From the Times Ledger:
City officials are ramping up efforts to inform individuals about illegal apartments following complaints by state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) and borough residents that too many college students are crammed into area homes, Queens Department of Buildings Commissioner Ira Gluckman told a Community Board 8 meeting last week.
“For the next two weeks we’re having our inspectors go to various subway stations to hand out fliers with information about illegal apartments,” Gluckman said at the Nov. 18 meeting.
The flier says a tenant should look into the legality of his or her apartment if the bedroom is in the cellar or attic, if they get electricity with an extension cord or if they lock their room with a padlock. It comes on the heels of Padavan’s October letter to Gluckman, in which he said there are at least 11 houses illegally inhabited by St. John’s University students in the Fresh Meadows and Jamaica Estates area.
The commissioner said DOB officials went to inspect each of the houses and confirmed that two were legal residences, gave one home two violations for subdividing the house and gave another residence one violation for creating an apartment in the attic. Inspectors were denied access to the other seven houses and Gluckman said they are not permitted to force their way into a house.
“We can get access warrants, but judges aren’t happy to give these out readily,” Gluckman said.
6 comments:
"...judges aren't happy to give these out readily..."
That's because the judges don't live in these toilet nabes.
"get their electricity from an extension cord": sounds like a third world country, not NY, but oh wait, Jamaica, Queens is a third-world place already.
Padavan better be concerned about getting re-elected.
He won by the slimmest margin last time.
It is not a good way to find a Queens Apartments for Rent is to visit the neighbourhood where you want to live and tour the area. This is a good activity for weekend only;where you can get a sense of the atmosphere and find the neighbourhood newspapers which
have an apartment for rent section usually.
Padavan better be careful or Tom Bolan might get AIG McGovernite Davis to lobby for NATO airstrikes against Jamaica Estates.
The bottom line here is safety!
More power to Padavan to prevent
a dangerous condition. Padlocks on doors? What are you kidding me?
I hope there are smoke detectors in each room. And if I was in the attic I would definitely get a Fire Ladder that reaches the ground. Remember we are dealing with wood framed balloon construction private dwellings.
Fire travels fast in these homes, take it from me a former NYC Firefighter. College Students! Alert! Have a fire drill in your residence! But above all,prevention is the way and if it means eviction notices, then so be it. Better eviction notices than death announcements.
Frank Padavan is doing the right thing. Give him your full support!
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