OATH Recent Decisions and News

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OATH News

ALJ Ingrid Addison Retires from OATH Trials Division: ALJ Addison retired in November, after having served with distinction as an administrative law judge for 15 years. She was known for her eloquent writing, impartial courtroom demeanor, tireless work ethic, and dedication to mentoring new judges and law clerks.

ALJ Joan Salzman was appointed Supervising Administrative Law Judge in the OATH Trials Division in December 2022, returning to a role she has held before. Born in Brooklyn, Judge Salzman is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School. She began her legal career as a law clerk for then U.S. District Judge José A. Cabranes before entering private practice. She returned to public service at the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board, where she established the enforcement program and rose to Deputy Executive Director and Chief of Enforcement. In 2005, Judge Salzman joined OATH as an Administrative Law Judge and was promoted to Supervising Administrative Law Judge. As supervisor, Judge Salzman maintained a varied caseload and led access-to-justice initiatives at OATH in close collaboration with her OATH colleagues and with public and private stakeholders. She has tried and settled hundreds of the many types of cases heard at the Trials Division that affect human rights, property rights, the livelihoods of public servants, virtually all City services and operations, such as police, fire, health and hospitals, sanitation, corrections, public contracts, and overall quality of life in New York City. Judge Salzman left OATH in 2014 upon being appointed Executive Director of the Federal Bar Council, a nonprofit professional association of judges of the courts within the Second Circuit and attorneys who practice in those courts. Returning to the courtroom she loves, she became a New York State Administrative Law Judge before rejoining OATH in 2020 as a judge in the Trials Division. Each fall, Judge Salzman also teaches government ethics in the graduate Executive MPA Program at Baruch College/Marxe School. She also serves as Vice President of the New York State Association of Administrative Law Judges. Judge Salzman is deeply committed to OATH’s work and to ensuring that the agency is guided by the values of fairness, integrity, and excellence.

Hanchun “Tina” Lin joins OATH Trials Division as the Chief Law Clerk. Ms. Lin will oversee the Trials Division’s legal research unit which provides support to the OATH Administrative Law Judges in relation to all matters that come before the OATH Trials Division. She was most recently the Deputy Director and Deputy General Counsel of the New York City Loft Board.

Job opportunities at OATH: OATH regularly posts employment opportunities on the NYC Jobs portal and on its website. Click here to view current openings.

COVID-19 update

Pursuant to an order of the Chief Administrative Law Judge, hearings, trials, and other OATH operations are available by telephone, videoconferencing, online, or mail. In-person appearances are also available. For more information, visit OATH’s website at www.nyc.gov/oath.

Trials Division

Featured agency decision

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development adopted ALJ Noel R. Garcia’s recommendation to deny a certificate of no harassment. ALJ Garcia found the building owner harassed tenants by failing to repair the front door and cracks in the walls in public areas and inside tenants’ units, as well as failing to fix conditions leading to leaks and water accumulation in the building’s lobby and stairway. The building is subject to a vacate order due to the severe nature of the interior and exterior cracks. Dep’t of Housing Preservation & Development v. Forest, OATH Index No. 1320/20 (Nov. 9, 2022), adopted, Comm’r Dec. (Nov. 16, 2022).

Personnel

ALJ Ingrid M. Addison recommended terminating the employment of a sanitation worker who posted racially insensitive images and commentary on social media while identifying himself as a City employee. ALJ Addison found that respondent’s speech, which violated the agency’s social media policy, did not enjoy First Amendment protection because it was evocative and had the potential to disrupt the workplace. The worker was also found to have violated the agency’s sick leave policy. Dep’t of Sanitation v. J. L., OATH Index No. 2302/22 (Sept. 13, 2022).

ALJ Susan J. Pogoda recommended a 40-day suspension for a seasonal highway repairer who failed to complete a federally mandated drug test and displayed a fake parking placard in his personal vehicle. ALJ Pogoda held that the agency did not prove the repairer offered a bribe in connection with the drug test where hearsay statements proffered by the agency were found to be unreliable. Dep’t of Transportation v. G.A., OATH Index No. 1967/21 (Nov. 10, 2022).

Licensing

ALJ Ingrid M. Addison found that a TLC driver, who tested positive for oxycodone and oxymorphone, was fit to possess his TLC driver’s license. ALJ Addison credited the driver’s testimony, which was corroborated by his mother’s testimony, that he did not knowingly or intentionally ingest the controlled substances. Taxi & Limousine Comm’n v. Yousuf, OATH Index No. 445/23 (Sept. 27, 2022).

Vehicle Seizure

ALJ Christine Stecura ordered the release of a vehicle seized as the alleged instrumentality of a crime because the Police Department did not prove that the release would present a heightened risk to the public. In making that determination, ALJ Stecura declined to consider a firearm, ammunition, and narcotics seized from the vehicle where it was not established they were lawfully seized. Police Dep’t v. Pichardo, OATH Index No. 913/23 (Nov. 15, 2022).

