Landlord-Tenant—Rent Control—Tenant Failed To Maintain Apartment as Primary Residence—Defense of Excusable Absence Rejected—"Unavailability of Amenities In (NYC) Does Not Amount to a 'Reasonable Ground' for an Absence From a Rent-Controlled Apartment"—"Subletting Is a Factor In Determining That a Tenant Does Not Maintain A Rent-Controlled Apartment as Their Primary Residence"—"A Sublet Can Be Presumed When a Tenant Does Not Live In Their Apartment and Someone Else Does"—Tenant Only Spent 5.6% of the Days and 1.4% of the Nights During Relevant Time Period

A respondent tenant (tenant) is subject to the Rent Control Law. A landlord had commenced holdover proceeding against the tenant and against a co-respondent, seeking possession of the subject apartment on the grounds that the tenant "is a rent-controlled tenant who failed to maintain the (apartment) as her primary residence and that co-respondent's occupancy was derivative of respondent's tenancy." The tenant asserted a defense of "excusable absence." The court held a trial.

The parties had stipulated that between March 21, 2020, and July 13, 2022, the tenant had been at the apartment "in the afternoon thirty-two times and at the (apartment) overnight for an additional sixteen times."