Landlord appeals 1) from a final judgment of the Civil Court, New York County (Kevin C. McClanahan, J.), entered on or about July 22, 2004, after a nonjury trial which awarded tenants $18,225.84 on a rent overcharge counterclaim and set the matter down for a hearing on the issue of whether the overcharge was willful, and 2) from an order of the same court and Judge, dated August 31, 2004, which denied landlord's CPLR 4404(b) motion to set aside the final judgment.

PER CURIAM:

Final judgment (Kevin C. McClanahan, J.), entered on or about July 22, 2004, and order (Kevin C. McClanahan, J.), dated August 31, 2004, affirmed, with $30 costs.

We agree that landlord failed to establish the existence of improvements justifying the rent increase sought under Rent Stabilization Code [9 NYCRR] § 2522.4[a][1] (see Matter of Birdoff & Co. v DHCR, 204 AD2d 630 [1994]). Even assuming the admissibility of the invoices proffered by landlord, landlord failed to establish, via the invoices or otherwise, that the work rendered was for improvement, rather than ordinary maintenance and repair (see Matter of Mayfair York Co. v New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 240 AD2d 158 [1997]). Nor was there any showing as to the reasonable value of the renovations specified in the invoices (see PWV Acquisition LLC v Toscano, 2003 NY Slip Op 51048[U]).

This constitutes the decision and order of the court. [*2]
Decision Date: June 29, 2006