Real Property

ALJ Kara J. Miller recommended denying a building owner’s application for a certificate of no harassment, finding the prior owner harassed a tenant by inducing him to surrender his rights and vacate his unit without first providing a written disclosure of his rights. At trial, the owner produced a signed letter that, if authentic, would have satisfied the written disclosure requirement. ALJ Miller found, however, that the tenant did not receive or sign that letter based on the tenant’s credible testimony and a comparison of the signature to other documents admittedly signed by the tenant. Dep’t of Housing Preservation & Development v. Gooden, OATH Index No. 304/20 (Sept. 9, 2022).

Human Rights

ALJ Susan J. Pogoda held that respondents, owners of two retail stores, discriminated against a former employee based on gender and pregnancy status and failed to provide written notice of her rights as a pregnant employee in violation of the City Human Rights Law. After learning that a long-time employee was pregnant, respondents transferred her, over her objection, to a different and less safe store and then fired her. ALJ Pogoda recommended awarding employee $60,287.70 in backpay plus interest and $40,000 in emotional distress damages. She also recommended assessing a $15,000 civil penalty against respondents and requiring them to develop new anti-discrimination policies. Comm’n on Human Rights ex rel. Ana Cazares v. INS Handbags, Inc., OATH Index No. 1075/20 (Oct. 5, 2022).

Contracts

A panel of the Contract Dispute Resolution Board, chaired by ALJ Julia H. Lee, denied a contractor’s claim for additional compensation. The contractor argued that it relied on a measurement in the contract, which was not accurate. The Board found that the contractor assumed the risk of reliance because the measurement provided was an approximate and the contractor was responsible for verifying the actual measurement. American Bridge Co. v. Dep’t of Transportation, OATH Index No. 2009/20, mem. dec. (Sept. 7, 2022).

A panel of the Contract Dispute Resolution Board, chaired by ALJ Jonathan Fogel, partially granted a contractor’s claim for additional compensation. The Board found that the contractor is entitled to be paid for the removal of a steel component from a bridge on a per-pound, rather than a per-unit, basis. American Bridge Co. v. Dep’t of Transportation, OATH Index No. 327/22, mem. dec. (Nov. 7, 2022).

Appeals Division
(appeals from the Hearings Division)

The Appeals Division affirmed a hearing officer’s decision finding a taxicab driver discourteous to a passenger. The hearing officer had credited the complaining witness’s testimony that the taxi driver had agreed to wait for him to get a dolly from his building to remove grocery bags from the car, but upon his return a minute later, he found respondent tossing his grocery bags onto the street. The Appeals Division found that the complaining witness met the definition of a “passenger” even though he had already paid and exited the taxicab. TLC v. Khalid Harrach, Appeal No. 10184999C (October 25, 2022).

The Appeals Division affirmed a hearing officer’s dismissal of a violation for general vending without a license but reversed the dismissal of violation for having a stand that does not abut the curb. The hearing officer had dismissed both charges against respondent, a business entity, finding that the violations only applied to individuals and not businesses. The Appeals Division agreed that Administrative Code § 20-453, which makes it unlawful for “any individual” to act as a general vendor without a license, did not apply to a business entity. However, the Appeals Division found that Code § 20-465(a), which prohibits a “general vendor” from having a stand on any part of the sidewalk other than that which abuts the curb, applied to a business entity. DCWP v. Cabrera Boutique, Appeal No. 2200826 (October 27, 2022).

The Appeals Division reversed a hearing officer’s decision to dismiss a violation for idling a motor vehicle longer than three minutes on the basis that the vehicle was idling on private property. The Appeals Division reversed, finding that the prohibition against idling was not restricted to vehicles on public property. The Appeals Division noted that in the Administrative Code, the idling prohibition should be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purpose of controlling and reducing air pollution by eliminating emissions from motor vehicles into the “open air,” defined under Code § 24-104 as including air over outdoor private property. DEP v. Coastal Supply Group LLC, Appeal No. 2200770 (September 29, 2022).

The Appeals Division affirmed in part and reversed in part a hearing officer’s dismissal of violations against a licensed process server for failure to maintain electronic records as required. In affirming dismissal of seven violations of 6 RCNY § 2-233a(a) for respondent’s failure to log the names of the defendants he was serving, the Appeals Division found that respondent had effectuated substitute service on these occasions and entered in his electronic logbook the names of the persons who had accepted service instead of the name of the defendant being served, which was permitted under the rules. The Appeals Division also reversed dismissal of charges which the hearing officer had found to be harmless errors, finding that the rules required respondent to record his license number, include appropriate prefix to court case index numbers, and accurately record the type of service effectuated. DCWP v. Marwan Elgizawy, Appeal No. 210050HR (November 21, 2022).