Dear Tenants,

 

Today the Court declined to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have prevented the landlord from starting submeter billing immediately.  See attached order.

 

Within hours of that ruling, the landlord began sending electricity bills to tenants. Several tenants have already reported receiving bills dated March 9, 2026 for electricity usage during January 2026.

 

Our lawsuit challenging submetering is still very much alive. Only the TRO was denied today. The case itself continues to move forward. We are still pursuing a preliminary injunction to stop submeter billing and our petition asking the Court to overturn the Public Service Commission’s decision allowing submetering at the buildings.

 

The case is now before our new judge, Hon. James R. Farrell. The Court has stated that it will begin reviewing the written submissions on March 11, 2026 and will then issue a decision. We may hear something on or shortly after that date, although it is also possible that the Court could take longer to issue a ruling.

 

If you received a submeter electricity bill for January 2026 today, or if you receive one tomorrow, please email me (billsalo@salolaw.com) a copy of the bill as soon as possible. If possible, please download the bill from the Metergy portal and send it to me in PDF format so that the full billing details are preserved.

 

When sending the bill, please include your building address and apartment number in the subject line of the email.

 

The bills have a due date of March 24, 2026. Because the due date is still several days away and the Court is reviewing the case shortly, tenants may wish to wait before making any payment decisions while we obtain additional guidance from the Court. I expect to provide further guidance before the March 24 due date.

 

Please keep a copy of the bill for your records. The legality of these charges is currently being challenged in court.

 

These bills are important evidence in the case.

I wanted to let everyone know that I have filed a letter with the Court tonight informing the judge that the Landlord has begun issuing submeter electricity bills.

 

The letter includes five representative bills that tenants sent to me this evening and explains the electricity rates that are now being charged.

 

The Court has already indicated that it expects to review the case and the pending motions, including our request for a preliminary injunction, shortly after March 11, 2026.

 

I will continue collecting bills from tenants and will provide further updates as soon as there are any developments.

 

Thank you.

 

 

F. William Salo, Esq.

1295 Fifth Avenue, 18-C

New York, NY 10029

Tel:  212-517-3050

Fax:  212-517-3055

Cel:  917-968-2517

Email:  billsalo@salolaw.com