On April 21, 2025, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s Office released a new report that reveals substantial racial inequities in how the Department of Buildings enforces rules for owners of one- and two-family homes.
An audit of the top ten community districts for penalties showed that homeowners in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods incurred significant fines for building code violations. These penalties were often for unpermitted alterations and default judgments and usually stemmed from the agency’s over-dependence on anonymous 311 complaints.
Ten community districts with the highest accumulated fines ($20,000 or more) were found to be concentrated in lower-income areas. These districts are Queens Districts 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13, and Brooklyn Districts 3, 12, 15, and 18. Queens District 12, which includes Hollis, Jamaica, Jamaica Center, North Springfield Gardens, Rochdale, South Jamaica, and St. Albans, had the highest number of properties exceeding this $20,000 penalty threshold.
The audit also found the Department of Buildings’ review time rose by 80 percent citywide. The Comptroller’s Office proposed to set deadlines and pause fines during remediation plan review was rejected by the Department of Buildings, which stated that it already employs time targets in its metrics (MMR/PMMR) and does not possess total control over the entire review process.
The audit also found that while programs the Department of Buildings’ Homeowner Relief Program let eligible small owners fix issues within 60 days via RCA instead of a summons to avoid violations, the DOB lacked data on the program’s effectiveness.
The Comptroller proposed bringing back public reporting on plan review times and having the City Department of Buildings conduct outreach in affected areas to educate residents about unpermitted construction risks and consequences of unresolved violations.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said, “The Department of Buildings’ lack of strategic enforcement and overreliance on anonymous 311 calls directly contributed to inequitable levels of fines in New York City’s communities of color. We need a process that protects communities from overenforcement while also supporting compliance and safety, not arbitrary enforcement that unfairly impacts Black and Hispanic homeowners.”
By: Chelsea Ramjeawan (Chelsea is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2025.)