In the Matter of John Demas, Appellant, v. City of New York et al., Respondents

In the Matter of John Demas, Appellant, v City of New York et al., Respondents. [50 NYS3d 877] [MAJORITY] Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Paul Wooten, J.), entered November 27, 2015, which denied the petition seeking to annul the unsatisfactory rating (U-Rating) for the 2012-2013 school year given to petitioner by respondents, and dismissed the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR article 78, unanimously affirmed, without costs. The determination that petitioner’s performance was unsatisfactory has a rational basis in the record (see Matter of Andersen v Klein, 50 AD3d 296, 297 [1st Dept 2008]). While under his coaching and supervision, petitioner’s basketball players engaged in a pattern of profane and uncontrollable conduct, on and off the court, which included yelling profanities, making offensive hand gestures and aggressively interacting with the crowd during basketball games, such that, on at least one occasion, security agents had to escort the opposing team from the premises. To the extent argued, the hearing officer was entitled to rely on hearsay (see Matter of Paul v New York City Dept. of Educ., 146 AD3d 705 [1st Dept 2017]). We have considered petitioner’s remaining arguments and find them unavailing. Concur — Sweeny, J.P., Acosta, Renwick, Moskowitz and Kahn, JJ.