Belkin Burden Goldman, LLP (BBG) Secures Supreme Court Victory Over Loft Board Extension Denial

Belkin Burden Goldman, LLP (BBG) secured a favorable decision in New York County Supreme Court on behalf of a building owner challenging the Loft Board’s denial of an application for additional time to comply with Loft Law legalization deadlines.

The dispute arose after the owner voluntarily registered the building under the Loft Law and undertook extensive efforts to legalize the property, including retaining design professionals, conducting surveys, preparing plans, and pursuing other compliance-related work. Despite those efforts, the Loft Board took more than two years to issue the building’s IMD registration number, a prerequisite that triggered the owner’s ability to seek an extension of statutory deadlines.

After the Loft Board denied the owner’s extension application and subsequent administrative appeal, BBG challenged the determination in Supreme Court. Justice Arlene P. Kraus annulled the Loft Board’s decision, finding it arbitrary and capricious. The Court held that the agency’s delay effectively made compliance impossible, improperly disregarded substantial legalization efforts undertaken before issuance of the registration number, and failed to adequately distinguish prior cases in which extensions had been granted based on similar facts.

The decision is particularly significant because its impact extends beyond the extension application itself. By restoring a path toward compliance after years of delay, the ruling positions the owner to pursue rent rights that had been unavailable for years while the building remained out of compliance. Given the duration of the dispute, the potential financial impact is considerable.

The decision provides the owner with an opportunity to continue pursuing legalization and marks an important ruling addressing the consequences of administrative delay in the Loft Law context.

Congratulations to Loft Law practice leader Michael Bobick on this successful result.