Proceeding initially by order to show cause, plaintiff moved for a preliminary injunction against HPD’s enforcement efforts and, alternatively, for an order consolidating his Supreme Court action with the pending Civil Court action brought by the tenants. Defendants opposed the motion and asserted, among other things, that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction of the controversy. The court denied plaintiff’s requests for provisional relief and consolidation, but it did temporarily stay the Civil Court proceedings and set the controversy down for an immediate trial, thereby implicitly rejecting defendants’ subject matter jurisdiction arguments. The Appellate Division revised the Supreme Court order in one minor respect and, as modified, affirmed without mention of the jurisdictional issue (125 AD2d 227).
The jurisdictional problem was again addressed when DHCR moved to intervene in the Supreme Court action for the limited purpose of raising that threshold issue. This time, the Supreme Court explicitly ruled on the issue, concluding that, as a court of unlimited equitable jurisdiction, it had concurrent authority to determine the dispute. The court also held that this was a proper case for it to exercise its concurrent authority because "[f]rom past experience * * * if this matter was referred to DHCR, it would not be afforded the expeditious treatment necessary to protect the rights of the litigants.” Accordingly, DHCR’s motion was denied in an order that was subsequently affirmed (133 AD2d 1021).