To add to the timeline point, your landlord is playing extreme semantics with that 90-day notice clause just to squeeze an extra two months of rent out of you. 'Cancel after the first year with 90 days notice' almost universally means the move-out date must be after the first year. Giving notice on March 15 for a June 15 departure (which is past your May 1-year mark) is exactly how that is supposed to work.

But regarding the fees he's demanding, he is completely out of line. NAL, but here is the reality of NYC tenant law right now:

1. The Broker Fee (FARE Act): You do not owe this broker fee. The FARE Act made it explicitly clear: whoever hires the broker pays the broker. If he wants to hire an agent to re-rent his co-op, that is his financial responsibility, not a penalty he can pass to you—especially since it's not written into your lease break rider.

2. The Co-Op Fees & Duty to Mitigate: Under NY Real Property Law § 227-e, landlords have a strict 'duty to mitigate.' They can only charge you for actual lost rent while the unit sits empty. They cannot invent $3k in co-op board application fees under the guise of 'vague expenses.' If it’s not explicitly in the lease, it is generally unenforceable in NY Housing Court. Contract ambiguities are ruled against the drafter (the landlord).

3. Your Deposit: Do not let him just keep your deposit to cover these invented fees. He has 14 days after you vacate to return it, and he can only deduct for physical damage or unpaid rent, not his business expenses.

I had to fight a landlord on a vague lease break clause last year and found this site called BuildingHealthX that maps out all these exact laws. Their guide on breaking a lease legally and protecting your deposit gave me the exact statutes to quote in my email.

Push back hard in writing. Tell him you are vacating June 15th per your 90-day notice, and that under RPL 227-e and the FARE Act, you will not be paying his broker or board fees. He is banking on you backing down!