IN RE: Robert Michael WILLIAMS (2024)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Arlene Bluth, J.), entered June 16, 2022, which granted the motion of respondent New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to vacate the stay of a prior holdover proceeding, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Supreme Court properly lifted the stay of the holdover proceeding.  The NYCHA Hearing Officer had a rational basis for its October 13, 2021 determination denying petitioner's application to vacate a default judgment, which had been entered against him in the proceeding.  Petitioner failed to demonstrate a reasonable excuse for failing to appear at a hearing in that proceeding, nor did he offer a meritorious defense to the underlying charges of chronic rent delinquency and failure to verify income.  Therefore, there was no basis to continue the stay (see Matter of Pena v. New York City Hous. Auth., 91 A.D.3d 581, 581–582, 936 N.Y.S.2d 891 [1st Dept. 2012];  Matter of Daniels v. Popolizio, 171 A.D.2d 596, 597, 567 N.Y.S.2d 459 [1st Dept. 1991]).

We have considered petitioner's remaining arguments and find them unavailing.