of the provisions of this code, whose
interest in such corporation is less than twenty-five per cent of the
issued and outstanding stock thereof, as owner or beneficial owner
thereof, and who has sustained the burden of proving that he or she has
not participated directly or indirectly in the management, operation or
control of such multiple dwelling.
g. No civil or criminal liability or penalty shall attach to any
person by reason of such person's ownership or beneficial ownership of
stock in a corporation owning a multiple dwelling declared to be a
public nuisance pursuant to subdivision b of this section because of his
or her failure to comply with any of the provisions of this code unless
and until such person has had a reasonable period of time to comply
following his or her having become an owner as defined in this code.
h. No civil or criminal liability or penalty shall attach to any
person who shall by operation of law become an owner of a multiple
dwelling then or thereafter certified and declared a public nuisance to
any extent pursuant to subdivision b of this section, or the holder or
beneficial owner of stock in such owner, if a corporation, because of
his or her failure to comply with any of the provisions of this code and
of the multiple dwelling law for a period of six months after he or she
acquired ownership of said multiple dwelling or the stock or beneficial
interest in the stock of a corporation which is the owner.