NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer. Image credit: Office of the New York City Comptroller

On June 30, 2016, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office released a Report on the Department of Buildings’ issuance of licenses to site safety professionals. There are two types of site safety professional licenses: site safety manager and site safety coordinator. City law requires that a site safety manager be onsite to oversee all work of any project to demolish or construct buildings 15 stories or more in height, and a site safety coordinator to oversee such work on a structure that is 10 to 14 stories high.

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NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer. Image credit: Office of the New York City Comptroller

The audit report finds that the Department of Finance’s incorrect classification of Queens properties as mixed-use properties resulted in lost revenue for the City. On June 10, 2016, the Office of the City Comptroller Scott Stringer released a report of an audit conducted by the Department of Finance. The audit sought to determine whether the Department of Finance used procedures to ensure that properties classified as mixed-use in Queens had been properly classified.

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One of the buildings designated by the Department of Finance as a primarily residential Class 1 property. Image credit: Office of the New York City Comptroller

The audit report reveals that the misclassification of 140 properties has deprived the City of $1.7 million annually in lost property tax revenue. On February 18, 2016, the Office of the NYC Comptroller publicized the results from its audit of the New York City Department of Finance.  The audit sought to investigate whether the Department of Finance had implemented procedures that adequately safeguard against the misclassification of Brooklyn property sites. The Comptroller’s Office and DOF ultimately seem to differ on the definition of “adequate.”

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NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer. Image credit: Office of the New York City Comptroller

Audit determined the Department of Finance improperly gave abatements to condos and co-ops owned by corporations over a four-year period.  On January 28, 2016 the Office of the City Comptroller Scott Stringer released a report of an audit conducted of the Department of Finance.  In the final report, the Comptroller’s Office found the Department of Finance wrongly gave out over $10 million worth of property tax abatements to corporate-owned condominums, co-ops, indoor parking spaces, and cabanas between fiscal years 2013 and 2016.

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NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer. Image credit: Office of the New York City Comptroller

Audit shows Housing Department has inadequate controls in place to monitor and keep track of vacant units. On June 24, 2015, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit report that examined how the New York City Housing Authority manages vacant apartments in developments throughout the city. The report discussed the process by which an apartment becomes vacant in NYCHA’s system and when certain units are taken off of the rent roll. NYCHA classifies apartments as either being on the rent roll (on roll) or off of the rent roll (off roll). On roll units are those that are either occupied by a tenant or in the process of being turned over to a new tenant. Off roll units are those that are not available for residential use for an extended period of time due to major repair or renovation.

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