David v. 3 West 16th Street, LLC

OPINION OF THE COURT

Catterson, J.

The resolution of this long-simmering dispute over a six-story building in Manhattan’s Flatiron district lies in the application of a basic tenet of contract law: the best evidence of the parties’ intent is memorialized in their written agreement. The specific *26question arising in this action is whether the defendant landlord agreed to sponsor the conversion of its building to condominium use. The plaintiffs concede that there is no provision in the lease that obligates the landlord to do so. However, they claim that the obligation is implicit. Moreover, they…