CODE BREAKERS: Dead vehicles, dodgy superintendents among DOB violations for September

The New York City Department of Buildings released its September 2018 enforcement bulletin, which provides highlights of the agency’s actions to sanction and deter bad actors in the construction industry by enforcing safety laws and codes of conduct for construction professionals.

Today’s bulletin includes summaries of DOB-imposed disciplinary actions, including penalties and license suspensions and revocations.

The actions below represent a portion of DOB’s overall work to enforce the City’s building codes and safety laws, in addition to the thousands of inspections conducted and violations issued by the agency each month for illegal building and construction conditions.

DOB took a number of major enforcement actions in September, including:

• A total of 52 violations and $710,750 in penalties, including daily penalties, issued for illegal building alterations on 11 separate occasions.
• A total of 25 violations and $266,700 in penalties, including daily penalties, issued for illegal transient use of buildings at six different locations.
• 28 violations and $325,000 in penalties issued for failure to safeguard construction sites on 26 separate occasions.
• 15 violations and $150,000 in penalties issued to 14 different individuals for failure to carry out duties as construction superintendents.

Below are individual enforcement highlights for September 2018:

• $186,950 in penalties issued to property owner Azahar Haque for converting a single-family home at 162-01 85th Avenue, Queens, into a four-family dwelling, illegal work performed without a permit, and failure to comply with previous DOB orders.

• $92,850 in penalties issued to property owner Nwoko E. Bubedike for illegally converting a two-family dwelling at 161-08 Baisley Boulevard, Queens, into a five-family dwelling, by adding units in the garage, cellar, and rear of the house.

• $85,000 in penalties issued to property owner Israel O. Fasihusi for illegally converting a two-family home at 1782 East 92^nd Street, Brooklyn into a seven-family home, by illegally constructing five single room occupancy (SRO) units in the building.
• $68,500 in penalties issued to property owner 168 Realty Corporation for illegally converting a five-family dwelling at 133-32 41^st Avenue, Queens, into an eight-family dwelling, illegal construction work performed without a permit, and for a failure to maintain their property in a safe and code-compliant condition.

• $47,400 in penalties issued to property owner Qiu Rong Lu for illegally converting a two-family home at 77-16 168th Street, Queens into a four-family home, by constructing two single room occupancy (SRO) units on the first floor.

• $25,000 in penalties issued to Safety Registrant Parish Property Management for failure to safeguard their construction site at 2 Aberdeen Street, Brooklyn after a 35 foot section of limestone fell from the roof and onto the sidewalk shed and ground below.

• $25,000 in penalties issued to Safety Registrant Big Apple Designers Inc. for a failure to safeguard their construction site at 2823 Snyder Avenue, Brooklyn, after the roof protection they had installed blew off the roof and struck a parked vehicle on the street below, breaking the windshield.

• $25,000 in penalties issued to Safety Registrant Tishman Construction Corp. for a failure to safeguard their construction site at 400 West 23^rd Street, after a worker dropped a hammer from the 50^th floor of the building, which hit a van on the street below.

• $25,000 in penalties issued to General Contractor JELM Contractor Corp. for a failure to safeguard their construction site at 444 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn after excavation work caused the partial collapse of a nearby retaining wall.

• $10,000 in penalties issued to Construction Superintendent De Gao for failure to perform required duties at a job site at 647 48th Street, Brooklyn, including failing to keep a log entry book, work that was performed contrary to the approved plans, and failure to install protections on the side of excavation walls.

• $10,000 in penalties issued to Construction Superintendent Roman Bronnberg for failure to perform required duties at a job site at 191 Withers Street, Brooklyn, after failing to report cracks that developed at an adjacent building during construction operations, having the job site open and unguarded, and for not keeping approved plans on site during construction operations.

• $10,000 in penalties issued to tracking number holder Lionheart Group for a failure to safeguard their construction site at 89-28 138th Place, Queens, after they failed to properly secure their construction fence, allowing debris to spill out on to the sidewalk.

• $10,000 in penalties issued to Safety Registrant Ground to Sky City Build for a failure to safeguard their construction site at 278 Warren Street, Brooklyn after it was discovered that they failed to provide required overhead protection on two sides of the job site.

• $10,000 in penalties issued to ADG/Ennis Francis Housing for failing to install a sidewalk shed as required by Local Law 11, after the façade at 2070 7th Avenue, Manhattan was found to be unsafe in a Façade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) report.

• Following Department actions to deter illegal dead vehicle and junk storage on a residential property at 2970 Cross Bronx Expressway, Bronx, the illegal use was discontinued.

• Following the issuance of a warning letter from the Department for an illegal contractor’s yard and commercial vehicle storage on a residential property at 140-24 149th Street, Queens, the illegal use was discontinued.

• Following the issuance of warning letters for illegal junk storage on a residential property at 193 Greenleaf Avenue, Staten Island, the property was padlocked by the Department.