Image credit: Department of Buildings.
Property owner stored unregistered vehicles in residential area as part of his automotive hobby. On April 7, 2017, the Department of Buildings charged Juan Castillo, a property owner in an area zoned for residential use, with illegally operating an auto body mechanics shop in a garage on his premises, and with permitting the dead storage of vehicles. (read more…)
Famous Formaggio Pizzeria. Image credit: Google Maps.
A building developed cracks in its foundation allegedly caused by pile driving associated with an adjacent construction project. Procida Construction Corp., a general contractor, undertook construction of a new building at 322 West 231st Street in the Bronx adjacent to Famous Formaggio Pizzeria’s building located at 300-318 West 231st Street. During pile driving an enlarged crack appeared in the foundation of Famous Formaggio’s building. Procida halted the pile driving and established a stability plan and remedial measures. (read more…)
261 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Image credit: CityLaw.
Individual pasted poster on construction fence. On July 2, 2017, William Acevedo was observed dipping his brush in glue and pasting a poster bill onto a wooden barrier at a construction site located at 261 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. Acevedo did not have permission or authority from the property owner to paste the poster bill. An NYPD officer charged Acevedo with making graffiti and possession of graffiti instruments. (read more…)
2 Furman Street in Brooklyn seen from the Brooklyn Promenade. Image credit: CityLaw.
Development corporation constructed buildings in Brooklyn Bridge Park that blocked view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn Promenade. In 2005 Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation and Empire State Development Corporation adopted a general project plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park that included the development of a hotel, restaurant, and residential units upland of Brooklyn’s Pier 1. Community members demanded during the initial environmental review that the new buildings not block the view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn Promenade. The final environmental impact statement limited the northern building to a height of 100 feet and the southern building to a height of 55 feet. (read more…)
600 West 161st Street in Manhattan. Image credit: CityLaw.
Building Owner added apartments and lacked new certificate of occupancy. GVS Properties LLC owned a 10-story residential building at 600 West 161st Street in Manhattan. In 1970, GVS Properties received a certificate of occupancy that permitted 53 apartments in the building. In 2014 GVS Properties applied for a certificate of occupancy to validate alterations to the building which had increased the number of apartments to 60. Buildings refused to grant the certificate of occupancy because the apartments did not have two exits in case of a fire. Subsequently, nineteen tenants in the building refused to pay rent, asserting that the building did not have a valid certificate of occupancy. GVS Properties sued the tenants for the rent. (read more…)
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