Landlord appeals from an order of the Civil Court, New York County, dated September 25, 2003 (Maria Milin, J.) granting tenant's motion for partial summary judgment dismissing the nonpayment petition insofar as it sought rent accruing prior to September 1, 1999.

PER CURIAM:

Order dated September 25, 2003 (Maria Milin, J.) affirmed, with $10 costs, for the reasons stated in the decision of Maria Milin, J. at the Civil Court.

We agree that petitioner landlord is not entitled to recovery of rent from the statutory tenant's successor-in-interest, respondent Linda Levin, accruing prior to the tenant's August 1999 death. The record reveals that respondent neither paid rent to the landlord in her own name, nor did the landlord otherwise recognize respondent as a tenant in her own right prior to the statutory tenant's death. Nor was the obligation to pay rent arrears of the departed tenant expressly made binding upon successors of this rent regulated apartment (cf. 245 Realty Assocs. v Sussis, 243 AD2d 29, 33 [1998]). Landlord's proper remedy is a plenary action against the estate of the statutory tenant for rent allegedly owed by the deceased tenant prior to his death.

This constitutes the decision and order of the Court.
Decision Date: July 26, 2005