I live in a multiple dwelling in NYC. recently my landlord repaired damage to my cieling. the damage was the result of a roof leak. he had the painters plaster the cieling but they only painted a quarter of my cieling. now it is two different shades of white, since the old paint has somewhat faded. is he responsible to make the cieling uniformed. he says no and i cannot find it on any dob site. can anyone help me find the answer?
I live in a multiple dwelling in NYC. recently my landlord repaired damage to my cieling. the damage was the result of a roof leak. he had the painters plaster the cieling but they only painted a quarter of my cieling. now it is two different shades of white, since the old paint has somewhat faded. is he responsible to make the cieling uniformed. he says no and i cannot find it on any dob site. can anyone help me find the answer?
The short answer is no; but three or more units, every three years you get a paint job in NYC, so you won’t have to live with it for long.
If it’s that important to you…paint it yourself. It’s not that hard and not that expensive.
I’d do it for my tenant…come to think of it, I have. 
I’ll hang around to see the answer.
He’s responsible for maintaining whatever amenities are listed in the lease. Presumably state laws also mandate unlisted-but-important thinks like a leak-free roof, but I doubt pretty ceillings are covered by either state law or by the letter of your lease.
If you don’t like it, you could tell him that beautifying the ceiling will be a precondition for renewing your lease. If he values you as a tenant, he will be amenable; if he says no, be prepared to move out and find a place with ceilings that meet your standards.
As Omar suggests, maybe you could meet your landlord halfway: have him buy the paint and supplies, and you’ll do the work. A roomie and I did this once, installing a sink garbage disposal provided by our landlord. Win-win: we got a sink disposal, and the landlord increased his property value for future tenants.
Don’t know about working out a ‘deal’ for painting yourself. Just like the garbage sink lady, you’d be giving your pos landlord hundreds of dollars of labor in exchange for a very small, temporary, trivial benefit. That’s a loser bet if I ever heard of one, unless your landlord is some chick you want to bang or a friend, or both. Don’t give him or her shit for free – they own it, and they can pay for licensed, bonded contractual work if they want to have something done.
Used to know all about NYC tenant laws – don’t remember about this one – there are books about this one very specific contractual set at your library, but you might just end up having to cut your pos landlord’s dick or cuntflaps off with an electric carving knife and hope you get away with it.
You’ve never been a tenant in NYC, have you? lol
Painting is cosmetic. I doesn’t affect health and safety, so from a legal perspective, he has no obligation. That said, he’s been a cheap bastard for not painting the whole thing. Your only real recourse is to move, if it bugs you that badly. Or you can paint it yourself. If you paint it yourself, don’t make a mess, though, because your landlord sounds like the kind of guy to hold you accountable for every drip.
Painting of apartments in multiple dwellings in NYC is covered in NYC Administrative Code §27-2013. He can have his place painted every 3 years. It’s no big deal.
Another reason for the landlord to do it. 
Make sure to document (with any emails you may have exchanged) that *he’s *the one who repainted it, not you. He might be the type to try and charge you for the mismatched ceiling after you move out.
Since this involves legal advice, it’s better suited to IMHO than GQ.
I have also merged a duplicate thread that was started in the Barn House.
Colibri
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