Claim of Non-Purchasing Tenant Status Rebuffed

General Business Law 352-eeee sets forth the rights of tenants in occupancy, as well as the obligations of sponsors, with respect to conversions of occupied properties. A non-purchasing tenant obtains the right to remain in possession for so long as he or she chooses, subject to not unconscionable rent increases. Non-purchasing tenants may not be evicted, other than for cause (e.g., breach of a substantial obligation of their tenancy or nuisance). In MH Residential I, LLC. v. Barrett, 78 AD3d 99 (1st Dept. 2010), the First Department determined that market tenants whose leases expired prior to the effective date of an offering plan were not entitled to non-purchasing tenant status. Against that backdrop, the plaintiffs in Kessler asserted a new and unique theory as a pathway to non-purchasing tenant status. The four named plaintiffs in Kessler asserted that they were entitled to non-purchasing tenant status as eligible senior citizens and eligible disabled persons within the meaning of GBL 352-eeee(1)(f) and (1)(g). Plaintiffs commenced their action in Kings County against 11 defendants, without regard to the location of the properties at issue. The HFZ defendants were the sponsors of four conversions in Manhattan, and none of the plaintiffs resided in any of the HFZ defendants' properties.