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    Trial set for dispute over fire escape

    Fire Escapes  •  Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

    Center building at 338 Atlantic Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps

    Adjacent owner demanded that next-door neighbor remove fire escape that overhung the adjacent owner’s property. Clover M. Barrett owned a five-story mixed-use building, constructed in 1902, located at 338 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Barrett’s property had a fire escape dating from the original 1902 construction that hung three feet and five inches over a neighbor’s property located at 319-325 Pacific Street. The fire escape gave Barrett’s second through fifth floor tenants and building occupants the ability to escape or seek refuge on Pacific Street in the event of a fire. The neighboring property was originally a parking lot, but had recently been developed into townhouses. On October 15, 2014, the neighbor wrote Barrett a letter demanding that Barrett remove the fire escape. (read more…)

    Tags : Buildings, CityLaw, easements, fire escapes
    Date:01/14/2021
    Category : CityLaw
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    Fines mitigated when violation cured

    Parking Regulations  •  West Brighton, Staten Island

    316 Bement Avenue, Staten Island. Image Credit: Google Maps

    Homeowner parked construction vehicles, unlicensed cars and construction material in residential district. Rachel Masica parked in the driveway of her residence at 316 Bement Avenue, Staten Island, a commercial dump truck, two Volkswagens without license plates, and, on the front lawn, a trailer. Masica stored a backhoe in her backyard under a tent, along with construction material, combustible wood, ladders, plywood, heavy-duty construction equipment, ladders, and wood planks. The Department of Buildings charged Masica with two Class 2, major violations, one for violating parking regulations in a residential district and the other for maintaining illegal uses in a residential district. (read more…)

    Tags : Buildings, CityLaw, illegal use, parking regulations, storage
    Date:08/29/2020
    Category : CityLaw
    (1) Comment

    Owner fined $398,550 for alterations

      •  Flushing, Queens

    The corner building at 136-02 35th Avenue, Queens. Credit: Google Maps

    Owner maintained unlawful apartments in the garage, cellar and upper floors of Queens three-story building. In March 2019, the Department of Buildings received a complaint about people sleeping in the cellar of 136-02 35th Avenue in Queens. Buildings’ inspectors obtained access to the three-story apartment building and observed illegal apartments, a cellar did not match plans filed in 1997, and a garage that had been converted illegally into an apartment. Buildings charged the owner with multiple violations and posted a vacate order on the building. (read more…)

    Tags : Buildings, CityLaw, department of buildings, OATH Appeals Board, penalties, unlawful units
    Date:08/07/2020
    Category : CityLaw
    (1) Comment

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

    Interactive Tools  •  Citywide

    Image Credit: Department of Buildings

    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 public information about the City’s buildings and construction sites. The map’s information will allow the user to better understand the recent movement in the construction industry and DOB compliance activities in the City. (read more…)

    Tags : Buildings, construction, department of buildings, Interactive Tools
    Date:03/25/2019
    Category : Department Of Buildings
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    Pilot Program Will Require Certification of No Harassment Before Approval of Construction Permits

      •  Citywide

    Building owners denied certification may not significantly alter their buildings for five years. On October 12, 2018, the de Blasio Administration announced the application of the Certification of No Harassment (CONH) Pilot Program, which seeks to expand tenant harassment protections. The program will require buildings to meet certain criteria to certify that no previous tenant-harassment has occurred prior to obtaining construction permits for significant alterations to their property. CONH currently applies to more than 1,000 buildings, totaling to approximately 26,000 units protected under the program. (read more…)

    Tags : Buildings, certification, Certification of No Harrassment, CONH, construction permit, DOB, HPD, pilot program, Tenant Harassment
    Date:10/24/2018
    Category : Housing Preservation & Development, Mayor
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    Owner Fined For Tenants’ Illegal Sublets

    Transient Use

    132 East 45th Street in Manhattan. Image credit: CityLaw.

    Tenants rented apartments for transient use without owner’s knowledge. Pamela Equities Corp. owns and operates a building with 94 apartments located at 132 East 45th Street, Manhattan.  On October 23, 2014, the Department of Buildings served Pamela Equities with a notice of violation for illegal conversion of apartments 4G and 9C from permanent residences to transient use.  Following a hearing, the Environmental Control Board imposed a civil penalty of $5,800 and an additional discretionary civil penalty of $45,000 against Pamela Equities. (read more…)

    Tags : Buildings, DOB, illegal conversion, Transient use
    Date:10/03/2018
    Category : CityLaw, Department Of Buildings
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