Image credit: New York City Council.
The bills aim to prevent the circumstances that took 17 lives from occurring again in the future. On May 19, 2022, the City Council voted to approve a package of five bills to improve fire safety and prevention measures in residences as part of the City’s response to the tragic Twin Parks high-rise fire which killed 17 people in the Bronx this past January. The fire was a result of a space heater, and the resulting smoke spread up a stairwell after the self-closing door failed to contain the smoke within the unit. All seventeen deaths were from smoke inhalation. After the fire, the Committee on Twin Parks Citywide Taskforce on Fire Prevention was formed by the City Council as a response to the tragedy, and Council Members worked to propose various legislation to improve fire safety. (more…)
364 Meredith Avenue, Staten Island. Image Credit: Google Maps.
A rigging accident at a construction site killed a pedestrian. On March 10, 2017, a pedestrian was struck and killed by falling debris that became pried loose during rigging operations at a construction site located at 364 Meredith Avenue in Staten Island. Joseph Volpe, the Master Rigger on the job, delayed notifying the Department of Buildings about the incident despite being required to do so. Following the accident, Buildings revoked Volpe’s Master Rigger’s licenses to hoist materials and issued five summonses charging various building code violations. (more…)
Incoming OATH Commissioner Asim Rehman. Image Credit: OATH.
Rehman is the first Muslim-American to serve as OATH Commissioner. On March 29, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams announced Asim Rehman had been selected as the next Commissioner and Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). OATH serves as the City’s administrative law court, which handles the adjudication of issues referred by City agencies, summonses from City agencies, and other topics including but not limited to employee discipline, City-issued license and regulatory enforcement, zoning and loft violations, and civil asset forfeiture. (more…)
Infographic from HPD about fire safety. Click image to enlarge. Image Credit: HPD.
The coordinated efforts will enhance inspections and increase fire safety outreach for residents, building owners and buildings. On March 20, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams signed a new Executive Order to strengthen fire safety enforcement and increase fire safety education. The executive order follows the aftermath of the Twin Parks fire this past January, where seventeen people were killed after a fire spread through an apartment building in the Bronx. (more…)
546 West 44th Street. Image Credit: Google Maps.
Property owner sued general contractor and design consultant for indemnification of costs resulting from violations of federal, state, and local disabilities law. CREF 546 owned property located at 546 West 44th Street in Manhattan and hired developers to construct two fourteen-story residential midrise apartment buildings that shared amenities. CREF 546 contracted with Code Consultants to review design and construction documents and Hudson Meridian as their general contractor. The building became occupied in 2016. (more…)
