DHCR Decisions          DOCKET NUMBER: EB 130350-RO                                 STATE OF NEW YORK                     DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL                           OFFICE OF RENT ADMINISTRATION                                    GERTZ PLAZA                              92-31 UNION HALL STREET                              JAMAICA, NEW YORK 11433     ------------------------------------X     IN THE MATTER OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE :  ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW     APPEAL OF                              DOCKET NO.: EB 130350-RO                                         :                                              DRO DOCKET NO.: DB 130031-B     EDGEWARE ESTATES, INC.                           PETITIONER    :     ------------------------------------X                                       ORDER AND OPINION DENYING PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW     On February 2, 1990 the abovenamed petitioner owner filed a  Petition  for     Administrative Review against an order issued on January 10, 1990  by  the     Rent Administrator concerning the housing accommodations  known  as  35-30     81st Street, Various Apartments, Jackson Heights, Queens.     The  herein  appealed  order  of  the  Rent  Administrator  reduced  rents     building-wide, by $6.00 per month for rent controlled and by  a  guideline     for stabilized apartments, to reflect 2 defective elevators.     The order was based on a physical inspection  conducted  on  November  24,     1989 which disclosed broken glass in the door of  one  elevator  and  that     both elevators, ascending and descending, failed to level by from 1  to  3     inches at 5 out of 7 floors including the basement.                                                       In its petition the owner, among other things, alleges that  its  elevator     maintenance contractor checked  the  elevators  about  a  week  after  the     issuance of the Administrator's order and they worked properly; that  they     are  "pre-war"  elevators  operating  on  alternating  current;  that  the     leveling  mechanisms  are  affected  by  the  weather   and   occasionally     malfunction but correct themselves in time;  and  that  the  only  way  to     eliminate the problem is a  major  capital  improvement  modernization  to     convert the system to direct current.     The Commissioner is of the opinion that the petition should be denied.     A physical inspection, the results of which as not disputed,  disclosed  a     serious tripping hazard on almost every floor as well  as  a  broken  door     glass.  The owner's allegations as to the inherent eccentricities  of  the     machinery are not a defense to a rent reduction.     The owner may file an application for a rent  restoration  upon  restoring     service if it has not already done so.     THEREFORE, pursuant to the Rent Stabilization Law and Code  and  the  Rent     and Eviction Regulations for New York City, it is     ORDERED, that this petition be, and the same hereby is,  denied  and  that     the order of the Rent Administrator be, and the same hereby is, affirmed.          DOCKET NUMBER: EB 130350-RO     ISSUED:                                                                                                                                                       ELLIOT SANDER                                             Deputy                Commissioner