2009-2011 Third Avenue Corp. v. Fifth Avenue Community Center of Harlem, Inc.

I concur in the result reached by *69the majority on different grounds. The issue is whether a non-permissible use of a building by a net lessee of commercial premises can convert the building into a multiple dwelling. The sublessees contend that a conversion created a landlord-tenant relationship between the nonconsenting net lessor and the sublessees when the net lease was terminated resulting in their attaining rent-stabilized status. The general rule is that a sublessee’s rights are subordinate and extinguished by the termination of the net lease. (170 W. 85th St. Tenants Assn. v Cruz, 173…