Friday, July 1, 2011

Firetrap owners hit with criminal charges

From the Daily News:

The City Department of Investigation has started filing criminal charges against building owners who ignore citations for dangerous code violations, including illegal firetraps.

Starting this month, DOI teamed up with the Buildings Department - which has no authority to make arrests - to pursue deadbeat landlords who blow off code enforcers.

The new approach followed a Daily News series on city firetraps and landlords cited for unsafe conditions who have ignore summons for years.

In the last month, 110 owners have been charged in criminal court with failing to appear after being cited by the Buildings or Fire departments for a litany of safety problems.

That includes two Queens apartment buildings turned into illegal SROs whose owners repeatedly failed to answer court summons.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sure - let new victims die and then charge owners?

When calling DOB for unlicensed contractor digging out a cellar - foundation of a single family (fear of foundation collapse) no one investigated. No permit sign is outside and a dangerous foundation situation exists to the neighboring structures and during daytime hours, to passerby using the debris strewn sidewalk. So I surmise the owner takes his chances and reap rewards.

Anonymous said...

Wow. And now, the county dem tweeders want to sell us Liz Holtzman as weiner's seat warmer. The woman who lobbied against the city fire department's safety rules.

http://www.herrick.com/sitecontent.cfm?pageID=21&itemID=730

carmen said...

There appears to be a lot of illegal alterations to homes and existing structures. Many have a "stop construction notice" yet I see workers in the premises and I am sure they are not having lunch at "el fresco". Many parking spaces are also added to these newly purchased homes here in Flushing Queens, taking away parking spaces in the neighborhod. Also, pedestrains walkways are built without DOT consent.There is something rotten in Queens, (not Denver). Hum, what should this mistery be..,inspectors buy outs?..Politicians $ hideouts?..AH..The Banks! and their plots and lending practices to Contractors. Have you notice how many American contractors are doing the building in Queens? Have you seen and Irish construction workers in Queens lately? Fair Labor practices? I don't know everything, but who do we contact re: fair labor hiring practices. All this hardcore construction (under the heading of New Housing (or is it (Hoosing), is not for the Americans in Queens. Have you notice an non-Asian renting in these new buildings? why is that? I know the answer, hopefully you do too...Is this descrimination? so what r we doing about it? To all anonymous, lets get together and voice our diversed oppinions in a structured manner. We can talk about it till we are blue, but discussion groups is about solutions not just blowing out steam.

Anonymous said...

is there a special phone number to call ,besides 311, to contact the d.o.i./d.o.b.fire hazard team ?

Queens Crapper said...

Buildings Enforcement Safety Team (BEST):
280 Broadway, 5th Floor
Phone: (212) 669-7043
Fax: (212) 669-7054
BEST@buildings.nyc.gov

Anonymous said...

BEST will only respond to commercial buildings or apartments. Forget getting them to come during the emergency to a single family home. Asian builder working next door took down a one family house by throwing the bricks at my house. No fence, no netting. Called 311. The operator said to forget buildings, they would take at least a week to come, and transferred me to the police. Police came, told them to stop and they did for about an hour and then they started throwing bricks again. Was told by both buildings and police they only way to stop was to take them to court. All the developers know this. They take their chances.