The Price of Smoking in Co-ops Just Went Up. Way Up

March 2, 2016 — In a decision that’s sure to fuel the smoking debate in every co-op in the city, a state Supreme Court judge has awarded more than $120,000 in back maintenance, interest and attorney fees to a co-op shareholder who claimed that smoke from other apartments had permeated her unit and rendered it uninhabitable.

In his decision, Justice Arthur Engoron wrote: “This Court...is only saying that if you want to avail yourself of the right to rent out residences, you assume the obligation to insure that your tenants are not forced to smell and breathe carcinogenic toxins.”

The lawsuit was filed by Susan Reinhard, who bought an apartment in the Connaught Tower co-op at 300 E. 54th Street in 2006 but never occupied the apartment because it smelled of cigarette smoke. The court ruled that the co-op is liable for all maintenance from June 2007 to the present.

“It’s ground-breaking,” says attorney Robert Braverman, a partner in Braverman Greenspun, who was not involved in the case. “What the judge is saying is that landlords, including co-op boards, are going to be responsible that smoke doesn’t pass from one unit to another. I think it’s going to create a lot of discussion within the industry.”