summary judgment makes a prima facie showing of entitlement, the opposing party "must
produce evidentiary proof in admissible form sufficient to require a trial of material questions of
fact on which he rests his claim or must demonstrate acceptable excuse for his failure to meet the
requirement of tender in admissible form; mere conclusions, expressions of hope or
unsubstantiated allegations or assertions are insufficient." (Zuckerman, 49 NY2d at 562.)
In support of her argument that petitioner was not entitled to raise the rent because [*3]petitioner failed to submit her Section 8 conversion documents and
because the premises do not meet federal Housing Quality Standards (HQS), respondent submits
an affidavit from Alan Stone, the NYCHA Housing Manager who was overseeing the conversion
process. Stone states that he has worked for NYCHA for 19 years and is familiar with the
conversion procedures that take place when a HUD building is bought by a private owner that
signs this type of regulatory agreement. Stone avers that to begin the conversion process, an
owner must send the latest HUD Certifications of Compliance Tenant Eligibility forms to the
NYCHA Section 8 Housing Assistance Program to facilitate the conversion of the subsidies for
the building's eligible tenants. Once the certifications are received, according to Stone, NYCHA
reviews them and notifies the tenants of their eligibility for Section 8. Then each tenant meets
with NYCHA to complete paperwork and schedule an HQS inspection. Once the apartment
passes inspection, the tenant's Section 8 subsidy becomes effective.
On the issue of conversion procedures, respondent argues that petitioner's delay in
submitting the certification documents is the primary reason that her Section 8 subsidy never