ONCE THE APPELLATE DIVISION DECIDED THE NYC DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS ACTED RATIONALLY IN APPROVING THE USE OF A BUILDING AS A HOMELESS SHELTER ITS JUDICIAL REVIEW WAS DONE; THE APPELLATE DIVISION SHOULD NOT HAVE REMITTED THE MATTER FOR A HEARING ON THE SAFETY OF THE BUILDING (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, reversing the Appellate Division, determined the Appellate Division did not have the authority to send the matter back for a hearing after finding the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) acted rationally when it approved the use of a building as a homeless shelter:

The Appellate Division erred in remitting to Supreme Court for a hearing on whether the building’s use as a homeless shelter was “consistent with general safety and welfare standards.” In this CPLR article 78 proceeding, the scope of judicial review does not extend past the question of whether the challenged determinations were irrational, which is a question of law (see CPLR 7803[3] …). Upon concluding that an authorized agency has reviewed a matter applying the proper legal standard and that its determination has a rational basis, a court cannot second guess that determination by granting a hearing to find additional facts or consider evidence not before the agency when it made its determination … . Accordingly, it was improper for the Appellate Division to remit for plenary judicial proceedings to address “general safety and welfare” issues, thereby contravening the applicable standard of judicial review in this context and inviting inconsistent enforcement of the Building Code. Matter of West 58th St. Coalition, Inc. v City of New York, 2021 NY Slip Op 03346, CtApp 5-27-21