City Must Defend Nuisance Remedy

New York City residents subjected to City nuisance laws alleged that the City violated their constitutional rights. The City of New York, in separate proceedings, charged Sung Cho, David Diaz, and Jameelah El-Shabazz with violating the City’s nuisance abatement law. Under the nuisance abatement law, the City has the authority to shut a business or vacate a residence for up to one year on proof that offenses such as drug or stolen property crimes have … <Read More>


Rules Add Pest Management Duties

HPD adopted rules compelling owners to remediate indoor allergen hazards. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development adopted rules to require owners of multiple dwellings to investigate for and remediate indoor allergen hazards such as mold, cockroaches, mice, and rats. The new rules, which implement Local Law 55 of 2018, establish work practices for pest remediation, standards for tenant notifications, and procedures for submitting certifications of remediation and requesting extensions of time to correct violations.


Buildings Releases Interactive Map on City’s Buildings and Construction Sites

The map provides a 12-month snapshot of building permits, complaints, inspections, violations, and accident reports for every property in the city. On March 8, 2019, Buildings released the DOB Buildings Profiles Map, a new, interactive map that provides insight into Buildings’ interactions with the nearly 1.1 million buildings and 45,000 active construction sites it regulates. The map is Buildings’ latest tool in a series of interactive dashboards, reports, and data tools to give the … <Read More>


City Council Creating Pilot Program to Create Apartments in East New York

The program will bring currently illegal basement and cellar apartments up to code, and allow for additional basement and cellar apartments to be created. On February 13, 2019, the New York City Council passed legislation, titled Introduction 1004, establishing a pilot program which allows for the creation and alteration of habitable apartments in basements and cellars in one and two-family dwellings in East New York. The program seeks to address the lack of affordable housing … <Read More>


Audit Faults Control of Field Inspectors

Comptroller’s Audit Reveals Multiple Deficiencies in how Buildings Oversees Field Inspectors. 

On December 21, 2018, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer published an audit of Department of Buildings’ oversight of its field inspectors that covered the period of July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017. The audit reviewed the oversight of 86 field inspectors working in six units: the Building Enforcement Safety Unit, the Special Operations unit, each of Brooklyn and Queens’s Construction Enforcement units, and each … <Read More>


De Blasio Administration Promises to Eliminate Childhood Lead Exposure

LeadFreeNYC’s programs will be fully in place within 24 months. On January 28, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio along with Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, announced the LeadFreeNYC plan, a Roadmap to Eliminating Childhood Lead Exposure. The plan was put together following a 90-day review of all City agencies’ policies related to lead prevention. The plan builds upon the City’s current commitment to lowering lead exposure. The Mayor aims to use the full powers of … <Read More>