Barry J. Yellen
Of counsel
Mr. Yellen has been in private practice since 1977 and has specialized in all aspects of Landlord tenant, commercial and residential, cooperative and condominium and general real estate and commercial law. He has litigated cases in these areas and in all aspects of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act in trial courts, the Appellate Term, and the Appellate division. Mr. Yellen also represents clients in transactional real estate matters and in the drafting of commercial leases and all types of commercial transactional matters.
Recently, Mr. Yellen succeeded in unanimously overturning a denial of an Article 78 proceeding against the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal. In this reported case, the Appellate Division ruled that in preferential lease cases the DHCR acted irrationally in disregarding the terms of the preferential lease agreement and in not holding an evidentiary hearing on the issue of parties’ intent concerning the duration of the preferential rent. Pastreich v. New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 50 A.D.3d 384, 856 N.Y.S.2d 61.
In another matter, Mr. Yellen won summary judgment in a case involving an attempt of the landlord to evict a rent-controlled tenant for overcharging a roommate. The Court held that a rent-controlled tenant cannot be evicted for charging a roomate more than the legal rent for the apartment. Leonori Associates v. Sultan, 7 Misc.3d 238, 792 N.Y.S.2d 826.
Mr. Yellen also succeeding in obtaining an order allowing residential hotel tenants private telephones, and in requiring a cooperative corporation to provide its shareholders access to corporate records. Brussel v. Ruxton Associates, 114 Misc.2d 574, 452 N.Y.S.2d 141.
Most recently, Mr. Yellen obtained a rollback of rent increases obtained by a landlord for not complying with DHCR regulations regarding accounting for the cost of repairs. This case is currently subject of a motion to appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals. Jemrock Realty Company LLC v Krugman.
Mr. Yellen has also prevented tenants harboring companion animals from being evicted and has been successful in defending tenants in non-primary residence procedings.
Admissions
1974, Connecticut; 1975, New York State, U.S. District Court for Southern and Eastern Districts of NY, Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Education
Western New England College School of Law, J.D. (cum laude), 1974; Long Island University, B.A., 1968.
