From left: Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Representative Carolyn Maloney, City Council member Jessica Lappin, and State Assembly member Micah Kellner

Major multi-family owner Urban American is suing the state Public Service Commission over electric billing in thousands of units of mostly rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan.

The New Jersey-based company filed a lawsuit Jan. 15 in State Supreme Court in Albany to overturn a ruling by the commission that blocked the company from individually billing tenants in four Manhattan apartment complexes for electric usage, known as submetering. Currently the electrical charges are folded into the rent bill based generally on the apartment size, not on actual usage.

The case is being closely followed by elected officials including Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who urged the state to block the submetering until certain conditions were fulfilled. [more]