Buildings charged that owner unlawfully converted basement into additional rental apartment. In 2013 the Department of Buildings charged the owner of 345 W 70th Street, a multiple dwelling, with creating an illegal apartment in the basement. At the administrative hearing, Buildings submitted three I-cards for the building from 1916, 1938 and 1945. Before 1938, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development used I-cards to record the occupancy and arrangement of the buildings HPD had inspected. … <Read More>
Search Results for: Illegal Use
Schneiderman Announces Three-Quarter House Scheme Indictments
A rehabilitation provider and three-quarter house operators were indicted for three-year Medicaid fraud scheme in Brooklyn, and their other properties frozen. On January 13, 2017, New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the indictment and arraignment of attorney Anthony Cornachio, as well as the NRI Group, LLC and Canarsie A.W.A.R.E., Inc., both Medicaid-enrolled drug treatment programs companies controlled by Cornachio. Also indicted were three-quarter housing operators Yury Baumblit and Rimma Baumblit, of Brooklyn … <Read More>
State Legislature Passes Bill to Ban Online Advertisements of Illegal Short-Term Apartment Rentals
The legislation, which is the first of its kind in the Nation, represents New York’s newest tool in its battle with Airbnb. On June 17, 2016, the New York State Legislature passed the first state bill in the Nation to ban online advertisements for illegal apartment rentals. The bill, sponsored by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and Senator Andrew Lanza, seeks to protect the at-risk stock of the City’s affordable housing units, which are illegally rented … <Read More>
Staten Island Building Owner Fined $71,900 for Illegal Conversion
Owner converted a two-family house to a four-family. On May 27, 2009, the Department of Buildings issued four notices of violation to Nashat Estafanous. Estafanous owned a residential property at 25 Simonson Avenue in Staten Island, which he converted, without permits, from a two-family residence to a four-family residence by fitting the attic and newly-constructed garage for occupancy. The NOVs imposed a fine totaling $31,100, and ordered Estafanous to remove the illegal conversion construction … <Read More>
Legislation Proposed in NY State Assembly Would Put an End to Online Advertising of Illegal Short-Term Apartment Rentals
Elected officials and affordable housing activists unite at State capitol in support of the legislation. On February 24, 2016, 300 members and supporters of the Share Better coalition rallied at the State capitol in support of Assembly Bill A08704, which would ban most online listings advertising rental apartments for less than thirty days per renter. Bill A08704 was proposed to the State Assembly approximately one month after a report was released to the public that … <Read More>
City Council Holds Rally, Public Hearing on Illegal Hotel Legislation
The proposed laws seek to enforce existing State regulations by increasing illegal hotel fines and reporting requirements. On October 30, 2015, the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings heard testimony on three proposed laws that seek to ramp up enforcement of state laws that prohibit the operation of illegal hotels. The proposed legislation would regulate only those residential units located in multiple-dwelling buildings—not one- to four-family homes. The proposed legislation is intended to address … <Read More>