During the demolition of a Staten Island building an employee was killed when the floor collapsed. Dana Ford, a car dealership in Staten Island, New York, contracted with Formica Construction, Inc. to build a new facility at 266 West Service Road, Staten Island, and demolish Dana Ford’s old facility. Buildings approved the construction plan, but Formica never obtained the necessary permit to commence the demolition. On the morning of November 28, 2014, four Formica … <Read More>
Search Results for: Department of Buildings
DOB’S New Interactive Map Shows 8,000 Construction Sites that Require Safety Training
The map is part of Department of Buildings’ effort to ensure that workers are aware of required Site Safety Training on large-scale projects. On June 27, 2019, the Department of Buildings announced the release of a new interactive map on its website, showing the location of City construction sites where workers and site supervisors must conduct safety training pursuant to Local Law 196 of 2017. The law requires training for workers at large-scale construction projects, … <Read More>
Melanie La Rocca Appointed New Commissioner of DOB
La Rocca will head the agency responsible for nearly 1.1 million buildings and over 45,000 active construction sites in New York City. On May 6, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Melanie La Rocca will be the new Commissioner of the Department of Buildings. La Rocca will begin on June 3rd.
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>
New Rowhouse Approved In Sugar Hill
19th-century rowhouse that previously stood at site demolished by emergency declaration after owner failed to make repairs following fire. On July 24, 2018, Landmarks voted to approve the construction of a new building at 449 Convent Avenue in the Hamilton Height/Sugar Hill Historic District Extension. An 1897 Renaissance Revival rowhouse occupied the site until 2011, when it was demolished by the Department of Buildings under an emergency declaration. The demolition followed a severe fire, … <Read More>