Because he was living in an SRO unit without the owner's knowledge or consent, a holdover proceeding was filed against Fa Quan Lam.
As it turns out, Lam either paid rent to the unit's former tenant (rather than the landlord) or made cash payments to the owner in the formers tenant's name.
When the New York County Civil Court still found in the Lam's favor, the landlord appealed.
In the absence of a direct landlord-tenant relationship, the Appellate Term, First Department, thought Fa Quan had to go. (His receipt of mail at the building and the fact that he was known to building staff, weren't enough to establish a right to remain.)
That brings us ... back to ... Do(e) ...
To view a copy of the Appellate Term's decision, please use this link: 1234 Broadway LLC v. Pou Long Chen