23 Jones Street Associates v. Keebler-Beretta

I respectfully dissent. Louis Beretta (Beretta) was the rent-controlled tenant in apartment 3, at 23 Jones Street, Manhattan, until he passed away at age 85 in December 1995. His monthly rent was $56. Judith Keebler-Beretta (Keebler) married Beretta on April 2, 1992, when she was 34 years old and he was 82 years old and in poor health. She claims succession rights to the subject apartment as his surviving wife.

The issue is whether the subject apartment was Keebler’s primary residence for the one year prior to Beretta’s death. The one-year period for a disabled person rather than the two-year…