Thank you Gail...very helpful. A few follow-ups based on your answers.
1. I have not been evicted yet, so my question about agreeing to a move out date is in the context of agreeing to a date prior to even going to court. The LL's lawyer suggested an alternative to going to court was...
I am in my rental apt in NYC that my landlord increased my rent by 10% (I was notified of this in March of 2008 - lease expired April 30th). I kept paying my standard rent as we negotiated a potential compromise - I wrote a letter suggesting 2.5% backing up my argument with market data...