Surrey v. H. & F. Sellmann, Inc.

The plaintiff in September, 1949, leased from the defendant the front portion of the third floor loft in the premises 153 East 42nd Street, Manhattan, city of New York, and has been in continuous occupancy ever since. The first lease ran from September 26, 1949 to September 30, 1951, at a rent of $85 a month, though a reasonable rent fixing agreement stated that the emergency rent was then $45 a month. A renewal lease was entered into in September, 1951 for five years from October 1, 1951, at an increased graduated rent; in exercise of an option to terminate this renewal lease, the defendant…