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…)

From Left to Right: Council member Ydanis Rodriguez, Council member Helen Rosenthal, State Assembly member Deborah Glick, and Council member Mark Levine speak at the rally against illegal hotels. Image credit: CityLand

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 property owners who repeatedly and illegally rent out entire apartments, particularly rent-regulated apartments, for less than thirty days.

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2422 West 1st Street, Brooklyn

Brooklyn property with two-family home was being used as contractor yard, junk salvage, and for commercial vehicle storage. Between December 2011 and April 2012, the City Department of Buildings sent inspectors three times to 2422 West 1st Street between Avenues X and Y in Gravesend, Brooklyn. The R4 residentially zoned lot is occupied by a two-story, two-family home. The inspectors, during their visits, observed in the property’s rear and side yards construction equipment and tools; wood, bricks, and plastic containers; and a commercial vehicle advertising N.B. Construction. The property’s certificate of occupancy permits only a two-family dwelling, and no commercial or manufacturing uses are permitted on the property as of right. Buildings sought an order to seal the lots under the padlock law to halt an alleged public nuisance.

Prior to a hearing at OATH, one of the property’s co-owners agreed to discontinue the illegal use. Another co-owner, Mohammed Ghuman, and BNY Mortgage Co. LLC, failed to appear at the hearing. ALJ Astrid B. Gloade credited Buildings’ evidence that the owner and occupants had used the lot to store commercial vehicles, an impermissible commercial use, and as a contractor’s yard and salvage storage yard, both impermissible manufacturing uses. The uses violated both the zoning resolution and the property’s certificate of occupancy. ALJ Gloade recommended that Buildings seal the property in a way that would not impede on the residential portion of the premises.

DOB v. 2422 West 1 Street, Brooklyn, OATH Index No. 1909/12 (July 24, 2012).