221 North 9th Street, Brooklyn. Image credit: GoogleMaps

Construction company failed to erect sidewalk shed when construction reached planned sidewalk shed height. In 2015, the owner of 221 North 9th Street in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn obtained a construction work permit from Buildings to tear down a one-story structure that was previously occupied by the Sugarland Nightclub, a gay bar and nightclub. The owner contracted with King’s USA Group Inc. to replace the club with a four-story 70-foot-tall mixed-use building.

On December 15, 2016, Buildings charged that King’s had failed to construct a sidewalk shed to provide overhead protection while performing construction above the first floor. King’s argued that a sidewalk shed was not required until the construction activity exceeded forty feet in height, and that the second floor activity was only twenty feet high. In response, Buildings cited the Building Code which requires a sidewalk shed to be installed when a planned, over-forty-foot structure “reaches the planned height of the shed.” The hearing officer ruled for Buildings and imposed a civil penalty of $1,600. King’s appealed.

The appeals division of the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings affirmed the decision and $1,600 fine. The appeals division accepted Buildings’ interpretation of the Building Code and rejected King’s claims that it did not reach the requisite height triggering the need to construct the sidewalk shed.

New York City v. King’s USA Group Inc., OATH Appeal No. 1700377 (June 15, 2017).