Tenant purposely delaying court. NYC holdover.

[Steven Sun]

Hey everyone, I am a landlord from New York City and am experiencing a terrible time in a holdover case. The tenant had delayed court 3 times because she claim she was pregnant and had a c-section. She was able to obtain a doctors note and the judge is extremely tenant friendly. The reason why I am experiencing a terrible time is because I know for a fact that she was not pregnant and did not have a child. I have seen her smoking on the balcony lately and asked around the neighborhood. In addition, I learned from another tenant that she went through the trouble of reporting to the dept. of buildings that I have an illegal basement and is calling exterminators for roaches etc. I am terrified of these people and what they can come up with. Apparently she knows people that can help her, such as doctors etc. It's been almost 6 months since she was notified to vacate and hasn't paid a single dime. 

Is there anything I can do in this circumstance? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[Colleen F.]

I know this area is tenant friendly so I advise if you don't have a lawyer get one.  Also like the private detective idea.  If there is an actual doctor who signed the note see what your lawyer says about that, if the doctor attested to incorrect facts then you may be able to report this. It does not solve your problem though.

I would concentrate on  getting them out based on the reason you are evicting them.  You might hurt her credibility if she lied about having a baby but in the end it doesn't address the main issue of getting them out.  What the heck is an illegal basement anyway? And if it is a single unit roaches what does your lease say about pests?