MATTER OF LAMPER v. CITY OF NEW YORK

Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.

The court properly exercised its discretion in denying the petitioner's application for leave to serve a late notice of claim as the petitioner failed to provide a valid excuse for the delay (see, General Municipal Law § 50-e). The petitioner's assertion that he lacked fluency in the English language is an unacceptable excuse for failure to timely serve a notice of claim (see, Matter of Tricomi v New York City Hous. Auth., 191 A.D.2d 447; Figueroa v City of New York, 92 A.D.2d 908). Moreover, the petitioner's claim of law office failure is unsubstantiated by the record. Bracken, J.P., Rosenblatt, O'Brien and Hart, JJ., concur.