FDNY order must be appealed to BSA

Owner appealed FDNY order during criminal proceeding for non-compliance. After inspecting Second Avenue Woodworking Corp., located at 4902 Second Avenue in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn, a fire inspector issued a violation ordering Woodworking to close and seal two out-of-service fuel storage tanks, and to provide the Fire Department with an affidavit certifying the system was closed and sealed. Woodworking sent a letter to the Department stating that the tanks had been removed by … <Read More>


BSA Rebuffs Appeal Over Domestic Abuse Shelter

Group claimed shelter violated use limitations. A community group appealed the City’s Department of Buildings’ issuance of a permit allowing alterations to a Brooklyn building to accommodate a domestic violence shelter. Prior to the appeal and after the issuance of the permit, several parties, including the community group, sought an injunction in state court to prevent the shelter from occupying the building and from performing the permitted work. The court dismissed the complaint, finding that … <Read More>


U-Haul must pay truck renter’s fine

Renter of a vehicle owned by U-Haul allowed vehicle to idle for more than three minutes. A passerby noticed a U-Haul-owned vehicle idling at 455 West 48th Street in August 2020. The U-Haul’s engine appeared to be running for over four minutes without movement. The passerby videoed the vehicle with audible engine noise as a person sat in the driver’s seat.



BSA Grants Appeal for Caretaker Apartment in Sign Painting Shop

Sign Painting Shop in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn was granted an appeal to include a caretaker’s apartment within the property. The owners of 1109 Metropolitan Avenue in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn are planning to convert the property into the Sign Painting Shop, which will include a proposed caretaker apartment as an accessory use. On May 4, 2015, Department of Buildings (“Buildings”) determined that the proposed caretaker apartment was not permitted in the manufacturing zoning district. On December … <Read More>


W Hotel cited for grease traps violation

The W New York ordered to install 19 new grease traps. On November 3, 2016, a Department of Environmental Protection officer found that the grease interceptors at the W Hotel at 541 Lexington Ave., Manhattan did not conform to DEP’s standards. The inspector directed the hotel owner to install and maintain properly-sized grease interceptors in seventeen designated locations on the first and second floor at the hotel. On March 1, 2017, a DEP officer … <Read More>